What happened on this day, March 7 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1970
Jack Brabham, nearing his 44th birthday, won the 1970 South African Grand Prix driving for his own team, Brabham.
The spotlight, however, was on Graham Hill, who returned five months after a severe crash at the 1969 United States Grand Prix and finished sixth. Despite enduring pain, Hill was determined to continue competing throughout the season. After the race, he couldn’t escape the car alone and had to be lifted out.
Denny Hulme came home in second for McLaren, with the March of Jackie Stewart completing the podium in third. At age 43, Brabham was the last driver to win a Formula One race over 40 until Nigel Mansell at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix.
1970 South African Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Jack Brabham | Brabham Ford | 80 | 1:49:34.600 | 9 |
| 2 | 6 | Denny Hulme | McLaren Ford | 80 | +8.100s | 6 |
| 3 | 1 | Jackie Stewart | March Ford | 80 | +17.100s | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | Matra | 80 | +73.100s | 3 |
| 5 | 10 | John Miles | Lotus Ford | 79 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 11 | Graham Hill | Lotus Ford | 79 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 4 | Henri Pescarolo | Matra | 78 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 8 | 23 | John Love | Lotus Ford | 78 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 9 | 20 | Pedro Rodriguez | BRM | 76 | +4 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 16 | Jo Siffert | March Ford | 75 | +5 laps | 0 |
| 11 | 24 | Peter de Klerk | Brabham Ford | 75 | +5 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 25 | Dave Charlton | Lotus Ford | 73 | DNF | 0 |
| 13 | 9 | Jochen Rindt | Lotus Ford | 72 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | John Surtees | McLaren Ford | 60 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 60 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | George Eaton | BRM | 58 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Johnny Servoz-Gavin | March Ford | 57 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Piers Courage | De Tomaso Ford | 39 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 5 | Bruce McLaren | McLaren Ford | 39 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Mario Andretti | March Ford | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Rolf Stommelen | Brabham Ford | 23 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Jackie Oliver | BRM | 22 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Chris Amon | March Ford | 14 | DNF | 0 |
1999
Eddie Irvine triumphed at the 1999 Australian Grand Prix, securing his first win for Ferrari. Starting ahead of his teammate Michael Schumacher, who began at the back of the grid, Irvine capitalised when both leading McLarens retired, opening his path to victory.
“Eddie drove a fantastic race. He was going really fast and he just kept going, so my tactic was simply to have my own race.” acknowledged Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who finished just behind Irvine.
Meanwhile, Damon Hill‘s milestone 100th Grand Prix ended prematurely on the first lap due to a collision.
1999 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 57 | 1:35:01.659 | 10 |
| 2 | 8 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Jordan Mugen Honda | 57 | +1.026s | 6 |
| 3 | 6 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams Supertec | 57 | +7.012s | 4 |
| 4 | 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Benetton Playlife | 57 | +33.418s | 3 |
| 5 | 16 | Rubens Barrichello | Stewart Ford | 57 | +54.697s | 2 |
| 6 | 14 | Pedro de la Rosa | Arrows | 57 | +84.316s | 1 |
| 7 | 15 | Toranosuke Takagi | Arrows | 57 | +86.288s | 0 |
| 8 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Ricardo Zonta | BAR Supertec | 48 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Luca Badoer | Minardi Ford | 42 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton Playlife | 28 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Pedro Diniz | Sauber Petronas | 27 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Marc Gene | Minardi Ford | 25 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Jarno Trulli | Prost Peugeot | 25 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Olivier Panis | Prost Peugeot | 23 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 1 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren Mercedes | 21 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 5 | Alex Zanardi | Williams Supertec | 20 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 13 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR Supertec | 13 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Damon Hill | Jordan Mugen Honda | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 11 | Jean Alesi | Sauber Petronas | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2004
Michael Schumacher began the 2004 Formula 1 season with a decisive victory in Melbourne for the 2004 Australian Grand Prix, signalling the start of another dominant year for Schumacher and Ferrari.
Despite hopes from other teams during pre-season testing, Schumacher’s substantial lead in the race set the tone for his season, in which he clinched his seventh championship after dominating most races. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished in second place over 13 seconds down the road, while future double-world champion Fernando Alonso finished third for Renault, a staggering 34 seconds behind Schumacher.
Outside the podium places, Ralf Schumacher, in fourth, finished over a minute behind his older brother.
2004 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 58 | 1:24:15.757 | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 58 | +13.605s | 8 |
| 3 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 58 | +34.673s | 6 |
| 4 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams BMW | 58 | +60.423s | 5 |
| 5 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams BMW | 58 | +68.536s | 4 |
| 6 | 9 | Jenson Button | BAR Honda | 58 | +70.598s | 3 |
| 7 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 57 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 8 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 9 | 10 | Takuma Sato | BAR Honda | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Sauber Petronas | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 15 | Christian Klien | Jaguar Cosworth | 56 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 16 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 56 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 17 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 56 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 14 | 19 | Giorgio Pantano | Jordan Ford | 55 | +3 laps | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Felipe Massa | Sauber Petronas | 44 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Nick Heidfeld | Jordan Ford | 43 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Gianmaria Bruni | Minardi Cosworth | 43 | +15 laps | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar Cosworth | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Zsolt Baumgartner | Minardi Cosworth | 13 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren Mercedes | 9 | DNF | 0 |
2026
In a new dawn for F1 history in a historic regulation shake-up, George Russell produced a dominant performance to secure pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, setting a stunning 1:18.518 lap to lead a Mercedes front-row lockout alongside team mate Kimi Antonelli. The Silver Arrows looked competitive throughout the session, with Russell consistently topping the timing screens before delivering his decisive lap in Q3. Behind them, Isack Hadjar impressed on his Red Bull debut to qualify third, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri completed the top five.
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The biggest shock of the session came in Q1 when Max Verstappen crashed after losing the rear of his Red Bull on a flying lap, leaving the four-time champion at the back of the grid. Reigning champion Lando Norris could only manage sixth ahead of Lewis Hamilton, while Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad both reached Q3. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto also made the final shootout but could not run after a technical issue, leaving him classified tenth ahead of Sunday’s opening race.
Full Qualifying Report
Qualifying Classification
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:19.507 | 1:18.934 | 1:18.518 | 22 |
| 2 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:20.120 | 1:19.435 | 1:18.811 | 18 |
| 3 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | 1:20.023 | 1:19.653 | 1:19.303 | 19 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:20.226 | 1:19.357 | 1:19.327 | 24 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:19.664 | 1:19.525 | 1:19.380 | 26 |
| 6 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:20.010 | 1:19.882 | 1:19.475 | 26 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:19.811 | 1:19.921 | 1:19.478 | 25 |
| 8 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:20.491 | 1:20.144 | 1:19.994 | 24 |
| 9 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:20.409 | 1:19.971 | 1:21.247 | 25 |
| 10 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:20.495 | 1:20.221 | 14 | |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:21.024 | 1:20.303 | 18 | |
| 12 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 1:21.247 | 1:20.311 | 18 | |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 1:20.759 | 1:20.491 | 18 | |
| 14 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:21.138 | 1:20.501 | 18 | |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:21.051 | 1:20.941 | 19 | |
| 16 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:21.200 | 1:21.270 | 18 | |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:21.969 | 10 | ||
| 18 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1:22.605 | 7 | ||
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:23.244 | 8 |
F1 Driver Birthdays 7 March
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 7 March 1969 | Hideki Noda |
F1 Driver Deaths 7 March
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 7 March 1978 | Rudolf Schoeller (b. 1902) |
| 7 March 1993 | Duane Carter (b. 1913) |
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