What Happened On This Day November 27 In F1 History?

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

1957

Kenny Acheson, born in Cookstown, Northern Ireland, entered ten Formula 1 races between 1983 and 1985. Despite an underpowered RAM March, he managed to qualify for three races, finishing 12th at the 1983 South African Grand Prix. Following a brief stint in CART, Acheson shifted to Japan, winning the Japanese Sportscar Championship in 1987. He returned to Europe in 1988, driving for Sauber–Mercedes in the Sportscar World Championship. With Mauro Baldi, he finished second at Le Mans and secured wins at Brands Hatch and Spa. Surprisingly, Sauber did not renew his contract, leading him to join Nissan with limited success. Acheson later drove for Jaguar and Toyota before returning to Japan to compete in GT racing. In 1996, a severe crash at the Daytona 24 Hours prompted him to retire from racing.

1975

The FIA unveiled a 17-race schedule for the 1976 season, setting a record for the most Grand Prix in a single year. Two new events were added: a second US Grand Prix early in the season and the first Japanese Grand Prix, which would close the season.

1977

Ken Tyrrell announced that rookie Didier Pironi would serve as the No. 2 driver at Tyrrell behind Patrick Depailler. While not groundbreaking, it was notable as Tyrrell’s first official designation of a No. 1 and No. 2 driver in a decade. Even during Jackie Stewart’s championship-winning years, the team had never publicly assigned him the role of No. 1 driver.

2011

The 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix, the final round of the 2011 season, saw Red Bull driver Mark Webber claim his only win of the season. Webber’s teammate, Sebastian Vettel, secured second place, marking Red Bull’s third 1–2 finish that year, while Jenson Button finished in third for McLaren, completing the podium.

This race held particular significance, marking the end of an era for several drivers. It was the 326th and final Grand Prix for Rubens Barrichello, an 11-time Grand Prix winner and, at that point, the most experienced driver in Formula One history. Jarno Trulli also made his final appearance, ending his career with 256 races. It was also the last race for less experienced dirvers Vitantonio Liuzzi, Sebastien Buemi, and Jaime Alguersuari, as well as Renault’s final Formula One race appearance until their return at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix.

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	71	01:32:17	25
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	71	+16.983s	18
3	4	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	71	+27.638s	15
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	71	+35.048s	12
5	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	71	+66.733s	10
6	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	70	+1 lap	8
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	70	+1 lap	6
8	15	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	70	+1 lap	4
9	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	70	+1 lap	2
10	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	70	+1 lap	1
11	19	Jaime Alguersuari	STR Ferrari	70	+1 lap	0
12	18	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	70	+1 lap	0
13	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber Ferrari	70	+1 lap	0
14	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth	70	+1 lap	0
15	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	70	+1 lap	0
16	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Renault	69	+2 laps	0
17	9	Bruno Senna	Renault	69	+2 laps	0
18	21	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Renault	69	+2 laps	0
19	25	Jerome d’Ambrosio	Virgin Cosworth	68	+3 laps	0
20	22	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT Cosworth	68	+3 laps	0
NC	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT Cosworth	61	DNF	0
NC	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	46	DNF	0
NC	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Cosworth	26	DNF	0
NC	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	21	DNF	0

2016

The 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the season finale, was decisive in determining the 2016 Drivers’ Championship. Nico Rosberg, who had won the race the previous year, entered with a twelve-point lead over his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. To secure his first and only World Drivers’ Championship title, Rosberg needed to finish on the podium, while Hamilton needed to win and hope for Rosberg to place lower.

Hamilton started from pole position and led the race from the start, with Rosberg cautiously following. On lap 41 Lewis Hamilton began deliberately slowing his pace to allow the chasing pack to catch up, aiming to create pressure on his teammate, Nico Rosberg, who was close behind. Despite repeated instructions from Mercedes’ pit wall to increase his pace, Hamilton continued to control the race, taking advantage of the track layout that made overtaking difficult. By lap 50, Hamilton’s tactic allowed Sebastian Vettel to attack him on the last lap and for Max Verstappen to close within a second of Rosberg. Red Bull Racing even encouraged Verstappen to keep up with Vettel, hoping to capitalise on any mistakes. If Rosberg had been overtaken by both Vettel and Verstappen, Hamilton would have clinched the World Championship, denying Rosberg his first title. While Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff did not condone Hamilton’s actions, he acknowledged the competitive mentality behind them, with some supporting Hamilton under the “drivers are free to race” principle.

Hamilton ultimately claimed victory, but Rosberg’s second-place finish secured him the championship. Sebastian Vettel completed the podium in third for Ferrari.

This race became particularly memorable, as it marked the end of several Formula One careers. Just a week after securing his title, Rosberg announced his retirement, making Abu Dhabi his final Grand Prix. It was also the last race for the Manor team, which ended operations before the 2017 season, reducing the grid to 20 drivers.

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  2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Lewis vs Rosberg

2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	55	1:38:04.013	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	55	+0.439s	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	55	+0.843s	15
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	55	+1.685s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	55	+5.315s	10
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	55	+18.816s	8
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	55	+50.114s	6
8	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	55	+58.776s	4
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	55	+59.436s	2
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	55	+59.896s	1
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	55	+76.777s	0
12	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas Ferrari	55	+95.113s	0
13	31	Esteban Ocon	MRT Mercedes	54	+1 lap	0
14	94	Pascal Wehrlein	MRT Mercedes	54	+1 lap	0
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
17	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	54	+1 lap	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso Ferrari	41	DNF	0
NC	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso Ferrari	14	DNF	0
NC	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	12	DNF	0
NC	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	6	DNF	0
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	5	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 27 November

Birthday	F1 Driver
27 November 1957	Kenny Acheson

F1 Driver Deaths 27 November

Death	F1 Driver
27 November 1995	Giancarlo Baghetti

F1 Champion 27 November

Date	Team/Driver
27 November 2016	Nico Rosberg