What Happened On This Day October 24 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 24 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1954

The 1954 Spanish Grand Prix took place on the Pedralbes street circuit in Barcelona. It was the season’s final race, with Ferrari’s Mike Hawthorn taking the win, followed by Luigi Mussi for Maserati and Juan Manuel Fangio, who drove for Mercedes in third place. This race marked the last time Formula One cars competed on the Pedralbes circuit, as safety concerns in 1955, due to the tragic loss of life at the the Le Mans disaster of 1955, led to its removal from the calendar.

1954 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	38	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	80	3:13:52.100	8
2	14	Luigi Musso	Maserati	80	+73.200s	6
3	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes-Benz	79	+1 lap	4
4	10	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	79	+1 lap	3
5	4	Karl Kling	Mercedes-Benz	79	+1 lap	2
6	16	Paco  Godia	Maserati	76	+4 laps	0
7	26	Louis  Rosier	Maserati	74	+6 laps	0
8	28	Ken  Wharton	Maserati	74	+6 laps	0
9	18	Prince Bira	Maserati	68	+12 laps	0
NC	12	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati	58	DNF	0
NC	22	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati		SHC	0
NC	22	Ottorino  Volonterio	Maserati	57	DNF	0
NC	6	Hans  Herrmann	Mercedes-Benz	50	DNF	0
NC	40	Maurice  Trintignant	Ferrari	47	DNF	0
NC	48	Jacques  Pollet	Gordini	37	DNF	0
NC	24	Harry Schell	Maserati	29	DNF	0
NC	8	Stirling Moss	Maserati	20	DNF	0
NC	46	Jean Behra	Gordini	17	DNF	0
NC	30	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	16	DNF	0
NC	34	Alberto Ascari	Lancia	10	DNF	1
NC	36	Luigi  Villoresi	Lancia	2	DNF	0
NC	20	Robert  Manzon	Ferrari	2	DNF	0

1965

The 1965 Mexican Grand Prix saw Richie Ginther claim his first and only F1 Championship victory. It was also Honda’s first win in Formula One and the first for a non-European team, excluding the Indianapolis 500. Ginther led the race from start to finish, showcasing Honda’s strong performance. Driving for Brabham, Dan Gurney finished second, while Mike Spence in a Lotus rounded out the podium in third.

The race was filled with notable milestones. It was the last race of the 1500cc engine era and the only race of the season not won by a British-powered car or a British driver. Honda’s rigorous testing paid off, especially as Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and Jackie Stewart all retired with mechanical issues, leaving Gurney as Ginther’s only real challenger. A collision between Lorenzo Bandini and Pedro Rodriguez further cleared Ginther’s path to victory. Goodyear also exited the Formula One season on a high note with this win.

1965 Mexican Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	Richie Ginther	Honda	65	2:08:32.100	9
2	8	Dan Gurney	Brabham Climax	65	+2.890s	6
3	6	Mike Spence	Lotus Climax	65	+60.150s	4
4	16	Jo Siffert	Brabham BRM	65	+114.420s	3
5	12	Ronnie Bucknum	Honda	64	+1 lap	2
6	21	Richard Attwood	Lotus BRM	64	+1 lap	1
7	14	Pedro Rodriguez	Ferrari	62	+3 laps	0
8	2	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	62	+3 laps	0
NC	3	Graham Hill	BRM	56	DNF	0
NC	18	Moises Solana	Lotus Climax	55	DNF	0
NC	15	Jo Bonnier	Brabham Climax	43	DNF	0
NC	10	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Climax	39	DNF	0
NC	7	Jack Brabham	Brabham Climax	38	DNF	0
NC	4	Jackie Stewart	BRM	35	DNF	0
NC	22	Bob Bondurant	Lotus BRM	29	DNF	0
NC	9	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	25	DNF	0
NC	5	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	8	DNF	0

1976

Despite missing two races following his life-threatening crash at the Nürburgring, Ferrari driver Niki Lauda entered the season’s final race at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix, leading the championship by three points over the McLaren of James Hunt. Hunt qualified second, just ahead of Lauda, but race day brought thick fog and torrential rain, with streams of water crossing the track.

Although some drivers called for the race to be cancelled, the organisers proceeded. Hunt quickly took the lead at the start, while Lauda, struggling in the treacherous conditions, dropped back to the midfield. On the second lap, he pulled into the pits and retired, later explaining, “For me, there is something more important than the world championship.”

Hunt maintained the lead but began to fall back as the track dried, losing positions to Patrick Depailler and Mario Andretti. Depailler’s rear tyre began deflating two laps later, forcing him to pit, and Hunt soon followed with a similar issue. After a pit stop, Hunt rejoined the race in fifth place and set out to chase down Depailler, Alan Jones, and Clay Regazzoni. Depailler overtook both on lap 70, and Hunt followed suit on the next lap, securing the third place he needed to clinch the championship. Reflecting on the race, Hunt said, “The front tyre started shredding, and I had rubbish all over my visor. I didn’t know what the hell to do. Then the tyre burst. I dropped some places during the pit stop, but I didn’t know how many. At the finish, I thought I still had to pass a couple of cars for third. Fortunately, I was wrong.”

• 

  1976 Japanese Grand Prix: Hunt’s Drivers’ World Championship

1976 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	73	1:43:58.860	9
2	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	72	+1 lap	6
3	11	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	72	+1 lap	4
4	19	Alan  Jones	Surtees Ford	72	+1 lap	3
5	2	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	72	+1 lap	2
6	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus Ford	72	+1 lap	1
7	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	72	+1 lap	0
8	24	Harald Ertl	Hesketh Ford	72	+1 lap	0
9	18	Noritake Takahara	Surtees Ford	70	+3 laps	0
10	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow Ford	69	+4 laps	0
11	51	Masahiro Hasemi	Kojima Ford	66	+7 laps	0
NC	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell Ford	58	DNF	0
NC	21	Hans Binder	Wolf-Williams	49	DNF	0
NC	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow Ford	46	DNF	0
NC	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March Ford	38	DNF	0
NC	34	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March Ford	37	DNF	0
NC	12	Jochen Mass	McLaren Ford	35	DNF	0
NC	28	John Watson	Penske Ford	33	DNF	0
NC	52	Kazuyoshi Hoshino	Tyrrell Ford	27	DNF	0
NC	20	Arturo Merzario	Wolf-Williams	23	DNF	0
NC	30	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham Alfa Romeo	7	DNF	0
NC	1	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	2	DNF	0
NC	7	Larry Perkins	Brabham Alfa Romeo	1	DNF	0
NC	10	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	0	DNF	0

1993

McLaren driver Ayrton Senna won the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix, but not without some unexpected drama involving a rookie making his Formula 1 debut: Eddie Irvine. The Ulsterman, driving for Jordan, was battling for points and unlapped himself against Senna, claiming the Brazilian was driving too slowly and hindering his race against the Williams of Damon Hill. After the race, a furious Senna stormed into the Jordan motorhome, fueled by two glasses of schnapps, and punched Irvine for his perceived disrespect. Senna later said, “You’ve got to learn to respect where you’re going wrong.” Alain Prost secured second place for Williams after starting from pole position, while Senna’s teammate Mika Hakkinen finished third, marking his first-ever podium finish.

Alongside Irvine, two additional drivers, Jean-Marc Gounon and Toshio Suzuki, made their F1 debuts in this race.

1993 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Ford	53	1:40:27.912	10
2	2	Alain Prost	Williams Renault	53	+11.435s	6
3	7	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Ford	53	+26.129s	4
4	0	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	53	+83.538s	3
5	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Hart	53	+95.101s	2
6	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan Hart	53	+106.421s	1
7	26	Mark Blundell	Ligier Renault	52	+1 lap	0
8	30	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Sauber	52	+1 lap	0
9	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier Renault	51	DNF	0
10	24	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	51	+2 laps	0
11	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Ford	51	+2 laps	0
12	19	Toshio  Suzuki	Larrousse Lamborghini	51	+2 laps	0
13	11	Pedro Lamy	Lotus Ford	49	DNF	0
14	9	Derek Warwick	Footwork Mugen Honda	48	DNF	0
NC	6	Riccardo Patrese	Benetton Ford	45	DNF	0
NC	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	40	DNF	0
NC	10	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork Mugen Honda	28	DNF	0
NC	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	26	DNF	0
NC	23	Jean-Marc Gounon	Minardi Ford	26	DNF	0
NC	29	Karl Wendlinger	Sauber	25	DNF	0
NC	20	Erik Comas	Larrousse Lamborghini	17	DNF	0
NC	5	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	7	DNF	0

2004

Juan Pablo Montoya ended his time at Williams on a high by winning the season-ending 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, beating his future McLaren teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who finished in second. Meanwhile, Jaguar, up for sale and heading toward the history books, saw its final race in Formula 1 end in disaster as its two cars collided, marking an ignominious conclusion to their five-year stint in the sport. Rubens Barrichello in a Ferrari rounded out the podium in third.

2004 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	71	1:28:01.451	10
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	71	+1.022s	8
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	71	+24.099s	6
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	71	+48.908s	5
5	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	71	+49.740s	4
6	10	Takuma Sato	BAR Honda	71	+50.248s	3
7	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	+50.626s	2
8	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber Petronas	71	+62.310s	1
9	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber Petronas	71	+63.842s	0
10	7	Jacques Villeneuve	Renault	70	+1 lap	0
11	5	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	70	+1 lap	0
12	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	70	+1 lap	0
13	17	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	70	+1 lap	0
14	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar Cosworth	69	+2 laps	0
15	19	Timo Glock	Jordan Ford	69	+2 laps	0
16	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi Cosworth	67	+4 laps	0
17	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi Cosworth	67	+4 laps	0
NC	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar Cosworth	23	DNF	0
NC	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	9	Jenson Button	BAR Honda	3	DNF	0

2010

The 2010 Korean Grand Prix, the inaugural race in South Korea, took place in difficult wet conditions, with heavy rain causing a delayed start and a race full of incidents. Fernando Alonso with Ferrari won the race, followed by Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren in second place, and Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa, in third. Sebastian Vettel, who had been leading the race from pole position suffered an engine failure in his Red Bull with just 10 laps to go, handing the win to Alonso. This result had a significant impact on the championship standings, as it allowed Alonso to take the lead in the title race.

2010 Korean Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	55	2:48:20.810	25
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	55	+14.999s	18
3	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	55	+30.868s	15
4	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	55	+39.688s	12
5	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	55	+47.734s	10
6	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India Mercedes	55	+53.571s	8
7	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth	55	+69.257s	6
8	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	55	+77.889s	4
9	22	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Ferrari	55	+80.107s	2
10	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams Cosworth	55	+80.851s	1
11	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR Ferrari	55	+84.146s	0
12	1	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	55	+89.939s	0
13	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	54	+1 lap	0
14	21	Bruno Senna	HRT Cosworth	53	+2 laps	0
15	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT Cosworth	53	+2 laps	0
NC	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	46	DNF	0
NC	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	45	DNF	0
NC	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	39	DNF	0
NC	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	31	DNF	0
NC	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	30	DNF	0
NC	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	25	DNF	0
NC	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	25	DNF	0
NC	6	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	18	DNF	0
NC	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	18	DNF	0

2021

The 2021 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) saw a thrilling battle between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen started from pole position and, after a tense strategic battle, held off Hamilton to win the race by just 1.3 seconds, extending his lead in the championship. Hamilton finished second, while Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, completed the podium in third despite battling dehydration due to a malfunctioning water bottle. Verstappen pitted earlier and managed his tyres expertly to fend off Hamilton, who had fresher tyres in the closing laps. The result was crucial for Verstappen’s title challenge in a fiercely contested 2021 season.

2021 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	56	1:34:36.552	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	+1.333s	19
3	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda	56	+42.223s	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	+52.246s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	56	+76.854s	10
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	56	+80.128s	8
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	56	+83.545s	6
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	56	+84.395s	4
9	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri Honda	55	+1 lap	2
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Mercedes	55	+1 lap	1
11	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
12	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
13	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
14	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
15	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
16	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	54	+2 laps	0
17	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas Ferrari	54	+2 laps	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	49	DNF	0
NC	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	40	DNF	0
NC	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	14	DNF	0
Note – Hamilton scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

F1 Driver Birthdays 24 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
24 October 1924	George Amick (d. 1959)
24 October 1960	Joachim Winkelhock
24 October 1982	Fairuz Fauzy

F1 Driver Deaths 24 October

Death	F1 Driver
24 October 1971	Jo Siffert (b. 1936)
24 October 2013	Henry Taylor (b. 1932)

F1 Champion 24 October

Date	Team/Driver
24 October 1976	James Hunt