What Happened On This Day June 17 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, June 17 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1951

Nino Farina claimed victory at the 1951 Belgian Grand Prix, driving a supercharged Alfa Romeo.

Despite only 13 cars starting the race, across three different manufacturers, the event drew a record crowd. Three additional entries, including two Maseratis, failed to make it to the event. Juan Manuel Fangio debuted a new suspension system equipped with specially designed concave wheels to accommodate the brake drums. The race would mark the only occasion in Fangio’s illustrious Formula 1 career, excluding retirements, where he finished outside the top four. Nevertheless, he earned a point for recording the fastest lap of the race. Although he placed ninth and only the top five finishers scored points, this result allowed him to maintain his record of scoring in every race he completed.

The Ferraris of Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi finished second and third, respectively.

Full Race Report

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  1951 Belgian Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

1951 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	4	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	36	2:45:46.200	8
2	8	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	36	+171.000s	6
3	10	Luigi  Villoresi	Ferrari	36	+261.900s	4
4	14	Louis  Rosier	Talbot-Lago	34	+2 laps	3
5	22	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago	34	+2 laps	2
6	24	Andre Pilette	Talbot-Lago	33	+3 laps	0
7	16	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago	33	+3 laps	0
8	26	Pierre  Levegh	Talbot-Lago	32	+4 laps	0
9	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	32	+4 laps	1
NC	18	Louis Chiron	Talbot-Lago	28	DNF	0
NC	6	Consalvo  Sanesi	Alfa Romeo	11	DNF	0
NC	12	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	8	DNF	0
NC	20	Philippe  Etancelin	Talbot-Lago	0	DNF	0

1955

Bob Sweikert won the Indianapolis 500, the National Championship, and the Midwest Sprint car championship all in one season (1954), a unique triple crown in motorsport history.

Bob Sweikert

F1 Debut 1950 Indianapolis 500

Current/Last Team Privateer

Tragically, he died on this day, June 17, 1955, in a racing accident a year after this feat, a sombre end to a remarkable career.

1960

Adrian Campos, who would later identify and support young talent like Fernando Alonso, was born in Valencia on 17 June 1960.

Adrian Campos

F1 Debut 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix

Current/Last Team Minardi

Known for his time with Minardi, as a driver, he later became one of the most influential figures in Spanish single-seater racing through team ownership and driver management with Campos Racing. He returned to F1 when he managed the HRT F1 Team.

Sadly, Campos died on 27 January 2021 at the age of 60 following an aortic dissection.

His home circuit, Circuit Ricardo Tormo, honoured him by naming its final corner after him—a fitting tribute to a man who spent his life helping Spanish motorsport turn toward the future.

1962

Jim Clark led a Lotus to victory at the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix, marking the beginning of a four-win streak at this event. His teammate, Trevor Taylor, and Willy Mairesse of Ferrari collided during the race, resulting in significant accidents, though both drivers emerged with minor injuries.

Graham Hill secured second place with BRM, and Phil Hill third in the other Ferrari.

Ricardo Rodriguez became the youngest F1 driver at the time to score championship points (20 years, 123 days), claiming fourth place for Ferrari. A record which stood for 38 years before Jenson Button, aged 20 years, 67 days, broke it at the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix with the Williams team.

1962 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	32	2:07:32.300	9
2	1	Graham Hill	BRM	32	+44.100s	6
3	9	Phil Hill	Ferrari	32	+126.500s	4
4	12	Ricardo  Rodriguez	Ferrari	32	+126.600s	3
5	5	John Surtees	Lola Climax	31	+1 lap	2
6	15	Jack Brabham	Lotus Climax	30	+2 laps	1
7	7	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	30	+2 laps	0
8	18	Maurice  Trintignant	Lotus Climax	30	+2 laps	0
9	19	Lucien Bianchi	Lotus Climax	29	+3 laps	0
10	22	Jo Siffert	Lotus Climax	29	+3 laps	0
NC	17	Trevor  Taylor	Lotus Climax	25	DNF	0
NC	10	Willy Mairesse	Ferrari	25	DNF	0
NC	2	Richie Ginther	BRM	22	DNF	0
NC	26	Tony Maggs	Cooper Climax	22	DNF	0
NC	25	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	19	DNF	0
11	4	John  Campbell-Jones	Lotus Climax	16	+16 laps	0
NC	21	Masten Gregory	Lotus BRM	13	DNF	0
NC	20	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	9	DNF	0
NC	11	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	4	DNF	0

1973

Denny Hulme ended the consecutive victories of Jackie Stewart and Emerson Fittipaldi by winning the 1973 Swedish Grand Prix, though his victory was unpopular with the local spectators after he overtook Swedish favourite Ronnie Peterson, who was hindered by a slow puncture on the last lap. Peterson finished second despite the mishap with Tyrrell driver Francois Cevert coming home in third.

The race came about due to the success Peterson was having with Team Lotus, with the race held for the first time at World Championship level at the grandly-named Scandinavian Raceway.

1973 Swedish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	80	1:56:46.049	9
2	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	80	+4.030s	6
3	6	Francois Cevert	Tyrrell Ford	80	+14.670s	4
4	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	80	+18.070s	3
5	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell Ford	80	+26.000s	2
6	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	1
7	8	Peter Revson	McLaren Ford	79	+1 lap	0
8	15	Mike Beuttler	March Ford	77	+3 laps	0
9	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	77	+3 laps	0
10	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees Ford	77	+3 laps	0
11	25	Howden  Ganley	Iso Marlboro Ford	76	+4 laps	0
12	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus Ford	76	DNF	0
13	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	75	+5 laps	0
NC	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	57	DNF	0
NC	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow Ford	50	DNF	0
NC	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees Ford	41	DNF	0
NC	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March Ford	36	DNF	0
NC	12	Graham Hill	Shadow Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham Ford	0	DNF	0

1978

Niki Lauda’s victory in a Brabham at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix was overshadowed by controversy due to oversized cooling fans, which rivals claimed provided an unfair advantage by improving cornering and kicking up debris. The fan car was clever thinking by Brabham’s Gordon Murray, who was trying to eclipse Colin Chapman‘s ground-effect invention on the Lotus 79.

Lotus boss Colin Chapman argued they were “ten times the size needed”. The fans were withdrawn by Brabham’s owner, Bernie Ecclestone, despite them being deemed legal, to avoid a conflict with other teams, whose support he needed. 1978 was the year that Ecclestone became Chief Executive of the Formula One Constructors’ Association. Lauda’s win was still upheld.

Riccardo Patrese finished second in an Arrows, with Ronnie Peterson third in a Lotus.

1978 Swedish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham Alfa Romeo	70	1:41:00.606	9
2	35	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	70	+34.019s	6
3	6	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	70	+34.105s	4
4	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren Ford	69	+1 lap	3
5	17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow Ford	69	+1 lap	2
6	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	69	+1 lap	1
7	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	69	+1 lap	0
8	7	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	69	+1 lap	0
9	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
10	11	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
11	16	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow Ford	68	+2 laps	0
12	25	Hector Rebaque	Lotus Ford	68	+2 laps	0
13	9	Jochen Mass	ATS Ford	68	+2 laps	0
14	36	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows Ford	67	+3 laps	0
15	10	Keke Rosberg	ATS Ford	63	+7 laps	0
NC	37	Arturo Merzario	Merzario Ford	62	+8 laps	0
NC	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	46	DNF	0
NC	27	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	46	DNF	0
NC	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	42	DNF	0
NC	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	28	DNF	0
NC	2	John Watson	Brabham Alfa Romeo	19	DNF	0
NC	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees Ford	7	DNF	0

1984

Nelson Piquet, driving for Brabham, earned his first points of the season with a victory at the 1984 Canadian Grand Prix. After an intense race, Piquet, suffering from a burnt foot due to a new nose-mounted oil cooler, needed assistance to reach the podium. Although Alain Prost briefly led, Piquet quickly regained and maintained the lead. He finished 2.6 seconds ahead of Austrian Niki Lauda in the McLaren, with Prost finishing third.

At the next race in Detroit, Piquet received a special tray of ice to ease the blisters on his foot.

1984 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	70	1:46:23.748	9
2	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	70	+2.612s	6
3	7	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	70	+88.032s	4
4	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	69	+1 lap	3
5	28	Rene Arnoux	Ferrari	68	+2 laps	2
6	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Renault	68	+2 laps	1
7	19	Ayrton Senna	Toleman Hart	68	+2 laps	0
8	14	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS BMW	68	+2 laps	0
9	20	Johnny Cecotto	Toleman Hart	68	+2 laps	0
10	9	Philippe Alliot	RAM Hart	65	+5 laps	0
11	23	Eddie  Cheever	Alfa Romeo	63	DNF	0
NC	17	Marc Surer	Arrows Ford	59	DNF	0
NC	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	57	DNF	0
NC	21	Huub Rothengatter	Spirit Hart	56	+14 laps	0
NC	26	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	40	DNF	0
NC	2	Corrado Fabi	Brabham BMW	39	DNF	0
NC	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	38	DNF	0
NC	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	37	DNF	0
NC	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	32	DNF	0
NC	5	Jacques Laffite	Williams Honda	31	DNF	0
NC	10	Mike Thackwell	RAM Hart	29	DNF	0
NC	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	11	DNF	0
NC	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	10	DNF	0
NC	25	Francois Hesnault	Ligier Renault	7	DNF	0

2007

Lewis Hamilton won the 2007 United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis ahead of his McLaren teammate, Fernando Alonso, who, as the season progressed, had become increasingly unsettled by Hamilton’s success. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa completed the podium by finishing third.

The two drivers battled it out in the race, with Hamilton matching Alonso’s fastest lap shortly after it was set. Alonso expressed his surprise at Hamilton’s rapid ascent to the top of the championship standings, despite previously voicing concerns over perceived preferential treatment towards Hamilton by McLaren. “It’s a surprise to see him doing so well and top of the championship.”

Post-race, a journalist likened Hamilton to Tiger Woods, to which Hamilton humbly responded by distinguishing his own identity and sport from that of Woods. “It’s obviously nice to be compared to somebody like Tiger Woods but you just have to remember I’m not Tiger Woods. I’m Lewis Hamilton and this is Formula One, it is not golf.”

This was also the debut race of the future four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel with the BMW Sauber F1 Team. It was also the last visit to Indianapolis after an eight-season run. The event was removed from the 2008 calendar a few months later, and F1 didn’t return to the USA until November 2012 at the Circuit of the Americas.

2007 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	73	1:31:09.965	10
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Mercedes	73	+1.518s	8
3	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	73	+12.842s	6
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	73	+15.422s	5
5	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	73	+41.402s	4
6	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	73	+66.703s	3
7	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	73	+67.331s	2
8	10	Sebastian Vettel	Sauber BMW	73	+67.783s	1
9	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	72	+1 lap	0
10	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams Toyota	72	+1 lap	0
11	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri Honda	72	+1 lap	0
12	7	Jenson Button	Honda	72	+1 lap	0
13	19	Scott Speed	STR Ferrari	71	+2 laps	0
14	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker Ferrari	71	+2 laps	0
15	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker Ferrari	70	+3 laps	0
16	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	68	DNF	0
17	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR Ferrari	68	DNF	0
NC	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	55	DNF	0
NC	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	13	DNF	0
NC	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	0	DNF	0
NC	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	0	DNF	0
NC	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 17 June

Birthday	F1 Driver
17 June 1912	Myron Fohr (d. 1994)
17 June 1960	Adrian Campos (d. 2021)

F1 Driver Deaths 17 June

Death	F1 Driver
17 June 1956	Bob Sweikert (b. 1926)
17 June 2014	Paul England (b. 1929) F2 Driver to Increase F1 Grid.