What Happened On This Day October 29 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 29 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1951

Tiff Needell, born on this day in Havant, had a brief and unremarkable F1 stint with Ensign in 1980, retiring in his debut race and failing to qualify in his second. However, his legacy took shape as a BBC Top Gear presenter from 1987 until the show’s end in 2001, preceding the Jeremy Clarkson era. Needell later joined Fifth Gear on Channel 5.

1956

Louis Rosier, a garage owner and former member of the French Resistance, only turned to motor racing in his 40s after the war. His F1 career highlights included two third-place finishes in 1950, but a spin in his Ferrari at Le Mans, where he had won the iconic 24-Hour race six years earlier, proved fatal. Rosier sustained severe internal injuries when his car overturned, and he passed away three weeks later on this day. Posthumously, he was awarded the ‘Ordre de la Nation,’ France’s highest civilian honor, recognizing his contributions both on and off the track.

1995

Michael Schumacher matched Nigel Mansell‘s record of nine wins in a season at the 1995 Japanese Grand Prix, securing the 1995 Constructors’ Championship for Benetton and ending Williams‘ three-year reign. It was a disastrous day for Williams as both drivers, David Coulthard and Damon Hill, spun out. Hill’s race went from bad to worse when he slid into the gravel while attempting to return to the pits to serve a stop-go penalty for speeding. Just recently, Hill had signed a £5 million contract with Williams for 1996, but rumours were already surfacing that Frank Williams was reconsidering. Reflecting on his season, Hill admitted, “I’ve never felt this bad. I’ve made mistakes this season, I can’t deny that. Just when you think it can’t get worse, it does.” The McLaren of Mika Hakkinen came home in second, with Schumacher’s teammate, Johnny Herbert, finishing in third.

1995 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Renault	53	1:36:52.930	10
2	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	53	+19.337s	6
3	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton Renault	53	+83.804s	4
4	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan Peugeot	53	+102.136s	3
5	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier Mugen Honda	52	+1 lap	2
6	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Yamaha	52	+1 lap	1
7	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren Mercedes	52	+1 lap	0
8	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Ford	52	+1 lap	0
9	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi Ford	51	+2 laps	0
10	29	Karl Wendlinger	Sauber Ford	51	+2 laps	0
11	23	Pedro Lamy	Minardi Ford	51	+2 laps	0
12	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork Hart	51	+2 laps	0
NC	5	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	40	DNF	0
NC	6	David Coulthard	Williams Renault	39	DNF	0
NC	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti Ford	32	DNF	0
NC	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	24	DNF	0
NC	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific Ilmor	23	DNF	0
NC	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	16	DNF	0
NC	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Peugeot	15	DNF	0
NC	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	12	DNF	0
NC	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific Ilmor	6	DNF	0
NC	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	9	Gianni Morbidelli	Footwork Hart	0	DNF	0

2017

At the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen took the win for Red Bull Racing, but the day belonged to Lewis Hamilton, who secured his fourth World Championship title with two races to spare. Hamilton entered the race with a comfortable 66-point lead over Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, needing only a fifth-place finish to clinch the championship. Vettel, meanwhile, faced the uphill task of outscoring Hamilton by 17 points to keep his title hopes alive.

Despite Vettel’s determined drive to finish fourth, it wasn’t enough; Hamilton crossed the line in ninth, a result that still sealed the championship. Hamilton’s mere 2 points were enough for his fourth title, underscoring a season he had long dominated in the face of Vettel’s early challenge.

2017 Mexican Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	71	1:36:26.552	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	71	+19.678s	18
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	71	+54.007s	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	+70.078s	12
5	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India Mercedes	70	+1 lap	10
6	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	70	+1 lap	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	70	+1 lap	6
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	70	+1 lap	4
9	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	70	+1 lap	2
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	70	+1 lap	1
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	70	+1 lap	0
12	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Honda	70	+1 lap	0
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	70	+1 lap	0
14	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber Ferrari	69	+2 laps	0
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	69	+2 laps	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	59	DNF	0
NC	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	55	DNF	0
NC	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	30	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	24	DNF	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	5	DNF	0

2023

At the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix—the third running under this name, having previously been titled the Mexican Grand Prix—Max Verstappen claimed a record-breaking sixteenth victory in an F1 season. Charles Leclerc, who had started from pole for Ferrari, finished in third, while the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton took second place. Daniel Ricciardo delivered a standout performance for AlphaTauri, qualifying in fourth and finishing seventh, marking the team’s best results of the season in both sessions. The race further solidified Verstappen’s dominance in 2023, a season that would see him win a record 19 races.

2023 Mexico City Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	71	2:02:30.814	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	+13.875s	19
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	71	+23.124s	15
4	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	71	+27.154s	12
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	71	+33.266s	10
6	63	George Russell	Mercedes	71	+41.020s	8
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	71	+41.570s	6
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	71	+43.104s	4
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	71	+48.573s	2
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	71	+62.879s	1
11	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	71	+66.208s	0
12	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	71	+78.982s	0
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	71	+80.309s	0
14	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	71	+81.676s	0
15	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	71	+85.597s	0
16	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	70	DNF	0
17	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	66	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	47	DNF	0
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	31	DNF	0
NC	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1	DNF	0
Note – Hamilton scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Bottas received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.

F1 Driver Birthdays 29 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
29 October 1907	Guerino Bertocchi (d. 1981)
29 October 1915	Milt Fankhauser (d. 1970)
29 October 1932	Alex Soler-Roig
29 October 1951	Tiff Needell
29 October 1998	Lance Stroll

F1 Driver Deaths 29 October

Death	F1 Driver
29 October 1956	Louis Rosier (b. 1905)

F1 Champion 29 October

Date	Team/Driver
29 October 2017	Lewis Hamilton
29 October 1995	Benetton