What Happened On This Day October 23 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 23 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1955

In 1955, the 1955 Spanish Grand Prix at Pedralbes was set to take place, but a tragic accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which claimed the lives of over 80 people, led to new regulations regarding spectator safety. As a result, the Spanish Grand Prix and several other races were cancelled that year and for the next two years, partly due to financial difficulties. The wide, pedestrian-lined street circuit at Pedralbes was never used for motor racing again.

1966

John Surtees claimed victory at the 1966 Mexican Grand Prix in a Cooper T81-Maserati, his first victory since leaving Ferrari to join Cooper. He finished ahead of the Brabham drivers Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme in P2 and P3, respectively. The race was largely a formality, as Brabham had already secured the World Championship at the 1966 Italian Grand Prix two races earlier. The race marked the fifth Mexican Grand Prix and the first held under the new three-litre Formula regulations.

1966 Mexican Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	John Surtees	Cooper Maserati	65	2:06:35.340	9
2	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham Repco	65	+7.880s	6
3	6	Denny Hulme	Brabham Repco	64	+1 lap	4
4	12	Richie Ginther	Honda	64	+1 lap	3
5	15	Dan Gurney	Eagle Climax	64	+1 lap	2
6	22	Jo Bonnier	Cooper Maserati	63	+2 laps	1
7	2	Peter  Arundell	Lotus BRM	61	+4 laps	0
8	14	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	60	+5 laps	0
NC	11	Pedro Rodriguez	Lotus Climax	49	DNF	0
NC	17	Bruce McLaren	McLaren Ford	40	DNF	0
NC	19	Jo Siffert	Cooper Maserati	33	DNF	0
NC	8	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Maserati	32	DNF	0
NC	10	Innes Ireland	BRM	28	DNF	0
NC	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	26	DNF	0
NC	16	Bob Bondurant	Eagle Weslake	24	DNF	0
NC	3	Graham Hill	BRM	18	DNF	0
NC	9	Moises Solana	Cooper Maserati	9	DNF	0
NC	1	Jim Clark	Lotus BRM	9	DNF	0

1966

This day also marked the birth of former F1 driver Alex Zanardi. Known for his larger-than-life personality, Zanardi debuted with Jordan in 1991, then served as a Benetton test driver before racing two seasons with Lotus. He found great success in IndyCar, winning titles in 1997 and 1998. A return to F1 with Williams in 1999 ended in disappointment with no points. In 2001, Zanardi lost both legs in a horrific crash during an IndyCar race in Germany, but he defied the odds, walking again and even winning a touring car race in a specially adapted car.

1977

A year after his dramatic World Championship win at Fuji, McLaren driver James Hunt returned to Japan for another triumph at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix. Starting from the front row, Hunt seized the lead and maintained it, securing victory ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Reutemann and Tyrrell of Patrick Depailler. Meanwhile, pole-sitter and Lotus driver Mario Andretti crashed out on the second lap. However, the race’s biggest incident happend on lap six when Gilles Villeneuve misjudged his braking and collided with Ronnie Peterson‘s Tyrrell. Villeneuve’s Ferrari somersaulted off the track, disintegrating and showering debris onto spectators. Although Villeneuve miraculously emerged uninjured, tragedy struck as a spectator and a marshal were killed, and seven other spectators were injured. It was also the final Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway until its return in 2007. In 1987, the race made its comeback at the more popular and safer Suzuka Circuit.

1977 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	73	1:31:51.680	9
2	12	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	73	+62.450s	6
3	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	73	+66.390s	4
4	17	Alan  Jones	Shadow Ford	73	+66.610s	3
5	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	72	DNF	2
6	16	Riccardo Patrese	Shadow Ford	72	+1 lap	1
7	8	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Brabham Alfa Romeo	72	+1 lap	0
8	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees Ford	71	+2 laps	0
9	50	Kunimitsu Takahashi	Tyrrell Ford	71	+2 laps	0
10	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf Ford	71	+2 laps	0
11	52	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Kojima Ford	71	+2 laps	0
12	9	Alex Ribeiro	March Ford	69	+4 laps	0
NC	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus Ford	63	DNF	0
NC	22	Clay Regazzoni	Ensign Ford	43	DNF	0
NC	7	John Watson	Brabham Alfa Romeo	29	DNF	0
NC	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren Ford	28	DNF	0
NC	23	Patrick Tambay	Ensign Ford	14	DNF	0
NC	3	Ronnie Peterson	Tyrrell Ford	5	DNF	0
NC	11	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	5	DNF	0
NC	27	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ligier Matra	3	DNF	0
NC	18	Hans Binder	Surtees Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	51	Noritake Takahara	Kojima Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	1	DNF	0

2016

The 2016 United States Grand Prix saw the Mercedes team dominate the race, with Lewis Hamilton securing a crucial win to keep his championship hopes alive. He led from start to finish, earning his 50th career victory, while his teammate Nico Rosberg, who was leading the championship, finished second for a Mercedes 1-2 finish. This victory narrowed the points gap between Hamilton and Rosberg, setting up a dramatic showdown for the rest of the season. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the podium in third place after a hard-fought battle with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Notably, Ricciardo had an early advantage and was in contention for second place, but a strategic pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car played into Rosberg’s hands, allowing the German to overtake him. The race also saw Max Verstappen retire due to a mechanical issue. Off-track, the event drew massive crowds, cementing the popularity of Formula 1 in the United States.

This race marked the final time 2009 World Champion Jenson Button earned points in a Formula One Grand Prix.

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2016 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	1:38:12.618	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+4.520s	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	56	+19.692s	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+43.134s	12
5	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	56	+93.953s	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso Ferrari	56	+96.124s	8
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	6
8	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	55	+1 lap	4
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	55	+1 lap	2
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	55	+1 lap	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	55	+1 lap	0
13	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	55	+1 lap	0
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
15	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
17	94	Pascal Wehrlein	MRT Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
18	31	Esteban Ocon	MRT Mercedes	54	+2 laps	0
NC	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	38	DNF	0
NC	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	28	DNF	0
NC	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas Ferrari	16	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	1	DNF	0
Note – Magnussen had 5 seconds added to his race time for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.

2022

The 2022 United States Grand Prix, also held at COTA on October 23, saw Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull Racing, secure victory after an intense fight with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. The win gave Red Bull the 2022 Constructors’ Championship just days after the passing of Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull, making it an emotional victory for the team. It was the team’s first championship since 2013. Verstappen had a tough challenge, including a slow pit stop that dropped him down the order, but he fought back to overtake Hamilton in the closing stages of the race. Hamilton finished second, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took third after recovering from a grid penalty. The race also had its fair share of drama, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll colliding at high speed, a moment that led to post-race controversies.

2022 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RBPT	56	1:42:11.687	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+5.023s	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	+7.501s	15
4	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing RBPT	56	+8.293s	12
5	63	George Russell	Mercedes	56	+44.815s	11
6	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	56	+53.785s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	56	+55.078s	6
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	56	+65.354s	4
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	56	+65.834s	2
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri RBPT	56	+70.919s	1
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	56	+72.875s	0
12	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	56	+76.164s	0
13	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	56	+80.057s	0
14	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri RBPT	56	+81.763s	0
15	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	56	+84.490s	0
16	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	56	+90.487s	0
17	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	56	+103.588s	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	21	DNF	0
NC	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	16	DNF	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
Note – Russell scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Gasly received a 10-second time penalty for not serving a safety car infringement penalty correctly. Latifi received a five-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track. Schumacher received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. Albon received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

F1 Driver Birthdays 23 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
23 October 1926	Larry Crockett (d. 1955)
23 October 1937	Geki (Giacomo Russo) (d. 1967)
23 October 1966	Alex Zanardi
23 October 1988	Dani Clos

F1 Driver Deaths 23 October

Death	F1 Driver
23 October	None

F1 Champion 23 October

Date	Team/Driver
23 October 2022	Red Bull Racing