What happened on this day, December 25 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1934
Giancarlo Baghetti, born on this day to a wealthy industrialist family, holds a unique place in Formula 1 history despite participating in only 21 Grands Prix between 1961 and 1967. Baghetti achieved an extraordinary feat by winning his first three races, including the championship 1961 French Grand Prix, following victories in two non-championship events: the 1961 Syracuse Grand Prix and the 1961 Napoli Grand Prix. All three wins came driving Ferraris. Unfortunately, his career faltered after 1962, with only a fourth and a fifth-place finish that year. A switch to the fledgling ATS team proved disastrous, followed by a fruitless season with BRM and three final attempts in privately entered cars. Baghetti retired from racing in 1968 and transitioned into a successful career as a journalist and photographer in motorsport and fashion.
1943
Wilson Fittipaldi, born on Christmas Day in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the elder brother of two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Though Wilson’s F1 career never reached the heights of his brother’s, he competed in 35 Grands Prix and scored three championship points. His career highlight was a second-place finish at the non-championship 1972 Brazilian Grand Prix.
1958
Dennis Jenkinson, regarded as one of the most iconic Formula 1 journalists, was the long-time Grand Prix correspondent for Motor Sport magazine. Though he briefly tried his hand at racing, Jenkinson made his mark in other areas of motorsport, most notably as Stirling Moss‘s co-driver in their legendary 1955 Mille Miglia victory. Motorsport lore suggests that on this day, Christmas Day, 1958, Jenkinson took advantage of the quiet holiday roads to test-drive an unregistered, unsilenced Lotus F2 car near his home in Hampshire. Despite the car being far from road legal, he assumed the lack of police presence on a public holiday would shield him from trouble.
1993
Fred “Jiggs” Peters passed away on 25 December 1993. He was an American racecar driver who competed in various motorsport series, including sprint cars, NASCAR, the AAA series, and midget cars. In 1955, he attempted to qualify a Scopa car for the Indianapolis 500 when the race was part of the F1 Championship but was unsuccessful.
F1 Driver Birthdays 25 December
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 25 December 1934 | Giancarlo Baghetti |
| 25 December 1943 | Wilson Fittipaldi |
F1 Driver Deaths 25 December
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 25 December 1993 | Jiggs Peters |
Seen in:
