What Happened On This Day October 5 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, October 5 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1922

Jose Froilan Gonzalez, known as the Pampas Bull, was born on this day in Argentina. He won twice in 27 races, both for Ferrari, including their first F1 success at the 1951 British Grand Prix. His second win came after a stint with Maserati when he triumphed again at Silverstone during the 1954 British Grand Prix. His nickname was a reference to his bulk, and his close friends tended to call him “El Cabezon” or “Fat Head.”

1962

Michael Andretti, son of world champion Mario Andretti, was born on this day in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While he became a force in US racing, his one season in Formula One was far from successful. Signed by McLaren to drive alongside Ayrton Senna in 1993, Andretti struggled to adapt from IndyCars and was hindered by his refusal to relocate to Europe. Three crashes in his first three races did not bode well, and although he finished third at Monza in September for his one and only podium, the decision had already been taken and he left the team by mutual consent immediately after. He then returned to the USA, where he enjoyed considerable success.

1969

Lotus driver Jochen Rindt won the 1969 United States Grand Prix, with the Brabham of Piers Courage finishing second. Tragically, by the time the F1 paddock returned to Watkins Glen a year later, both drivers were dead. Graham Hill suffered severe leg injuries during the race when a tyre burst on his Lotus on the 92nd lap. He was fortunate to survive. Shortly before the crash, he had spun, and after climbing out of his car to push it and restart the engine, he failed to resecure his seat belts. When he veered off the track and hit a bank, he was thrown from the car. For some time, it was believed he might not drive again, but he was back in the cockpit for the opening race of the 1970 season five months later. Hill and Rindt had also survived major crashes at the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix in May. In a lighter moment, another British legend, Stirling Moss, who had been working as a commentator, was stopped by police for doing 83 mph in a 50 mph zone as he drove away from the track. BRM driver John Surtees finished third.

1969 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Jochen Rindt	Lotus Ford	108	1:57:56.840	9
2	18	Piers  Courage	Brabham Ford	108	+46.990s	6
3	14	John Surtees	BRM	106	+2 laps	4
4	8	Jack Brabham	Brabham Ford	106	+2 laps	3
5	12	Pedro Rodriguez	Ferrari	101	+7 laps	2
6	19	Silvio  Moser	Brabham Ford	98	+10 laps	1
NC	16	Johnny  Servoz-Gavin	Matra Ford	92	+16 laps	0
NC	1	Graham Hill	Lotus Ford	90	DNF	0
NC	7	Jacky Ickx	Brabham Ford	77	DNF	0
NC	22	George Eaton		76	DNF	0
NC	4	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra Ford	72	DNF	0
NC	5	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	52	DNF	0
NC	3	Jackie Stewart	Matra Ford	35	DNF	0
NC	21	Pete  Lovely	Lotus Ford	25	DNF	0
NC	15	Jackie Oliver	BRM	23	DNF	0
NC	9	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	10	Jo Siffert	Lotus Ford	3	DNF	0

1975

Teamwork helped Niki Lauda secure his fifth win of the season at the 1975 United States Grand Prix and Ferrari’s first-ever win at Watkins Glen. Lauda, already crowned champion, won by 4.9 seconds over the McLaren of Emerson Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi was left fuming as he was blocked for five laps by Clay Regazzoni, who, after being lapped by Lauda, refused to let Fittipaldi pass despite repeated and angry gestures from the Brazilian. Eventually, Regazzoni was black-flagged, but Lauda’s lead had increased from one to twelve seconds by then, and the damage was done. The Times condemned Regazzoni for a “blatant example of unsportsmanlike driving.” McLaren teammate Jochen Mass finished in third place.

1975 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	12	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	59	1:42:58.175	9
2	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren Ford	59	+4.943s	6
3	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren Ford	59	+47.637s	4
4	24	James Hunt	Hesketh Ford	59	+49.475s	3
5	5	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	59	+49.986s	2
6	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell Ford	59	+50.321s	1
7	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March Ford	59	+104.031s	0
8	10	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March Ford	58	+1 lap	0
9	28	John Watson	Penske Ford	57	+2 laps	0
10	30	Wilson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	55	+4 laps	0
NC	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow Ford	52	+7 laps	0
NC	6	Brian Henton	Lotus Ford	49	+10 laps	0
NC	25	Brett Lunger	Hesketh Ford	46	DNF	0
NC	31	Roelof  Wunderink	Ensign Ford	41	DNF	0
NC	11	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	28	DNF	0
NC	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow Ford	19	DNF	0
NC	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	27	Mario Andretti	Parnelli Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	23	Tony Brise	Hill Ford	5	DNF	0
NC	15	Michel Leclere	Tyrrell Ford	5	DNF	0
NC	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham Ford	2	DNF	0

1980

Williams driver Alan Jones took his fifth win of the season—sixth if you count the controversially discounted 1980 Spanish Grand Prix—at the 1980 USA East Grand Prix, just a week after clinching the Drivers’ title. “I had nothing to lose, so I was determined to enjoy myself,” he said. This would be the last Grand Prix held at the famous Watkins Glen circuit. The decline had been evident for some time, and despite attempts at resurfacing and increasing runoff areas, it wasn’t enough. Commercial reasons also played a part, as attendances had slowly fallen. This race was also the final one for the previous year’s champion, Jody Scheckter, who had managed only one points finish all season—a fifth place—in an underperforming Ferrari. “Now I am no longer a racing driver,” Scheckter said. “I am an ordinary citizen.” It was also the final race for former champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who later returned to racing in the American CART series.

Jones’ teammate Carlos Reutemann finished second in the race, with the Ligier of Didier Pironi claiming third.

1980 USA East Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	27	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	59	1:34:36.050	9
2	28	Carlos Reutemann	Williams Ford	59	+4.210s	6
3	25	Didier Pironi	Ligier Ford	59	+12.570s	4
4	12	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	59	+29.690s	3
5	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Ford	58	+1 lap	2
6	11	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	58	+1 lap	1
7	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	58	+1 lap	0
8	9	Marc Surer	ATS Ford	57	+2 laps	0
9	50	Rupert Keegan	Williams Ford	57	+2 laps	0
10	21	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi Ford	57	+2 laps	0
11	1	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	56	+3 laps	0
NC	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	50	+9 laps	0
NC	2	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	49	DNF	0
NC	3	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell Ford	40	+19 laps	0
NC	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows Ford	36	DNF	0
NC	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	31	DNF	0
NC	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham Ford	25	DNF	0
NC	31	Eddie  Cheever	Osella Ford	21	DNF	0
NC	6	Hector Rebaque	Brabham Ford	20	DNF	0
NC	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	14	Jan Lammers	Ensign Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	20	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	4	Derek Daly	Tyrrell Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	2	DNF	0

2014

The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka saw treacherous wet conditions due to the impact of Typhoon Phanfone, which caused heavy rain throughout the race. The race was ultimately won by Lewis Hamilton, who passed his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg to claim victory while Rosberg finished second for a Mercedes 1-2 finish, and Sebastian Vettel took third place for Red Bull. The race, however, is sadly remembered for the eventually fatal accident involving Marussia driver Jules Bianchi, who collided with a recovery vehicle attending to Adrian Sutil‘s crashed Sauber. Bianchi sustained severe head injuries, which later proved fatal, casting a shadow over the event. Bianchi remained comatose until his death nine months later, on 17 July 2015, aged 25.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

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

2014 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	44	1:51:43.021	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	+9.180s	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	44	+29.122s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Renault	44	+38.818s	12
5	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	44	+67.550s	10
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	44	+113.773s	8
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	44	+115.126s	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	44	+115.948s	4
9	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Renault	44	+127.638s	2
10	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	43	DNF	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR Renault	43	+1 lap	0
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	43	+1 lap	0
13	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber Ferrari	43	+1 lap	0
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren Mercedes	43	+1 lap	0
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	43	+1 lap	0
16	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus Renault	43	+1 lap	0
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham Renault	43	+1 lap	0
18	4	Max Chilton	Marussia Ferrari	43	+1 lap	0
19	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham Renault	43	+1 lap	0
20	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia Ferrari	41	DNF	0
21	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber Ferrari	40	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	2	DNF	0

2014

Today marks the anniversary of the tragic passing of Andrea de Cesaris, who lost his life on this day in a motorcycle accident on the Grande Raccordo Anulare motorway in Rome. de Cesaris was a fast but erratic driver who competed in an impressive 208 Grand Prix throughout his F1 career. Despite never securing a victory, he achieved five podium finishes. His career was characterised by moments of brilliance, crashes, and missed opportunities.

F1 Driver Birthdays 5 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
5 October 1922	Jose Froilan Gonzalez (d. 2013)
5 October 1962	Michael Andretti
5 October 1992	Kevin Magnussen

F1 Driver Deaths 5 October

Death	F1 Driver
5 October 2014	Andrea de Cesaris (b. 1959)