What Happened On This Day July 8 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, July 8 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1962

Dan Gurney achieved his and Porsche‘s first world championship victory at the 1962 French Grand Prix. Starting from the third row, Gurney was initially behind Graham Hill, John Surtees, Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren, and Jack Brabham. However, luck favoured Porsche as McLaren and Brabham retired from the race and Surtees experienced fuel feed issues. As Gurney moved up to third, Hill was hit by backmarker Jack Lewis on lap 30, and Clark stopped three laps later due to suspension problems, leaving Gurney to cruise to a fortunate win. A week later, Gurney and Jo Bonnier secured a 1-2 finish at the Solitude circuit near Stuttgart, marking Porsche’s final victory as an F1 constructor.

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1962 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	30	Dan Gurney	Porsche	54	2:07:35.500	9
2	24	Tony Maggs	Cooper Climax	53	+1 lap	6
3	10	Richie Ginther	BRM	52	+2 laps	4
4	22	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	51	+3 laps	3
5	18	John Surtees	Lola Climax	51	+3 laps	2
6	38	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	51	+3 laps	1
7	28	Maurice  Trintignant	Lotus Climax	50	+4 laps	0
8	14	Trevor  Taylor	Lotus Climax	48	+6 laps	0
9	8	Graham Hill	BRM	44	DNF	0
10	32	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	42	DNF	0
NC	12	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	33	DNF	0
NC	42	Jackie  Lewis	Cooper Climax	27	DNF	0
NC	20	Roy Salvadori	Lola Climax	20	DNF	0
NC	34	Masten Gregory	Lotus BRM	14	DNF	0
NC	26	Jack Brabham	Lotus Climax	10	DNF	0
NC	40	Jo Siffert	Lotus BRM	5	DNF	0
NC	36	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	1	DNF	0

1984

Keke Rosberg won a gruelling 1984 Dallas Grand Prix on the streets of Dallas, best remembered by a deteriorating track, and Nigel Mansell collapsing, after jumping out of his car and attempting to push his faltering Lotus across the finish line.

Due to the unreliability of Rosberg’s Honda engine earlier in the season, he didn’t expect to last beyond lap 20 and pushed hard from the start. Racing in temperatures up to 40 °C, he used a water-cooled skullcap (a common device in NASCAR) to stay cool and initially followed early leader Mansell.

Mansell’s tyres disintegrated in the blistering heat, allowing Rosberg to take the lead. Alain Prost overtook Rosberg on lap 49 but crashed his McLaren into the wall shortly after. Rosberg went on to win, later commenting on the difficult conditions and crediting his team for the victory. Rene Arnoux for Ferrari finished second, and Elio de Angelis third for Lotus.

1984 Dallas Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	67	2:01:22.617	9
2	28	Rene Arnoux	Ferrari	67	+22.464s	6
3	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	66	+1 lap	4
4	5	Jacques Laffite	Williams Honda	65	+2 laps	3
5	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	65	+2 laps	2
6	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Renault	64	DNF	1
7	2	Corrado Fabi	Brabham BMW	64	+3 laps	0
8	14	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS BMW	64	+3 laps	0
NC	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	60	DNF	0
NC	7	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	56	DNF	0
NC	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	55	DNF	0
NC	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	54	DNF	0
NC	17	Marc Surer	Arrows BMW	54	DNF	0
NC	19	Ayrton Senna	Toleman Hart	47	DNF	0
NC	10	Jonathan  Palmer	RAM Hart	46	DNF	0
NC	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	45	DNF	0
NC	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	25	DNF	0
NC	20	Johnny Cecotto	Toleman Hart	25	DNF	0
NC	26	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	15	DNF	0
NC	21	Huub Rothengatter	Spirit Hart	15	DNF	0
NC	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	12	DNF	0
NC	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	10	DNF	0
NC	23	Eddie  Cheever	Alfa Romeo	8	DNF	0

1990

Alain Prost won his home race, the 1990 French Grand Prix at the Paul Ricard circuit, but Ivan Capelli, who finished second in his Adrian Newey-designed Leyton House, stole the show. Nigel Mansell had pole position, but Gerhard Berger in the McLaren took the lead into the first corner. When the leaders pitted for tyres, Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin for Leyton House moved to the front, opting not to change tyres. Prost overtook Gugelmin on lap 54, who retired three laps later. Three laps from the end, Prost passed Capelli, who managed to finish second despite a misfiring engine, delivering a stellar performance. Ayrton Senna completed the podium in third for McLaren.

1990 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Alain Prost	Ferrari	80	1:33:29.606	9
2	16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Judd	80	+8.626s	6
3	27	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	80	+11.606s	4
4	20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Ford	80	+41.207s	3
5	28	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	80	+42.219s	2
6	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	80	+69.351s	1
7	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Lamborghini	79	+1 lap	0
8	29	Eric Bernard	Lola Lamborghini	79	+1 lap	0
9	26	Philippe Alliot	Ligier Ford	79	+1 lap	0
10	9	Michele Alboreto	Arrows Ford	79	+1 lap	0
11	11	Derek Warwick	Lotus Lamborghini	79	+1 lap	0
12	12	Martin Donnelly	Lotus Lamborghini	79	+1 lap	0
13	8	Stefano Modena	Brabham Judd	78	+2 laps	0
14	25	Nicola Larini	Ligier Ford	78	+2 laps	0
15	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Dallara Ford	78	+2 laps	0
16	7	David Brabham	Brabham Judd	77	+3 laps	0
17	19	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton Ford	75	DNF	0
18	18	Yannick Dalmas	AGS Ford	75	+5 laps	0
19	2	Nigel Mansell	Ferrari	72	DNF	0
NC	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Ford	63	DNF	0
NC	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	Leyton House Judd	58	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	40	DNF	0
NC	4	Jean Alesi	Tyrrell Ford	23	DNF	0
NC	10	Alex Caffi	Arrows Ford	22	DNF	0
NC	5	Thierry Boutsen	Williams Renault	8	DNF	0
NC	21	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara Ford	7	DNF	0

2004

Bernie Ecclestone proposed that Grand Prix qualifying positions be decided by ballot to enhance unpredictability and excitement. After Michael Schumacher‘s dominant first half of the season for Ferrari, Ecclestone suggested this radical change. He explained, “If we want a different grid, then have a ballot. You would have the same eight points-scoring positions for qualifying as you have for the race. Then the ballot, which is the same for everybody, means the fastest guy may be lucky and be on pole, or he may be at the back of the grid. It’s something we may have to leave until next year.”

2007

Lewis Hamilton‘s hopes of winning his first home race at the 2007 British Grand Prix were dashed by a botched pit stop, dropping him to third behind Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. Hamilton led Raikkonen at the start but couldn’t maintain a sufficient gap on a lighter fuel load. During his second pit stop, he mistakenly lifted the clutch with the fuel hose still attached, costing him valuable time. Despite this, Hamilton left the race still leading the championship, but the error proved costly at the season’s end when he lost the title by a single point.

2007 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	59	1:21:43.074	10
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Mercedes	59	+2.459s	8
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	59	+39.373s	6
4	10	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	59	+53.319s	5
5	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	59	+54.063s	4
6	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	59	+56.336s	3
7	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	58	+1 lap	2
8	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	58	+1 lap	1
9	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	58	+1 lap	0
10	7	Jenson Button	Honda	58	+1 lap	0
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	58	+1 lap	0
12	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	58	+1 lap	0
13	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams Toyota	58	+1 lap	0
14	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	57	+2 laps	0
15	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker Ferrari	57	+2 laps	0
16	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR Ferrari	53	DNF	0
NC	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	43	DNF	0
NC	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri Honda	35	DNF	0
NC	19	Scott Speed	STR Ferrari	29	DNF	0
NC	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	22	DNF	0
NC	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker Ferrari	16	DNF	0
NC	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	8	DNF	0

2012

The 2012 British Grand Prix, held on July 8 at Silverstone Circuit, was the ninth round of the 2012 Formula One season. The race started with Fernando Alonso on pole for Ferrari, having secured the top spot with a time of 1:51.746 during a rain-affected qualifying session. Despite leading for a significant portion of the race, Alonso was overtaken by the Red Bull Racing of Mark Webber in the closing stages. Webber executed a decisive move on lap 48, using the DRS zone on the Wellington Straight to claim the lead and ultimately secure victory. This was Webber’s second win of the season and his second career victory at Silverstone. Alonso finished in second place, 3.0 seconds behind Webber, while Webber’s teammate, Sebastian Vettel completed the podium in third position.

On the first lap, Paul di Resta in a Force India suffered a puncture after contact with Romain Grosjean in a Lotus, leading to di Resta’s retirement on lap 2. Grosjean pitted for a new front wing and managed to recover to a sixth-place finish. The race also witnessed a collision between Pastor Maldonado in a Williams and the Sauber of Sergio Pérez on lap 12, resulting in Pérez’s retirement and a subsequent €10,000 fine for Maldonado. Kamui Kobayashi also received a €25,000 fine for a pit-lane incident that endangered his pit crew. In terms of championship standings, Webber’s victory brought him within 13 points of Alonso’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship, while Red Bull extended their advantage in the Constructors’ Championship.

• 

  2012 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

2012 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	52	1:25:11.288	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	52	+3.060	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	52	+4.836	15
4	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	52	+9.519	12
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	52	+10.314	10
6	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	52	+17.101	8
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	52	+29.153	6
8	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	52	+36.463	4
9	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	52	+43.347	2
10	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	52	+44.444	1
11	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	52	+45.370	0
12	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	52	+47.856	0
13	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	52	+51.241	0
14	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	52	+53.313	0
15	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	52	+57.394	0
16	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	51	+1 Lap	0
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	51	+1 Lap	0
18	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	51	+1 Lap	0
19	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	51	+1 Lap	0
20	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	50	+2 Laps	0
21	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	50	+2 Laps	0
Ret	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	11	Collision	0
Ret	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	2	Collision damage	0
DNS	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham		Engine	0

2018

The 2018 British Grand Prix, held on July 8 at Silverstone Circuit, was the tenth round of the Formula One World Championship that season. Sebastian Vettel, driving for Ferrari, won the race after starting from second on the grid, overtaking home favourite and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton at the start. Hamilton, driving for Mercedes, suffered a poor start and was hit by Kimi Räikkönen at Turn 3, which spun him to the back of the field. Despite the setback, Hamilton delivered a strong recovery drive to finish second, while Räikkönen, who received a 10-second time penalty for the collision, completed the podium in third place.

The race featured two safety car periods—first for Marcus Ericsson’s high-speed crash at Abbey, and later for a collision between Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz. Both restarts shuffled the field and added a complexity to the race on the pit walls, with tyre choices playing a crucial role in the outcome. Vettel’s win extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship over Hamilton, while Ferrari closed the gap to Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings.

• 

  2018 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

2018 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	1:27:29.784	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	+2.264s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	52	+3.652s	15
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	52	+8.883s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	52	+9.500s	10
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	52	+28.220s	8
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	52	+29.930s	6
8	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	52	+31.115s	4
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	52	+33.188s	2
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	52	+34.708s	1
11	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	52	+35.774s	0
12	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	52	+38.106s	0
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	52	+39.129s	0
14	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	52	+48.113s	0
15	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	46	Brakes	0
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	37	Collision	0
Ret	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	37	Collision	0
Ret	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	31	Accident	0
Ret	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	18	Wheel	0
Ret	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1	PU connector	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 8 July

Births	F1 Driver
8 July	None

F1 Driver Deaths 8 July

Deaths	F1 Driver
8 July 1993	John Riseley-Prichard (b. 1923)
8 July 1993	Alfred Dattner (b. 1902) Swiss racing driver. Entered a Simca-Gordini into the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix, which was part of the Formula One championship. However, he became ill before the race weekend and did not attend.
8 July 2013	Dick Reese (b. 1925) American driver who attempted to qualify for the 1956 Indianapolis 500, but was not able to do so. He continued to participate in historic events until his was 75 years old.
8 July 2022	Mauritz von Strachwitz (b. 1929) German racing driver. He entered the 1953 German Grand Prix in a privately entered Lancia and participated in one of the unofficial practice sessions for the event. However, he was not allowed to participate in the event because his driver’s license had been confiscated prior to the race weekend due to a traffic accident.