What Happened On This Day July 29 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, July 29 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1951

The Nürburgring hosted a world championship race for the first time with the 1951 German Grand Prix. Alberto Ascari secured his first world championship win for Ferrari.

Ascari’s victory propelled him to second place in the 1951 Championship standings, ten points behind Juan Manuel Fangio who finished in second and extended his lead from the previous race. Following his second consecutive podium finish in third place, Jose Froilan Gonzalez moved up to third in the standings, tying on points with Farina and Luigi Villoresi.

1951 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	71	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	20	3:23:03.300	8
2	75	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	20	+30.500s	7
3	74	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Ferrari	20	+279.000s	4
4	72	Luigi  Villoresi	Ferrari	20	+350.200s	3
5	73	Piero  Taruffi	Ferrari	20	+469.100s	2
6	91	Rudi  Fischer	Ferrari	19	+1 lap	0
7	82	Robert  Manzon	Simca-Gordini	19	+1 lap	0
8	84	Louis  Rosier	Talbot-Lago	19	+1 lap	0
9	90	Pierre  Levegh	Talbot-Lago	18	+2 laps	0
10	93	Jacques Swaters	Talbot-Lago	18	+2 laps	0
NC	87	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago	17	DNF	0
11	94	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago	17	+3 laps	0
NC	81	Maurice  Trintignant	Simca-Gordini	13	DNF	0
NC	77	Felice  Bonetto	Alfa Romeo	12	DNF	0
NC	88	Duncan  Hamilton	Talbot-Lago	12	DNF	0
NC	78	Paul  Pietsch	Alfa Romeo	11	DNF	0
NC	83	Andre  Simon	Simca-Gordini	11	DNF	0
NC	76	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	8	DNF	0
NC	86	Philippe  Etancelin	Talbot-Lago	4	DNF	0
NC	92	Toni  Branca	Maserati	3	DNF	0
NC	85	Louis  Chiron	Talbot-Lago	3	DNF	0
NC	79	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	2	DNF	0

1973

A tragic incident occurred at the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort when young British driver Roger Williamson, driving for March, was killed in devastating circumstances during the race. A tyre issue caused him to crash, and his car ended up overturned and on fire at the side of the track. Unable to free himself, Williamson received no assistance from the marshals. Fellow driver David Purley stopped his car and rushed to help his friend, seizing a fire extinguisher from a marshal and attempting to right the car himself. Sadly, his efforts were futile, and Williamson perished in the car before a fire truck could arrive. Later, Purley said he heard him plead, ”For God’s sake David get me out of here”.

Photographer Cor Mooij captured a series of pictures of the accident, which won the Photo Sequences category in that year’s World Press Photo. Subsequently, David Purley received the George Medal for his heroic rescue attempt. This incident, along with film footage of the rescue, is featured in the 2010 BBC documentary titled “Grand Prix: The Killer Years.”

After quitting motorsport, Purley pursued competition aerobatics. He died on 2 July 1985, when his Pitts Special aerobatic biplane crashed into the sea off Bognor Regis.

Jackie Stewart won the race, his fourth of his five victories in the 1973 Formula One season. With this 26th career Grand Prix win, he overtook Jim Clark’s record of 25, becoming the most successful Formula One driver of all time at that point in F1 history. Stewart’s friend and future world champion James Hunt took his first podium finish, while François Cevert, who finished second in this race, would tragically lose his life later that year during practice for the 1973 United States Grand Prix.

1973 Dutch Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell Ford	72	1:39:12.450	9
2	6	Francois  Cevert	Tyrrell Ford	72	+15.830s	6
3	27	James Hunt	March Ford	72	+63.010s	4
4	8	Peter  Revson	McLaren Ford	72	+69.130s	3
5	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	72	+73.370s	2
6	26	Gijs van Lennep	Iso Marlboro Ford	70	+2 laps	1
7	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees Ford	69	+3 laps	0
8	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	68	+4 laps	0
9	25	Howden  Ganley	Iso Marlboro Ford	68	+4 laps	0
10	16	George  Follmer	Shadow Ford	67	+5 laps	0
11	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	66	DNF	0
NC	12	Graham Hill	Shadow Ford	56	+16 laps	0
NC	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees Ford	52	DNF	0
NC	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	51	DNF	0
NC	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	31	DNF	0
NC	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham Ford	27	DNF	0
NC	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	22	DNF	0
NC	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	18	David Purley	March Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	14	Roger  Williamson	March Ford	7	DNF	0
NC	15	Mike  Beuttler	March Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow Ford	1	DNF	0

1979

Alan Jones clinched victory at the 1979 German Grand Prix, leading a 1-2 finish for the Williams team with his teammate Clay Regazzoni. Jones grabbed the lead at the start from second on the grid. When Regazzoni overtook Jacques Laffite for second place on lap 13, the top three positions remained unchanged for the rest of the race. The victory was the Williams team’s second consecutive win in Formula One, following Regazzoni’s triumph at Silverstone two weeks previously.

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1979 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	27	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	45	1:24:48.830	9
2	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams Ford	45	+2.910s	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Ford	45	+18.390s	4
4	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	45	+31.200s	3
5	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	45	+97.800s	2
6	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows Ford	44	+1 lap	1
7	4	Geoff Lees	Tyrrell Ford	44	+1 lap	0
8	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	44	+1 lap	0
9	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell Ford	44	+1 lap	0
10	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow Ford	44	+1 lap	0
11	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow Ford	43	+2 laps	0
12	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham Alfa Romeo	42	DNF	0
NC	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	34	DNF	0
NC	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren Ford	30	DNF	0
NC	20	Keke Rosberg	Wolf Ford	29	DNF	0
NC	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham Alfa Romeo	27	DNF	0
NC	25	Jacky Ickx	Ligier Ford	24	DNF	0
NC	31	Hector Rebaque	Lotus Ford	22	DNF	0
NC	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	9	DNF	0
NC	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	7	DNF	0
NC	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	4	DNF	0
NC	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS Ford	0	DNF	0

1981

Fernando Alonso was born on this day 29 July 1981, in Oviedo, Spain. Born into a working-class family, Alonso started kart racing at the age of three. He achieved immense success in local, national, and world karting championships, making a name for himself as a driver to watch.

Alonso made is F1 debut with Minardi in 2001 before joining Renault as a test driver in 2002. In 2003, he was promoted to a race seat, marking the beginning of his journey towards F1 greatness.

Alonso’s talent and skill as a driver shone brightest in 2005 and 2006 when he won back-to-back Drivers’ Championships, becoming the youngest pole-sitter, youngest race winner, youngest world champion, and youngest two-time champion in the sport’s history at the time while driving for Renault.

At the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix, he broke the record for most starts in Formula One and at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while driving for Aston Martin, Alonso scored his 100th podium by finishing third, becoming one of six drivers in F1 history to achieve that feat, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.

1990

McLaren driver Ayrton Senna fended off a spirited challenge from the Benetton of Alessandro Nannini to win the 1990 German Grand Prix. Starting from his customary pole position, Senna edged ahead of teammate Gerhard Berger at the start. Positions remained unchanged until Nannini emerged ahead after the pit stops. However, with 12 laps remaining, Senna overtook Nannini, whose tyres had begun to degrade, securing the win. Berger finished third. Thierry Boutsen set the fastest lap of the race in his Williams; it was his first.

Senna’s win put him back into the lead of the 1990 Drivers’ Championship, four points ahead of Ferrari driver Alain Prost, who finished fourth in the race.

1990 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	27	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	45	1:20:47.164	9
2	19	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton Ford	45	+6.520s	6
3	28	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	45	+8.553s	4
4	1	Alain Prost	Ferrari	45	+45.270s	3
5	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	45	+48.028s	2
6	5	Thierry Boutsen	Williams Renault	45	+81.491s	1
7	16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Judd	44	+1 lap	0
8	11	Derek Warwick	Lotus Lamborghini	44	+1 lap	0
9	10	Alex Caffi	Arrows Ford	44	+1 lap	0
10	25	Nicola Larini	Ligier Ford	43	+2 laps	0
11	4	Jean Alesi	Tyrrell Ford	40	DNF	0
NC	36	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Onyx Ford	39	+6 laps	0
NC	29	Eric Bernard	Lola Lamborghini	35	DNF	0
NC	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Lamborghini	33	DNF	0
NC	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Ford	24	DNF	0
NC	20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Ford	23	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	20	DNF	0
NC	35	Gregor Foitek	Onyx Ford	19	DNF	0
NC	2	Nigel Mansell	Ferrari	15	DNF	0
NC	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	Leyton House Judd	12	DNF	0
NC	7	David Brabham	Brabham Judd	12	DNF	0
NC	9	Michele Alboreto	Arrows Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	12	Martin Donnelly	Lotus Lamborghini	1	DNF	0

2001

Ralf Schumacher capitalised on the retirement of his Williams teammate Juan Pablo Montoya to win the 2001 German Grand Prix in front of his home fans at Hockenheim. In a classic tortoise-and-hare scenario, pole-sitter Montoya sped ahead initially, only for his BMW engine to fail, handing the victory to Ralf. Montoya’s only consolation was securing the race’s fastest lap, with a time of 1:41.808 on lap 20. A time that remains the lap record on the Hockenheimring 1994–2001 F1 layout.

Rubens Barrichello finished second for Ferrari, while BAR driver Jacques Villeneuve secured third place. The final podium step was his final podium finish in Formula 1.

2001 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	45	1:18:17.873	10
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	45	+46.117s	6
3	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	45	+62.806s	4
4	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Renault	45	+63.477s	3
5	8	Jenson Button	Benetton Renault	45	+65.454s	2
6	22	Jean Alesi	Prost Acer	45	+65.950s	1
7	9	Olivier Panis	BAR Honda	45	+77.527s	0
8	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows Asiatech	44	+1 lap	0
9	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows Asiatech	44	+1 lap	0
10	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi European	44	+1 lap	0
NC	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan Honda	34	DNF	0
NC	4	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	27	DNF	0
NC	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi European	26	DNF	0
NC	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	24	DNF	0
NC	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	23	DNF	0
NC	23	Luciano Burti	Prost Acer	23	DNF	0
NC	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber Petronas	16	DNF	0
NC	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar Cosworth	16	DNF	0
NC	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	13	DNF	0
NC	11	Ricardo Zonta	Jordan Honda	7	DNF	0
NC	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	0	DNF	0
NC	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar Cosworth	0	DNF	0

2012

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton secured a commanding victory from pole at the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton led the majority of the 69-lap race (instead of 70 due to an extra formation lap), showing consistent pace despite pressure from the Lotus duo, particularly Kimi Räikkönen, who mounted a strong challenge after overtaking teammate Romain Grosjean. Hamilton maintained his lead to claim his second win of the 2012 season and the 19th of his career. Räikkönen finished just over a second behind in second place, with Grosjean completing the podium in third. Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull finished fourth, narrowly missing out on a podium spot, while Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso secured fifth place on his birthday, no less, extending his lead in the 2012 Drivers’ Championship to 40 points.

Hamilton’s win was bolstered by effective pit stop timing and tyre management, crucial on the twisty and narrow Hungaroring circuit, often likened to ‘Monaco without the walls’ due to its challenging overtaking opportunities. Räikkönen’s aggressive driving, including a decisive move on Grosjean after the second round of pit stops, showcased Lotus’s competitiveness. Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher‘s race was marred by a series of issues, lining up in 19th instead of 17th on the starting grid and a subsequent drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane on the restart, and then a retirement on lap 58.

The race was Heikki Kovalainen‘s 100th Grand Prix start, and it would be eight years until the next race where no Red Bull, Mercedes or Ferrari driver was on the podium, the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

2012 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	69	1:41:05.503	25
2	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus Renault	69	+1.032s	18
3	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	69	+10.518s	15
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	69	+11.614s	12
5	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	69	+26.653s	10
6	3	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	69	+30.243s	8
7	19	Bruno Senna	Williams Renault	69	+33.899s	6
8	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	69	+34.458s	4
9	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	69	+38.350s	2
10	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	69	+51.234s	1
11	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	69	+57.283s	0
12	11	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	69	+62.887s	0
13	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	69	+63.606s	0
14	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber Ferrari	69	+64.494s	0
15	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR Ferrari	68	+1 lap	0
16	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Ferrari	68	+1 lap	0
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham Renault	68	+1 lap	0
18	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	67	DNF	0
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham Renault	67	+2 laps	0
20	25	Charles Pic	Marussia Cosworth	67	+2 laps	0
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia Cosworth	66	+3 laps	0
22	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT Cosworth	66	+3 laps	0
NC	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT Cosworth	60	DNF	0
NC	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	58	DNF	0

2018

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton grabbed a commanding win from pole at the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton maintained his lead throughout the race, capitalising on a strong start and strategic pit stops. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen completed the podium in second and third. Vettel’s race was impacted by a slow pit stop, which allowed Hamilton to extend his lead. Valtteri Bottas, in the sister Mercedes, played a defensive role, holding off the Ferraris for much of the race before finishing fifth after late-race incidents.

The race featured several incidents, including Max Verstappen‘s early retirement due to engine failure on lap 5, leading to a brief virtual safety car period. Daniel Ricciardo in the sister Red Bull delivered an impressive drive, climbing from 12th on the grid to finish fourth, despite a collision with Bottas in the closing laps. Bottas received a 10-second penalty for causing the collision, but it failed to affect his finishing position. Hamilton’s win extended his lead in the 2018 Drivers’ Championship to 24 points over Vettel, while Mercedes increased their lead over Ferrari in the 2018 Constructors’ Championship to 10 points. ​

2018 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	70	1:37:16.427	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	70	+17.123s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	70	+20.101s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	70	+46.419s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	70	+60.000s	10
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	70	+73.273s	8
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	69	+1 lap	6
8	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Renault	69	+1 lap	4
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	69	+1 lap	2
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	69	+1 lap	1
11	28	Brendon Hartley	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	69	+1 lap	0
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	69	+1 lap	0
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India Mercedes	69	+1 lap	0
14	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	69	+1 lap	0
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	68	+2 laps	0
16	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams Mercedes	68	+2 laps	0
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	68	+2 laps	0
NC	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Renault	49	DNF	0
NC	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	5	DNF	0
NC	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber Ferrari	0	DNF	0
Note – Bottas received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Ricciardo

F1 Driver Birthdays 29 July

Births	F1 Driver
29 July 1933	Colin Davis (d. 2012)
29 July 1941	Tony Jefferies
29 July 1963	Chanoch Nissany
29 July 1981	Fernando Alonso

F1 Driver Deaths 29 July

Deaths	F1 Driver
29 July 1950	Joe Fry (b. 1915)
29 July 1951	Bob Mackey (b. 1911)
29 July 1951	Cecil Green (b. 1919)
29 July 1951	Walt Brown (b. 1927)
29 July 1973	Roger Williamson (b. 1948)
29 July 2002	Renato Pirocchi (b. 1933)
29 July 2013	Tony Gaze (b. 1920)