What Happened On This Day October 20 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 20 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1978

Gunnar Nilsson, winner of the 1977 Belgian Grand Prix, tragically passed away from cancer at just 29 years old. “His rare talent had taken him swiftly to the top as No. 2 to Mario Andretti,” wrote The Times, “[and] he was perhaps the most naturally gifted of the new generation of Grand Prix drivers.” Diagnosed at the end of 1977, Nilsson had signed with Arrows as their lead driver for the 1978 season, but his illness progressed rapidly, forcing him to step down before the first race. In his remaining months, Nilsson focused on establishing the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Treatment Campaign, in partnership with Charing Cross Hospital, working tirelessly and refusing painkillers to remain active in his cause. His death came just five weeks after the loss of his close friend and rival, Ronnie Peterson.

1991

After the dramatic finale of the previous season, Ayrton Senna once again found himself leading the championship heading into the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix. Nigel Mansell, needing a win to keep his title hopes alive, started alongside Senna on the front row. However, it was Senna’s McLaren teammate, Gerhard Berger, who took the lead into the first corner. Mansell, pushing aggressively to overtake Senna, spun out on lap ten due to brake failure on his Williams, handing the championship to Senna. With Berger struggling with tyre issues later in the race, Senna took the lead but then displayed one of the most compassionate moments of his career, allowing his friend Berger to pass and take victory at the final corner. Reflecting on his crash, Mansell said, “The brake pedal went soft and I couldn’t slow down. It’s a pity it finished this way, but I can’t be too unhappy. We’ve had a great championship, and Williams gave me the shot they promised.” Mansell’s teammate Riccardo Patr ese was third.

Sadly, this would be Senna’s last-ever Championship, his third, after which he suffered a tragic death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix while driving for Williams.

1991 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	53	1:32:10.695	10
2	1	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	53	+0.344s	6
3	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	53	+56.731s	4
4	27	Alain Prost	Ferrari	53	+80.761s	3
5	7	Martin Brundle	Brabham Yamaha	52	+1 lap	2
6	4	Stefano Modena	Tyrrell Honda	52	+1 lap	1
7	20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Ford	52	+1 lap	0
8	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	Leyton House Ilmor	52	+1 lap	0
9	25	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier Lamborghini	52	+1 lap	0
10	10	Alex Caffi	Footwork Porsche	51	+2 laps	0
11	14	Gabriele Tarquini	Fondmetal Ford	50	+3 laps	0
NC	26	Erik Comas	Ligier Lamborghini	41	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ferrari	39	DNF	0
NC	19	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	34	DNF	0
NC	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Judd	31	DNF	0
NC	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Honda	30	DNF	0
NC	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Ford	26	DNF	0
NC	24	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Ferrari	15	DNF	0
NC	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Renault	9	DNF	0
NC	32	Alessandro Zanardi	Jordan Ford	7	DNF	0
NC	11	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Judd	4	DNF	0
NC	33	Andrea de Cesaris	Jordan Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	22	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Dallara Judd	1	DNF	0
NC	21	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara Judd	1	DNF	0
NC	16	Karl Wendlinger	Leyton House Ilmor	1	DNF	0

2005

Autosport reported that Williams had chosen Nico Rosberg for their second race seat for the upcoming season. Two weeks later, the news was made official. Team principal Frank Williams expressed his excitement, saying, “I believe many in Formula One share my excitement about Nico Rosberg. Despite his youth, he brings a wealth of experience, and it’s noteworthy that Nico has more race starts at 20 than his father had in his entire career.”

2009

Newly crowned World Champion Jenson Button expressed his desire to continue with the title-winning Brawn GP team, indicating he was eager to discuss his future. However, shortly after, Mercedes announced its acquisition of Brawn, prompting Button to sign with McLaren, forming an all-British driver lineup with Lewis Hamilton.

2024

Charles Leclerc secured a Ferrari one-two at the 2024 United States Grand Prix with teammate Carlos Sainz after taking the lead on the opening lap. A late-race battle between the McLaren of Lando Norris and Red Bull of Max Verstappen ended with Norris receiving a penalty, dropping him to fourth behind his championship rival. Norris overtook Verstappen for third in the closing stages after a tense battle between the Championship contenders. However, Norris exceeded track limits to take the place, which led to him receiving a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage, dropping him to fourth and promoting Verstappen to the final podium spot.

2024 United States Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

2024 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	1:35:09.639	25
2	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	56	+8.562s	18
3	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	56	+19.412s	15
4	4	Lando Norris¹	McLaren Mercedes	56	+20.354s	12
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	56	+21.921s	10
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	56	+56.295s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	56	+59.072s	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	56	+62.957s	4
9	30	Liam Lawson	RB Honda RBPT	56	+70.563s	2
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	56	+71.979s	1
11	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	56	+79.782s	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly²	Alpine Renault	56	+90.558s	0
13	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
14	22	Yuki Tsunoda³	RB Honda RBPT	55	+1 lap	0
15	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
16	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
18	31	Esteban Ocon⁴	Alpine Renault	55	+1 lap	0
19	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
NC	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1	DNF	0

¹Lando Norris received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage
²Pierre Gasly received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage
³Yuki Tsunoda received a five-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track.
⁴Fastest lap: Esteban Ocon (Alpine Renault) – 1:37.330 on lap 53

F1 Driver Birthdays 20 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
20 October 1921	Manuel Ayulo (d. 1955)

F1 Driver Deaths 20 October

Death	F1 Driver
20 October 1978	Gunnar Nilsson (b. 1948)

F1 Champion 20 October

Date	Team/Driver
20 October 1991	Ayrton Senna

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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.