What Happened On This Day March 27 In F1 History?

From the birth of ex-F1 winner David Coulthard in 1971 to Max Verstappen winning the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with Red Bull Racing.

Lee Parker

By Lee Parker
Updated on January 27, 2025

David Coulthard Red Bull
13-time race winner David Coulthard was born on 27 March 1971

What happened on this day, March 27 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1965

Swiss driver Gregor Foitek was born on this day in Zurich. He competed in F1 from 1989 to 1990, and while he entered 22 races, he failed to qualify for 15 of them with EuroBrun, Rial, Brabham, Onyx. He scored no championship points. He is probably best remembered for winning the 1986 Swiss Formula 3 Championship and progressed to Formula 3000 where, during the 1988 race at Brands Hatch, he was widely criticised for creating a crash that stopped the race. The subsequent restart resulted in another severe accident on the first lap, where Johnny Herbert suffered significant leg injuries.

1971

David Coulthard, a retired 13-time F1 race-winner was born on this day in 1971. He remains a familiar face around the paddock and on television even after his retirement in 2008. He began his racing career in karting at 11, progressing through local championships before moving into Formula Ford in 1989, where he won the inaugural McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year award.

Coulthard’s big break came in 1993 when he was asked to be a test driver for the world champion F1 team Williams. After the tragic death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, Coulthard was paired with future world champion Damon Hill to complete the team’s F1 season. Despite occasional replacement by Nigel Mansell and rumours of a move to McLaren for the 1995 season, Coulthard was handed the seat full-time in 1995, finishing third in the championship that season.

He went on to have major success with McLaren and later Red Bull Racing. Coulthard’s time with Red Bull included notable moments such as finishing fourth twice in his first season, achieving a third-place finish in Monaco in 2006, which saw him don a Superman cape on the podium, and finishing on the podium again in Canada in 2008.

1983

John Watson took a stunning victory at the 1983 United States Grand Prix West at Long Beach, his fifth and final F1 win, starting 22nd on the grid and surging to first place, setting a record for the furthest starting position to win a race. His teammate, Niki Lauda, began in 23rd and finished second, even while battling leg cramps near the race’s end. The McLaren team faced challenges in qualifying, struggling with tyre and chassis settings. Watson, recalling a previous victory in Detroit where he started 17th, opted for the same tyre compound at the last minute. He remarked, After a dismal practice Michelin were as perplexed as we were,” Watson said. “So I decided to take a gamble and try the tyre compound … and it worked.” Frenchman Rene Arnoux third in a Ferrari.

This was the final running of the Long Beach race as an F1 event before the organisers switched to the CART IndyCar series.

1983 United States Grand Prix West Race Results
PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
17John WatsonMcLaren Ford751:53:34.8899
28Niki LaudaMcLaren Ford75+27.993s6
328Rene ArnouxFerrari75+73.638s4
42Jacques LaffiteWilliams Ford74+1 lap3
529Marc SurerArrows Ford74+1 lap2
634Johnny CecottoTheodore Ford74+1 lap1
726Raul BoeselLigier Ford73+2 laps0
84Danny SullivanTyrrell Ford73+2 laps0
93Michele AlboretoTyrrell Ford73+2 laps0
106Riccardo PatreseBrabham BMW72DNF0
1115Alain ProstRenault72+3 laps0
1212Nigel MansellLotus Ford72+3 laps0
NC16Eddie  CheeverRenault67DNF0
NC30Alan  JonesArrows Ford58DNF0
NC5Nelson PiquetBrabham BMW51DNF0
NC22Andrea de CesarisAlfa Romeo48DNF0
NC11Elio de AngelisLotus Renault29DNF0
NC33Roberto GuerreroTheodore Ford27DNF0
NC25Jean-Pierre JarierLigier Ford26DNF0
NC36Bruno GiacomelliToleman Hart26DNF0
NC23Mauro BaldiAlfa Romeo26DNF0
NC27Patrick TambayFerrari25DNF0
NC1Keke RosbergWilliams Ford25DNF0
NC17Eliseo SalazarRAM Ford25DNF0
NC35Derek WarwickToleman Hart11DNF0
NC9Manfred WinkelhockATS BMW3DNF0

1994

It was an easy win for Benetton driver Michael Schumacher in the opening race of the season, but no happy ending for local hero Ayrton Senna, who span off in his Williams 15 laps from the end as he chased down his rival. Schumacher finished a lap ahead of Senna’s teammate, Damon Hill but had to survive a technical appeal which lasted well into the night. Not so lucky was Eddie Irvine, who was suspended from the next race after being blamed for a spectacular and potentially serious four-car pile-up. Frenchman Jean Alesi third in a Ferrari.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Olivier Panis, Jos Verstappen, Olivier Beretta and Roland Ratzenberger all made their F1 debuts. There were also two new teams: Simtek and Pacific Racing.

1994 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results
PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
15Michael SchumacherBenetton Ford711:35:38.75910
20Damon HillWilliams Renault70+1 lap6
327Jean AlesiFerrari70+1 lap4
414Rubens BarrichelloJordan Hart70+1 lap3
53Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell Yamaha69+2 laps2
629Karl WendlingerSauber Mercedes69+2 laps1
712Johnny HerbertLotus Mugen Honda69+2 laps0
823Pierluigi MartiniMinardi Ford69+2 laps0
920Erik ComasLarrousse Ford68+3 laps0
1011Pedro LamyLotus Mugen Honda68+3 laps0
1126Olivier PanisLigier Renault68+3 laps0
1231David BrabhamSimtek Ford67+4 laps0
132Ayrton SennaWilliams Renault55DNF0
NC8Martin BrundleMcLaren Peugeot34DNF0
NC15Eddie IrvineJordan Hart34DNF0
NC6Jos VerstappenBenetton Ford34DNF0
NC25Eric BernardLigier Renault33DNF0
NC4Mark BlundellTyrrell Yamaha21DNF0
NC9Christian FittipaldiFootwork Ford21DNF0
NC30Heinz-Harald FrentzenSauber Mercedes15DNF0
NC7Mika HakkinenMcLaren Peugeot13DNF0
NC24Michele AlboretoMinardi Ford7DNF0
NC10Gianni MorbidelliFootwork Ford5DNF0
NC28Gerhard BergerFerrari5DNF0
NC19Olivier BerettaLarrousse Ford2DNF0
NC34Bertrand GachotPacific Ilmor1DNF0

2011

At the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, racing for Red Bull, secured the win from pole. Lewis Hamilton claimed second place driving for McLaren, while Renault’s Vitaly Petrov took third, achieving both his first and only career podium and the first for a Russian national. The race saw Pirelli’s return as the only tyre supplier for Formula One, taking over from Bridgestone, which had filled the role from 1997 to 2010. This was Pirelli’s first time back in Formula One since 1991.

2011 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
11Sebastian VettelRed Bull Racing Renault581:29:30.25925
23Lewis HamiltonMcLaren Mercedes58+22.297s18
310Vitaly PetrovRenault58+30.560s15
45Fernando AlonsoFerrari58+31.772s12
52Mark WebberRed Bull Racing Renault58+38.171s10
64Jenson ButtonMcLaren Mercedes58+54.304s8
DQ17Sergio PerezSauber Ferrari58+65.845s0
DQ16Kamui KobayashiSauber Ferrari58+76.872s0
76Felipe MassaFerrari58+85.186s6
818Sebastien BuemiSTR Ferrari57+1 lap4
914Adrian SutilForce India Mercedes57+1 lap2
1015Paul di RestaForce India Mercedes57+1 lap1
1119Jaime AlguersuariSTR Ferrari57+1 lap0
129Nick HeidfeldRenault57+1 lap0
1321Jarno TrulliLotus Renault56+2 laps0
1425Jerome d’AmbrosioVirgin Cosworth54+4 laps0
NC24Timo GlockVirgin Cosworth49+9 laps0
NC11Rubens BarrichelloWilliams Cosworth48DNF0
NC8Nico RosbergMercedes22DNF0
NC20Heikki KovalainenLotus Renault19DNF0
NC7Michael SchumacherMercedes19DNF0
NC12Pastor MaldonadoWilliams Cosworth9DNF0

2022

At the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen emerged victorious, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who not only came in second but also earned the fastest lap, gaining an additional point. Leclerc’s teammate at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, secured third place while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who started from pole position, ended the race in fourth.

2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Race Results
PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
11Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing RBPT501:24:19.29325
216Charles LeclercFerrari50+0.549s19
355Carlos SainzFerrari50+8.097s15
411Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing RBPT50+10.800s12
563George RussellMercedes50+32.732s10
631Esteban OconAlpine Renault50+56.017s8
74Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes50+56.124s6
810Pierre GaslyAlphaTauri RBPT50+62.946s4
920Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari50+64.308s2
1044Lewis HamiltonMercedes50+73.948s1
1124Zhou GuanyuAlfa Romeo Ferrari50+82.215s0
1227Nico HulkenbergAston Martin Aramco Mercedes50+91.742s0
1318Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes49+1 lap0
1423Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes47DNF0
NC77Valtteri BottasAlfa Romeo Ferrari36DNF0
NC14Fernando AlonsoAlpine Renault35DNF0
NC3Daniel RicciardoMcLaren Mercedes35DNF0
NC6Nicholas LatifiWilliams Mercedes14DNF0
NC22Yuki TsunodaAlphaTauri RBPT0DNS0
Note – Leclerc scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Schumacher withdrew prior to the start of the Grand Prix following a qualifying crash. Tsunoda failed to take the start after technical issues en route to the grid.

F1 Driver Birthdays 27 March

BirthdayF1 Driver
27 March 1945Nestor Garcia-Veiga
27 March 1965Gregor Foitek
27 March 1971David Coulthard

F1 Driver Deaths 27 March

DeathF1 Driver
27 MarchNone
DeathF1 Mentions
27 March 2008Jean-Marie Balestre (b. 1921)
President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) between 1985–1993.

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About The Author

Staff Writer

Lee Parker
Lee Parker

Lee is our staff writer specialising in anything technical within Formula 1 from aerodynamics to engines. Lee writes most of our F1 guides for beginners and experienced fans as well as our F1 on this day posts having followed the sport since 1991, researching and understanding how teams build the ultimate machines. Like everyone else on the team he listens to podcasts about F1 and enjoys reading biographies of former drivers.

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