What Happened On This Day December 1 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, December 1 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1948

Guy Tunmer, born on this day in Transvaal, South Africa, competed in his home Grand Prix in 1975 in a Lotus 72D, finishing 11th after starting 25th on the grid. He also enjoyed success in Formula Atlantic but was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in 1999.

1962

Stirling Moss received high praise from Enzo Ferrari, who described him as the world’s best driver and compared him to the legendary Tazio Nuvolari. Meanwhile, at Monza, Peter Arundell won a challenge from a German sports writer who claimed that Lotus used oversized engines to dominate the Formula Junior races that season. Lotus offered £1000 if one of their cars could match race speeds, which they successfully achieved.

1997

Forbes magazine revealed Michael Schumacher as the fourth-highest earner in world sports, with an F1 income of £21.9 million. He ranked just below Michael Jordan (£48.9m), Evander Holyfield (£33.9m), and Oscar De La Hoya (£23.5m).

2001

Bernie Ecclestone pushed back against rumours of a rival F1 championship, warning that it would drive sponsors away from the sport. Fiat’s chief executive Paolo Cantarella met with F1 teams to propose a rival series promising them greater revenue. “The manufacturers joined because F1 was a showcase for them, so why destroy it?” Ecclestone said. “I advised them to wait and see. They valued F1’s stability and the way things were done. Once these companies leave, it’s hard to get them back.”

2005

Despite rumours of being dropped, Jacques Villeneuve was confirmed as a driver for the BMW Sauber team for the 2006 season. “After an extremely tough first half of the year, which showed that even a former world champion cannot return after time away and be competitive from day one, he got closer and closer to his teammate over the second half of the season,” stated team boss Mario Theissen. “We are certain that having Jacques in 2006 will strengthen the BMW-Sauber team.” However, after a series of disappointing performances, Villeneuve was replaced by Robert Kubica by the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.

2019

The 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix concluded the 2019 Championship, which took place in December—a rarity in F1, marking the first December race since the 1963 South African Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton dominated the race, securing his 11th victory of the season and the 84th of his career. His performance included leading every lap, taking pole position, and setting the fastest lap, achieving his sixth career “grand slam” (his last was at the 2017 British Grand Prix). He also became the first driver to finish and score points in every race of a season twice (in 2017 and 2019). Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull Racing, and Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari, though Ferrari received a €50,000 fine for a pre-race fuel discrepancy. It was also the final appearance for Toro Rosso, as the team rebranded to AlphaTauri for the 2020 season.

2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton¹	Mercedes	55	1:34:05.715	26
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	55	+16.772s	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	55	+43.435s	15
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	55	+44.379s	12
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	55	+64.357s	10
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing Honda	55	+69.205s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	54	+1 lap	6
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	54	+1 lap	4
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	54	+1 lap	2
10	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	54	+1 lap	1
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	54	+1 lap	0
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	54	+1 lap	0
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
17	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	54	+1 lap	0
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	53	+2 laps	0
19	88	Robert Kubica	Williams Mercedes	53	+2 laps	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	45	DNF	0

¹Lewis Hamilton scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 53 – 1:39.283

2020

On this day, Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion, tested positive for COVID-19, sidelining him from the upcoming 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain. Hamilton, who had already clinched the 2020 Drivers’ Championship title, experienced mild symptoms and immediately went into isolation following the positive test. His absence marked one of the few races he missed since his debut in 2007. George Russell was brought in from Williams to replace him, providing an unexpected opportunity to see how he might perform in the dominant Mercedes.

2024

Max Verstappen triumphed in a dramatic 2024 Qatar Grand Prix as Lando Norris faced a controversial penalty that ended his bid for victory. The two drivers were in an intense duel for the lead until Norris received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, relegating him to the back of the field. Despite a strong recovery drive, he finished 10th with a bonus point, securing the fastest lap.

Charles Leclerc delivered a surprise second-place finish, with Oscar Piastri completing the podium. McLaren‘s Constructors’ Championship lead over Ferrari was trimmed to 21 points, setting up a thrilling finale for the following weekend’s race at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In a standout moment for Sauber, Zhou Guanyu scored the team’s first points of the season with an eighth-place finish amid the chaos.

Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon bid farewell to Alpine after an early retirement due to a first-lap collision with Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto. Ocon’s exit paved the way for Jack Doohan to debut with the team in Abu Dhabi before his full-time seat in 2025.

2024 Qatar Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

2024 Qatar Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	57	1:31:05.323	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	57	+6.031s	18
3	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	57	+6.819s	15
4	63	George Russell²	Mercedes	57	+14.104s	12
5	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	57	+16.782s	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	57	+17.476s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	57	+19.867s	6
8	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	57	+25.360s	4
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	57	+32.177s	2
10	4	Lando Norris¹	McLaren Mercedes	57	+35.762s	2
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	57	+50.243s	0
12	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	+56.122s	0
13	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	57	+61.100s	0
14	30	Liam Lawson	RB Honda RBPT	57	+62.656s	0
15	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	56	+1 lap	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	39	DNF	0
NC	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	38	DNF	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	8	DNF	0
NC	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	0	DNF	0
NC	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	0	DNF	0

¹Fastest lap: Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:22.384 on lap 56
²George Russell received a five-second time penalty for falling more than 10 car lengths behind the Safety Car.

F1 Driver Birthdays 1 December

Birthday	F1 Driver
1 December 1948	Guy Tunmer

F1 Driver Deaths 1 December

Death	F1 Mentions
1 December 1975	Ernesto Maserati (b. 1898) Was one of the brothers who founded Maserati in 1914

Death	F1 Driver
1 December	None

Seen in:

Lee is our staff writer specialising in anything technical within Formula 1 from aerodynamics to engines. Lee writes most of our F1 guides for beginners and experienced fans having followed the sports since 1991, researching and understanding how teams build the ultimate machines. Like everyone else on the team he listens to podcasts about F1 and enjoys reading biographies of former drivers.