What Happened On This Day October 21 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 21 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1934

Tazio Nuvolari won the only Gran Premio di Napoli held in Posillipo, a race also known as the Coppa Principessa di Piemonte in honour of Princess Marie-José of Belgium. It succeeded a 1933 event held on the Circuito Province Meridionale. The race was revived from 1937 to 1939 as a Voiturette event dominated by Maserati entries. After World War II, it resumed as the Gran Premio di Napoli, running from 1948 until 1962.

1984

Niki Lauda secured his third world championship by a razor-thin margin of just half a point over McLaren teammate Alain Prost at the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix. Starting from eleventh on the grid, Lauda steadily picked his way through the field at Estoril, finishing second behind Prost, a team 1-2 finish, to earn enough points to clinch the title. Afterwards, Lauda reflected, “This has been the hardest season of my life, and that last lap felt like one of the longest. But I’ve done it by half a point, and I can tell you, Alain Prost was a tough man to beat.” A young Ayrton Senna finished in third place on the Toleman team.

The race also marked the final victory for French tyre manufacturer Michelin in F1 until their next win at the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

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

1984 Portuguese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	70	1:41:11.753	9
2	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	70	+13.425s	6
3	19	Ayrton Senna	Toleman Hart	70	+20.042s	4
4	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	70	+20.317s	3
5	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	70	+92.169s	2
6	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	69	+1 lap	1
7	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	69	+1 lap	0
8	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	69	+1 lap	0
9	28	Rene Arnoux	Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
10	2	Manfred Winkelhock	Brabham BMW	69	+1 lap	0
11	20	Stefan Johansson	Toleman Hart	69	+1 lap	0
12	26	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	69	+1 lap	0
13	14	Gerhard Berger	ATS BMW	68	+2 laps	0
14	5	Jacques Laffite	Williams Honda	67	+3 laps	0
15	21	Mauro Baldi	Spirit Hart	66	+4 laps	0
16	30	Jo Gartner	Osella Alfa Romeo	65	DNF	0
17	23	Eddie  Cheever	Alfa Romeo	64	+6 laps	0
NC	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	60	DNF	0
NC	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Renault	52	DNF	0
NC	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	51	DNF	0
NC	33	Philippe Streiff	Renault	48	DNF	0
NC	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	39	DNF	0
NC	25	Francois Hesnault	Ligier Renault	31	DNF	0
NC	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	24	DNF	0
NC	10	Jonathan  Palmer	RAM Hart	19	DNF	0
NC	17	Marc Surer	Arrows BMW	8	DNF	0
NC	9	Philippe Alliot	RAM Hart	2	DNF	0

1990

The 1990 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka became one of the most controversial endings in F1 championship history, as bitter rivals Ayrton Senna (McLaren) and Alain Prost (Ferrari) clashed once again. Senna had taken pole position but requested the starting slot be moved to the clean side of the track. When the FIA denied his request, an enraged Senna declared he wouldn’t back down in the first corner, regardless of what happened. Prost, starting from the cleaner side, got a better launch, but Senna held his ground, knowing that a collision would hand him the title. The inevitable occurred: both cars collided and went off the track in a cloud of dust. “What he did is disgusting,” Prost remarked afterwards. “I won’t fight against irresponsible people who aren’t afraid to die.” Senna was unapologetic, saying, “I don’t care what he says. He’s tried to destroy me, but he won’t. Prost made the mistake of closing the door as I came inside. He knows I always go for the gap.” Despite the controversial ending, Senna won and retained the 1990 Drivers’ Championship, his second title.

The race delivered the best result at that time for the Benetton team, with Brazilian veteran Nelson Piquet and his protégé Roberto Moreno securing a 1-2 finish. Japanese driver Aguri Suzuki achieved a career-best finish, coming third in his Lola, which also marked the best-ever result for the Larrousse team and the Lamborghini engine.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

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

1990 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Ford	53	1:34:36.824	9
2	19	Roberto Moreno	Benetton Ford	53	+7.223s	6
3	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Lamborghini	53	+22.469s	4
4	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	53	+36.258s	3
5	5	Thierry Boutsen	Williams Renault	53	+46.884s	2
6	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Ford	53	+72.350s	1
7	25	Nicola Larini	Ligier Ford	52	+1 lap	0
8	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	52	+1 lap	0
9	10	Alex Caffi	Arrows Ford	52	+1 lap	0
10	26	Philippe Alliot	Ligier Ford	52	+1 lap	0
NC	11	Derek Warwick	Lotus Lamborghini	38	DNF	0
NC	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Lamborghini	31	DNF	0
NC	9	Michele Alboreto	Arrows Ford	28	DNF	0
NC	2	Nigel Mansell	Ferrari	26	DNF	0
NC	21	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara Ford	24	DNF	0
NC	29	Eric Bernard	Lola Lamborghini	24	DNF	0
NC	24	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Ford	18	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Judd	16	DNF	0
NC	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Dallara Ford	13	DNF	0
NC	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	Leyton House Judd	5	DNF	0
NC	7	David Brabham	Brabham Judd	2	DNF	0
NC	28	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	1	DNF	0

2007

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen clinched his first and only Drivers’ Championship at Interlagos by a single point, beating both the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in a dramatic season finale. F1 rookie, Hamilton entered the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix leading the championship, with the title within his grasp. However, a poor start saw him fall to fourth, with the Ferraris and his teammate Alonso getting ahead. In an attempt to overtake Alonso around the outside, Hamilton ran off the track and rejoined in eighth. Things worsened when his McLaren briefly lost power, dropping him to 18th. Though Hamilton fought back to finish seventh, it wasn’t enough, as Raikkonen won the race and the title. “This is my first year, I’ll come back stronger. I’ve learned a lot, and the mistakes I made won’t happen again next year,” Hamilton vowed. True to his word, he returned in 2008 to claim the championship in even more dramatic fashion. Raikkonen’s teammate, Felipe Massa, finished second for a Ferrari 1-2 finish, with Alonso in third.

The race also saw the last time cars with traction control were allowed and the final race for Ralf Schumacher who finished in 11th place for Toyota.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

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

2007 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	71	1:28:15.270	10
2	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	71	+1.493s	8
3	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Mercedes	71	+57.019s	6
4	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	71	+62.848s	5
5	10	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	71	+70.957s	4
6	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	71	+71.317s	3
7	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	70	+1 lap	2
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	70	+1 lap	1
9	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	70	+1 lap	0
10	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams Toyota	70	+1 lap	0
11	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	70	+1 lap	0
12	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	69	+2 laps	0
13	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR Ferrari	69	+2 laps	0
14	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri Honda	68	+3 laps	0
NC	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker Ferrari	43	DNF	0
NC	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	40	DNF	0
NC	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	35	DNF	0
NC	19	Sebastian Vettel	STR Ferrari	34	DNF	0
NC	7	Jenson Button	Honda	20	DNF	0
NC	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	14	DNF	0
NC	21	Sakon Yamamoto	Spyker Ferrari	2	DNF	0
NC	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	2	DNF	0

2018

The 2018 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin saw Kimi Raikkonen claim his first victory in over five years in his second stint for Ferrari, making him the oldest race winner since Nigel Mansell in 1994. Raikkonen took the top spot on the podium, followed by Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen in second and Mercedes‘ Lewis Hamilton in third. Hamilton, who was on the brink of securing his fifth World Championship, needed to outscore Sebastian Vettel by eight points, but Vettel’s fourth-place finish delayed Hamilton’s title celebration to the next race in Mexico. Verstappen’s second place was more impressive after he had started from 18th, delivering a stellar drive to reach the podium, while Hamilton’s strategy gamble on a two-stop pit plan didn’t pay off, costing him the win.

2018 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	1:34:18.643	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	56	+1.281s	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+2.342s	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+18.222s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	56	+24.744s	10
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	56	+87.210s	8
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	56	+94.994s	6
DQ	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India Mercedes	56	+99.288s	0
DQ	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	56	+100.657s	0
8	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	56	+101.080s	4
9	28	Brendon Hartley	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	55	+1 lap	2
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	1
11	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Renault	55	+1 lap	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	55	+1 lap	0
13	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	54	+2 laps	0
NC	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber Ferrari	31	DNF	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	8	DNF	0
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	2	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Renault	1	DNF	0
Note – Ocon excluded for exceeding fuel flow limits on Lap 1. Magnussen excluded for consuming more than 105kg of fuel during the race.

F1 Driver Birthdays 21 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
21 October 1912	Alfredo Pian (d. 1990)
21 October 1932	Cesare Perdisa (d. 1998)

F1 Driver Deaths 21 October

Death	F1 Driver
21 October 1973	Nasif Estefano (b. 1932)

F1 Champion 21 October

Date	Team/Driver
21 October 1984	Niki Lauda
21 October 1990	Ayrton Senna
21 October 2007	Kimi Raikkonen
21 October 1990	McLaren