What Happened On This Day July 26 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, July 26 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1925

Italian racing driver Antonio Ascari tragically died on this day while leading the 1925 French Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo P2 at the Autodrome de Montlhéry near Paris. He left behind a seven-year-old son, Alberto Ascari, who later became a two-time F1 World Champion in 1952 and 1953.

Eerily, Alberto met a similar fate as his father, dying on the 26th of the month at the age of 36 in car No. 26. Both father and son had won 13 Grands Prix, died four days after surviving previous accidents, and left behind a wife and two children.

1987

Nelson Piquet won the 1987 German Grand Prix, with Stefan Johansson and Ayrton Senna completing the podium. Nigel Mansell started on pole, ahead of title rivals Senna, Alain Prost, and Piquet. After a slow start, Mansell overtook Senna to re-take the lead on the second lap. The race seemed Mansell’s to lose, which he did when an engine problem forced his retirement. Prost then appeared poised for victory until a broken alternator belt allowed Piquet to take the win.

1987 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams Honda	44	1:21:25.091	9
2	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren TAG	44	+99.591s	6
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Honda	43	+1 lap	4
4	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell Ford	43	+1 lap	3
5	3	Jonathan  Palmer	Tyrrell Ford	43	+1 lap	2
6	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola Ford	42	+2 laps	1
NC	1	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	39	DNF	0
NC	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	34	+10 laps	0
NC	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier Megatron	32	DNF	0
NC	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi Motori Moderni	28	DNF	0
NC	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton Ford	26	DNF	0
NC	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	25	DNF	0
NC	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi Motori Moderni	25	DNF	0
NC	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows Megatron	23	DNF	0
NC	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	21	DNF	0
NC	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	19	DNF	0
NC	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton Ford	18	DNF	0
NC	21	Alex Caffi	Osella Alfa Romeo	17	DNF	0
NC	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham BMW	12	DNF	0
NC	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	10	DNF	0
NC	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	18	Eddie  Cheever	Arrows Megatron	9	DNF	0
NC	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus Honda	9	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	March Ford	7	DNF	0
NC	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier Megatron	6	DNF	0
NC	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	5	DNF	0

1992

Massive crowds flocked to Hockenheim to watch Michael Schumacher for the 1992 German Grand Prix, but it was Nigel Mansell who claimed victory. Mansell dominated the race, while behind him, Ayrton Senna and Schumacher, who didn’t pit during the race, finished second and third. Schumacher benefited from a late spin by Riccardo Patrese in the Williams to take the final step on the podium.

The Ostkurve chicane was modified for this race from a quick left-right gap into a turning sequence, after there were safety concerns with the chicane the previous year, when Érik Comas had a major accident there in his Ligier.

With the win, Mansell tied Ayrton Senna’s 1988 record for the most wins in a single season with eight victories, achieving the feat in just ten races. His dominant form made it clear he was the overwhelming favourite for the championship.

The result meant that Senna officially fell out of title contention, although it had already seemed inevitable that only Mansell would become World Champion. Mansell went on to clinch the 1992 Drivers’ Championship at the very next race in Hungary.

1992 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Renault	45	1:18:22.032	10
2	1	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	45	+4.500s	6
3	19	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	45	+34.462s	4
4	20	Martin Brundle	Benetton Ford	45	+36.959s	3
5	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	45	+72.607s	2
6	26	Erik Comas	Ligier Renault	45	+96.498s	1
7	25	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier Renault	45	+97.180s	0
8	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	44	+1 lap	0
9	9	Michele Alboreto	Footwork Mugen Honda	44	+1 lap	0
10	21	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Dallara Ferrari	44	+1 lap	0
11	22	Pierluigi Martini	Dallara Ferrari	44	+1 lap	0
12	24	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Lamborghini	44	+1 lap	0
13	17	Paul Belmondo	March Ilmor	44	+1 lap	0
14	29	Bertrand Gachot	Venturi Lamborghini	44	+1 lap	0
15	33	Mauricio Gugelmin	Jordan Yamaha	43	+2 laps	0
16	16	Karl Wendlinger	March Ilmor	42	+3 laps	0
NC	15	Gabriele Tarquini	Fondmetal Ford	33	DNF	0
NC	4	Andrea de Cesaris	Tyrrell Ilmor	25	DNF	0
NC	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Ford	23	DNF	0
NC	28	Ivan Capelli	Ferrari	21	DNF	0
NC	11	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Ford	21	DNF	0
NC	2	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	16	DNF	0
NC	3	Olivier Grouillard	Tyrrell Ilmor	8	DNF	0
NC	30	Ukyo Katayama	Venturi Lamborghini	8	DNF	0
NC	10	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork Mugen Honda	1	DNF	0
NC	23	Alessandro Zanardi	Minardi Lamborghini	1	DNF	0

1998

Mika Hakkinen triumphed at the 1998 Austrian Grand Prix, finishing ahead of his McLaren teammate David Coulthard and the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Rain during qualifying led to an unusual grid, with the Benetton of Giancarlo Fisichella on pole and the Sauber of Jean Alesi alongside. Hakkinen and Schumacher quickly overtook the front-row cars at the start. However, the standout performance came from Coulthard, who charged through the field from 14th on the grid to seventh by lap 16. Subsequent overtakes and pit stops by other drivers elevated Coulthard to second, behind Hakkinen, with Schumacher finishing third.

1998 Austrian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	71	1:30:44.086	10
2	7	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	71	+5.289s	6
3	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	+39.093s	4
4	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	71	+43.977s	3
5	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan Mugen Honda	71	+50.655s	2
6	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Mecachrome	71	+53.202s	1
7	9	Damon Hill	Jordan Mugen Honda	71	+73.624s	0
8	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Petronas	70	+1 lap	0
9	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton Playlife	70	+1 lap	0
10	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost Peugeot	70	+1 lap	0
11	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi Ford	70	+1 lap	0
12	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell Ford	69	+2 laps	0
NC	19	Jos Verstappen	Stewart Ford	51	DNF	0
NC	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi Ford	30	DNF	0
NC	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Playlife	21	DNF	0
NC	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber Petronas	21	DNF	0
NC	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams Mecachrome	16	DNF	0
NC	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	3	DNF	0
NC	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	1	DNF	0
NC	11	Olivier Panis	Prost Peugeot	0	DNF	0
NC	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell Ford	0	DNF	0

2009

Lewis Hamilton celebrated his tenth Grand Prix victory by winning the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix after starting from fourth place on the grid.

The 2007 world champion, Kimi Räikkönen, secured second for Ferrari, while the Red Bull of Mark Webber finished third. Brawn GP driver and Championship leader Jenson Button had a disappointing race, finishing seventh and losing ground to Webber in the championship standings.

Hamilton’s victory was his first since the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix, marking his return to the podium. It was also notable for being the first win for a car equipped with a regenerative brake system (KERS). Räikkönen’s second place was Ferrari’s best result of the season, with his teammate Felipe Massa suffering a freak and serious accident during the second part of Saturday’s qualifying session, resulting in a fractured skull.

The race also saw the debut of World Series by Renault racer and 2008 British Formula Three champion Jaime Alguersuari. At 19 years and 125 days old, he became the youngest Formula One driver in the championship’s 59-year history and the first born in the 1990s, a record later broken by Max Verstappen in 2015. Alguersuari replaced the ousted Sébastien Bourdais at Toro Rosso.

2009 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	70	1:38:23.876	10
2	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	70	+11.529s	8
3	14	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	70	+16.886s	6
4	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	70	+26.967s	5
5	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren Mercedes	70	+34.392s	4
6	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	70	+35.237s	3
7	22	Jenson Button	Brawn Mercedes	70	+55.088s	2
8	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	70	+68.172s	1
9	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams Toyota	70	+68.774s	0
10	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn Mercedes	70	+69.256s	0
11	6	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	70	+70.612s	0
12	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	70	+71.512s	0
13	5	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	70	+74.046s	0
14	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India Mercedes	69	+1 lap	0
15	11	Jaime Alguersuari	STR Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
16	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
NC	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	29	DNF	0
NC	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	15	DNF	0
NC	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	1	DNF	0

2015

The 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix, held at the Hungaroring, became a dramatic and unpredictable race that saw Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel claim his second victory of the season. Starting from third on the grid, Vettel made a strong start to take the lead into the first corner, ahead of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Vettel maintained his lead throughout the race, despite multiple safety cars and a series of incidents behind him. His victory was Ferrari’s first win at the Hungarian Grand Prix since 2004 and brought him level with Ayrton Senna‘s tally of 41 career wins. Red Bull Racing secured their best result of the season, with Daniil Kvyat finishing second and Daniel Ricciardo third, both benefiting from the chaotic nature of the race. ​

The race saw several incidents involving top drivers. Hamilton, who started from pole position, had a poor start and later received a drive-through penalty for causing a collision with Ricciardo, ultimately finishing sixth. Rosberg also faced misfortune, suffering a puncture after contact with Ricciardo while battling for second place, dropping him to eighth. Kimi Räikkönen, who had been running second, retired due to a mechanical failure while McLaren-Honda had a rare double points finish, with Fernando Alonso in fifth and Jenson Button in ninth, their best performance of the season. ​

2015 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	69	1:46:09.985	25
2	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing Renault	69	+15.748s	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Renault	69	+25.084s	15
4	33	Max Verstappen	STR Renault	69	+44.251s	12
5	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	69	+49.079s	10
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	69	+52.025s	8
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Mercedes	69	+58.578s	6
8	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	69	+58.876s	4
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	69	+67.028s	2
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	69	+69.130s	1
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber Ferrari	69	+73.458s	0
12	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	69	+74.278s	0
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	69	+80.228s	0
14	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus Mercedes	69	+85.142s	0
15	98	Roberto Merhi	Marussia Ferrari	67	+2 laps	0
16	28	Will Stevens	Marussia Ferrari	65	DNF	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	STR Renault	60	DNF	0
NC	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	55	DNF	0
NC	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	53	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	41	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 26 July

Births	F1 Driver
26 July 1928	Don Beauman (d. 1955)
26 July 1942	Teddy Pilette
26 July 1946	Emilio de Villota

F1 Driver Deaths 26 July

Deaths	F1 Driver
26 July 1965	Johnny Roberts (b. 1924)
26 July 1990	Giorgio Scarlatti (b. 1921)
26 July 2017	Leo Kinnunen