What Happened On This Day October 2 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 2 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1921

Mike Nazaruk, a former US marine, was born on this day in Newark, New Jersey. He drove in three Indianapolis 500s when the race was part of the F1 World Championship, making the podium with a second-place finish in 1951. He was tragically killed while racing in 1955.

1925

Born on this day in West Virginia, Paul Goldsmith drove in three championship-ranking Indianapolis 500s, finishing fifth in 1959 and third in 1960. He preferred driving stock cars by his own admission but loved racing anything, including airplanes, motorbikes, and even horses.

1940

Bologna-born Nanni Galli was primarily a saloon and sports car racer who made a four-year foray into the world of F1 with various teams. In 20 races, his best result was ninth, with his biggest moment coming – and going – in a Ferrari at the 1972 French Grand Prix, where he finished 13th.

1948

The 1948 British Grand Prix held at Silverstone is widely regarded as the first of the modern era, conducted under the new Formula One regulations. It also marked the official opening of the circuit. A strange collection of new cars and privateers in pre-war vehicles competed, and predictably many of the private entries soon fell by the wayside. The two Maseratis, which had to start at the back of the 25-car field after missing qualifying, completed a 1-2 finish, with Luigi Villoresi winning by 14 seconds from Alberto Ascari.

1966

Jim Clark won the 1966 United States Grand Prix in a Lotus with an engine borrowed from BRM rival Graham Hill after his had blown up during practice. Mechanics stayed up all night rebuilding Clark’s car, but the BRMs of Hill and Jackie Stewart both expired before the halfway mark. Clark dominated the race, lapping the entire field to secure his 20th World Championship victory by over a lap. The remaining podium spots were taken by the Cooper teammates, with Austrian driver Jochen Rindt finishing second and British driver John Surtees coming in third.

Although none of the Brabham cars finished, the engine failure of Lorenzo Bandini’s Ferrari ensured that the Anglo-Australian team secured the 1966 Constructors’ Championship with only the 1966 Mexican Grand Prix remaining. This achievement gave Jack Brabham a unique double, winning both the 1966 World Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in a car of his own make. Remarkably, this race marked the only victory ever achieved by a 16-cylinder engine in a Formula One World Championship event.

On the same day, two future British F1 drivers, Chris Irwin and Piers Courage, scored a 1-2 finish at the British Formula Three Championship race at Brands Hatch.

1966 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus BRM	108	2:09:40.100	9
2	8	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Maserati	107	+1 lap	6
3	7	John Surtees	Cooper Maserati	107	+1 lap	4
4	19	Jo Siffert	Cooper Maserati	105	+3 laps	3
5	17	Bruce McLaren	McLaren Ford	105	+3 laps	2
6	2	Peter  Arundell	Lotus Climax	101	+7 laps	1
NC	10	Innes Ireland	BRM	96	DNF	0
NC	12	Richie Ginther	Honda	81	+27 laps	0
NC	18	Mike Spence	Lotus BRM	74	DNF	0
NC	14	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	58	DNF	0
NC	22	Jo Bonnier	Cooper Maserati	57	+51 laps	0
NC	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham Repco	55	DNF	0
NC	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	53	DNF	0
NC	3	Graham Hill	BRM	52	DNF	0
NC	9	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	34	DNF	0
NC	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham Repco	18	DNF	0
NC	15	Dan Gurney	Eagle Weslake	13	DNF	0
NC	11	Pedro Rodriguez	Lotus BRM	13	DNF	0
DQ	16	Bob Bondurant	Eagle Weslake	5	DSQ	0

1977

Fourth place at the 1977 USA East Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was enough to secure Ferrari driver Niki Lauda his second World Championship in three years. McLaren driver James Hunt, who had won the championship in the year between Lauda’s titles, won the wet race from Lotus driver Mario Andretti. Hunt built a 15-second lead until an oil leak two laps from the end allowed Andretti to cut the gap to three seconds by the finish. Lauda, meanwhile, stayed off the pace to secure the one point he needed for the title. His triumph was slightly overshadowed by Ferrari infighting, as Enzo Ferrari fired Lauda’s mechanic the day before, leaving him absent during the celebrations.

1977 USA East Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	59	1:58:23.267	9
2	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	59	+2.026s	6
3	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf Ford	59	+78.879s	4
4	11	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	59	+100.615s	3
5	22	Clay Regazzoni	Ensign Ford	59	+108.138s	2
6	12	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	58	+1 lap	1
7	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	58	+1 lap	0
8	24	Rupert Keegan	Hesketh Ford	58	+1 lap	0
9	16	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow Ford	58	+1 lap	0
10	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren Ford	57	+2 laps	0
11	18	Hans Binder	Surtees Ford	57	+2 laps	0
12	7	John Watson	Brabham Alfa Romeo	57	+2 laps	0
13	28	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	57	+2 laps	0
14	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	56	+3 laps	0
15	9	Alex Ribeiro	March Ford	56	+3 laps	0
16	3	Ronnie Peterson	Tyrrell Ford	56	+3 laps	0
17	25	Ian Ashley	Hesketh Ford	55	+4 laps	0
18	27	Patrick Neve		55	+4 laps	0
19	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees Ford	54	+5 laps	0
NC	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	30	DNF	0
NC	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus Ford	17	DNF	0
NC	8	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Brabham Alfa Romeo	14	DNF	0
NC	10	Ian Scheckter	March Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	14	Danny Ongais	Penske Ford	6	DNF	0
NC	17	Alan  Jones	Shadow Ford	3	DNF	0

1988

Alain Prost secured a crucial victory at the 1988 Spanish Grand Prix, his second win in eight days, to gain a five-point lead over McLaren teammate and rival Ayrton Senna, who managed fourth after problems with his fuel consumption computer. Post-race, the March team lodged a complaint, alleging their driver Ivan Capelli had been blocked for 30 laps by Riccardo Patrese‘s Williams due to “adolescent driving tactics,” but the stewards dismissed the protest. Nigel Mansell finished second for Williams, and Alessandro Nannini finished third for Benetton.

1988 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	Alain Prost	McLaren Honda	72	1:48:43.851	9
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Judd	72	+26.232s	6
3	19	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton Ford	72	+35.446s	4
4	12	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	72	+46.710s	3
5	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Judd	72	+47.430s	2
6	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	72	+51.813s	1
7	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	March Judd	72	+75.964s	0
8	1	Nelson Piquet	Lotus Honda	72	+77.309s	0
9	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton Ford	72	+77.655s	0
10	36	Alex Caffi	Dallara Ford	71	+1 lap	0
11	29	Yannick Dalmas	Lola Ford	71	+1 lap	0
12	24	Luis Perez-Sala	Minardi Ford	70	+2 laps	0
13	33	Stefano Modena	Euro Brun Ford	70	+2 laps	0
14	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola Ford	69	+3 laps	0
NC	26	Stefan Johansson	Ligier Judd	62	DNF	0
NC	18	Eddie  Cheever	Arrows Megatron	60	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	March Judd	45	DNF	0
NC	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows Megatron	41	DNF	0
NC	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Rial Ford	37	DNF	0
NC	14	Philippe Streiff	AGS Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	15	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	2	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus Honda	14	DNF	0
NC	21	Nicola Larini	Osella	9	DNF	0
NC	3	Jonathan  Palmer	Tyrrell Ford	4	DNF	0

2016

The 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix saw Daniel Ricciardo lead a Red Bull 1-2 to victory, with teammate Max Verstappen finishing in second place, while Nico Rosberg completed the podium in third for Mercedes. The race started with Lewis Hamilton leading comfortably until his engine failed spectacularly on lap 41, forcing him to retire and significantly affecting his championship battle with his teammate. The race also featured an early collision between Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari and Nico Rosberg, which dropped Rosberg to the back before he fought his way back to third. The result put Ricciardo back on the top step of the podium for the first time since 2014.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

  Which F1 Team Has the Most 1-2 Finishes in Formula 1 History?

2016 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	56	1:37:12.776	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	56	+2.443s	18
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+25.516s	15
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	+28.785s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	56	+61.582s	10
6	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	56	+63.794s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	56	+65.205s	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	56	+74.062s	4
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	56	+81.816s	2
10	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	56	+95.466s	1
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso Ferrari	56	+98.878s	0
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
13	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
15	94	Pascal Wehrlein	MRT Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
16	31	Esteban Ocon	MRT Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
NC	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber Ferrari	46	DNF	0
NC	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	40	DNF	0
NC	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas Ferrari	39	DNF	0
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	17	DNF	0
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	7	DNF	0
NC	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	0	DNF	0
Note – Ocon received two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane. Rosberg received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision.

2022

The 2022 Singapore Grand Prix was won by Sergio Perez for Red Bull Racing after a commanding drive in challenging wet-to-dry conditions. He held off Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, who finished second after pressuring Perez for much of the race but was unable to make a successful overtake. Carlos Sainz, Leclerc’s teammate, rounded out the podium in third. The race was marked by numerous incidents and retirements, including crashes involving the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda and the Williams of Nicholas Latifi, and multiple safety cars. Championship leader Max Verstappen struggled, finishing seventh after a poor start and a mistake while trying to overtake late in the race.

2022 Singapore Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing RBPT	59	2:02:20.238	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	59	+2.595s	18
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	59	+10.305s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	59	+21.133s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	59	+53.282s	10
6	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	59	+56.330s	8
7	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RBPT	59	+58.825s	6
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	59	+60.032s	4
9	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	59	+61.515s	2
10	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri RBPT	59	+69.576s	1
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	59	+88.844s	0
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	59	+92.610s	0
13	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	58	+1 lap	0
14	63	George Russell	Mercedes	57	+2 laps	0
NC	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri RBPT	34	DNF	0
NC	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	26	DNF	0
NC	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	25	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	20	DNF	0
NC	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	7	DNF	0
NC	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	6	DNF	0
Note – Perez received a five-second time penalty for a Safety Car infringement.

F1 Driver Birthdays 2 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
2 October 1919	Jan Flinterman (d. 1992)
2 October 1921	Mike Nazaruk (d. 1955)
2 October 1921	Giorgio Scarlatti
2 October 1925	Paul Goldsmith
2 October 1931	Keith Campbell (d. 1958)
2 October 1940	Nanni Galli (d. 2019)
2 October 1949	Michael Bleekemolen

F1 Driver Deaths 2 October

Death	F1 Driver
2 October 1998	Olivier Gendebien (b. 1924)

F1 Champion 2 October

Date	Team/Driver
2 October 1977	Niki Lauda
2 October 1966	Brabham