What Happened On This Day October 28 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 28 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1876

Henri Rougier, born in Marseilles on this day, was a true pioneer in motorsport. Winner of the first Monte Carlo Rally in 1909, Rougier participated in early races from the 1900s through the 1920s. He was also a small-scale car manufacturer and a record-setting aviator.

1930

Whether admired or criticised, Bernie Ecclestone is undeniably one of the most influential figures in motorsport. Born on this day in Suffolk, Ecclestone’s journey began selling second-hand bicycles before a brief stint as a driver. As his business grew, he pivoted to ownership and management in Formula 1. Twice, he left F1 after the tragic deaths of his drivers, Stuart Lewis-Evans, in 1958 and Jochen Rindt in 1970, but returned in 1972 to purchase Brabham, elevating the team to prominence. Ecclestone co-founded the Formula One Constructors’ Association, transforming the sport alongside Max Mosley by organising its finances and management, evolving it from a loose race series into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

1951

Juan Manuel Fangio clinched his first of five world championships with a controlled victory at the 1951 Spanish Grand Prix. His team, Alfa Romeo, employed clever tactics, installing dummy fuel tanks to mislead Ferrari into altering their pit-stop strategy. While Fangio’s win was celebrated, his joy was short-lived—later that evening, he learned that Alfa Romeo faced financial troubles and was withdrawing from racing, forcing Fangio to end his partnership with the team. Argentinan Jose Froilan Gonzalez took second for Ferrari in the race, with Nino Farina, Fangio’s teammate, completing the podium in third place.

1951 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	22	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	70	2:46:54.100	9
2	6	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Ferrari	70	+54.280s	6
3	20	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	70	+105.540s	4
4	2	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	68	+2 laps	3
5	24	Felice  Bonetto	Alfa Romeo	68	+2 laps	2
6	26	Toulo de Graffenried	Alfa Romeo	66	+4 laps	0
7	28	Louis  Rosier	Talbot-Lago	64	+6 laps	0
8	34	Philippe  Etancelin	Talbot-Lago	63	+7 laps	0
9	14	Robert  Manzon	Simca-Gordini	63	+7 laps	0
10	44	Paco  Godia	Maserati Milano	60	+10 laps	0
NC	4	Luigi  Villoresi	Ferrari	48	DNF	0
NC	16	Andre  Simon	Simca-Gordini	48	DNF	0
NC	36	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago	37	DNF	0
NC	8	Piero  Taruffi	Ferrari	30	DNF	0
NC	12	Maurice  Trintignant	Simca-Gordini	25	DNF	0
NC	38	Georges Grignard	Talbot-Lago	23	DNF	0
NC	32	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago	7	DNF	0
NC	30	Louis  Chiron	Talbot-Lago	4	DNF	0
NC	18	Prince Bira	Maserati OSCA	1	DNF	0

1981

Nearly three and a half years after the 1978 Italian Grand Prix, Riccardo Patrese was acquitted by a Milan court of manslaughter charges in the death of Ronnie Peterson. Patrese had been accused of reckless driving, sparking a chain reaction that led to Peterson’s fatal accident. F1’s first legal trial saw James Hunt testify against Patrese, asserting that his move to the left triggered the collision. The race starter, also charged, was cleared of allegations of beginning the race with some backmarkers still in motion.

2012

At the 2012 Indian Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel dominated from pole position, claiming victory for the second year in a row. Although he led every lap, McLaren driver Jenson Button‘s late fastest lap prevented Vettel from achieving a Grand Chelem. The race concluded with Indian Olympic bronze medalist shooter Gagan Narang waving the chequered flag. Vettel, was followed by Spain’s Fernando Alonso for Ferrari in second, and Australia’s Mark Webber, in the sister Red Bull, securing third.

2012 Indian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	60	1:31:10.744	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	60	+9.437s	18
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	60	+13.217s	15
4	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	60	+13.909s	12
5	3	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	60	+26.266s	10
6	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	60	+44.674s	8
7	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus Renault	60	+45.227s	6
8	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	60	+54.998s	4
9	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	60	+56.103s	2
10	19	Bruno Senna	Williams Renault	60	+74.975s	1
11	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	60	+81.694s	0
12	11	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	60	+82.815s	0
13	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR Ferrari	60	+86.064s	0
14	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	60	+86.495s	0
15	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Ferrari	59	+1 lap	0
16	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	59	+1 lap	0
17	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham Renault	59	+1 lap	0
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham Renault	59	+1 lap	0
19	25	Charles Pic	Marussia Cosworth	59	+1 lap	0
20	24	Timo Glock	Marussia Cosworth	58	+2 laps	0
21	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT Cosworth	58	+2 laps	0
22	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	55	DNF	0
NC	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT Cosworth	42	DNF	0
NC	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber Ferrari	20	DNF	0

2018

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton entered the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix with a solid 70-point lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the World Drivers’ Championship, with Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen 55 points further back in third. Starting on the front row alongside teammate Daniel Riccardo, Max Verstappen stormed ahead on lap 1 to take the lead going on to claim victory with the Red Bull team, his second win of the season. Vettel and Ferrari teammate Raikkonen finished second and third. Hamilton finished fourth, with enough points to secure his fifth Drivers’ World Championship title.

2018 Mexican Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	71	1:38:28.851	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	+17.316s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	71	+49.914s	15
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	+78.738s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	70	+1 lap	10
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	69	+2 laps	8
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber Ferrari	69	+2 laps	6
8	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Renault	69	+2 laps	4
9	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	69	+2 laps	2
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	69	+2 laps	1
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India Mercedes	69	+2 laps	0
12	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	69	+2 laps	0
13	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams Mercedes	69	+2 laps	0
14	28	Brendon Hartley	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	69	+2 laps	0
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	69	+2 laps	0
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	68	+3 laps	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	61	DNF	0
NC	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	38	DNF	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	28	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Renault	3	DNF	0
Note – Hartley received a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision.

F1 Driver Birthdays 28 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
28 October 1919	Hans Klenk (d. 2009)
28 October 1919	Walt Hansgen (d. 1966)
28 October 1924	Antonio Creus (d. 1996)
28 October 1930	Bernie Ecclestone

F1 Driver Deaths 28 October

Death	F1 Driver
28 October	None

F1 Champion 28 October

Date	Team/Driver
28 October 1951	Juan Manuel Fangio
28 October 2018	Lewis Hamilton