What Happened On This Day September 21 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, September 21 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1920

Ken McAlpine was born on this day in Chobham, Surrey, into a wealthy building family. He discovered a passion for racing cars in his late twenties and used his family fortune to compete in seven Grand Prix between 1952 and 1955, racing exclusively with the Connaught team, where he was a significant financial backer and enjoyed several successes as a team owner, including Tony Brooks‘ notable Formula 1 victory at the 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix.

Ken McAlpine

F1 Debut 1952 British Grand Prix

Current/Last Team Connaught

Sadly, the team was disbanded in 1957, and the cars were sold off after McAlpine stopped receiving tax concessions. His first and last Formula One races were both held on British circuits.

1947

In the chaotic post-war period, resuming racing was challenging, with pre-war cars and spare parts in use. The first French Grand Prix after the war took place in Lyons and was won by Monaco-born Louis Chiron driving a Talbot-Lago. On the same day, in Argentina, Oscar Alfredo Galvez won the Mar del Plata Grand Prix at El Torreon. Gálvez would later finish fifth in his one World Championship race at the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix.

1958

Remembering Peter Whitehead, who died on this day, 21 September 1958. He was a British racing driver from Menston, Yorkshire, and one of the most accomplished privateer racers of his generation. Cultured, widely travelled and particularly formidable in sports cars, Whitehead built a career that stretched from the great pre-war circuits to the early years of the Formula One World Championship. His achievements included victory in the 1938 Australian Grand Prix, a famous triumph at the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans, two wins in the 12 Hours of Reims, and a Formula One World Championship podium.

Peter Whitehead

F1 Debut 1950 French Grand Prix

Current/Last Team Privateer

His was also a career lived remarkably close to danger. Whitehead survived a serious aeroplane crash in 1948, only to lose his life ten years later while competing in the Tour de France Automobile. He was 43.

1986

At the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix, Williams driver Nigel Mansell achieved what The Guardian described as “possibly the most important win of his career,” setting him up for a potential championship victory in the penultimate race in Mexico. While he ultimately fell short, Mansell’s “flawless performance” built momentum for the finale. Ayrton Senna, who had started from pole for Lotus, was on course for second place until he ran out of fuel on the last lap due to a malfunctioning computer that incorrectly indicated he had enough fuel. This enabled the McLaren of Alain Prost to take second and Mansell’s teammate, Nelson Piquet, third.

With Mansell’s win and Piquet’s third, it was enough to clinch Williams’s 1986 Constructors’ Championship—their third title.

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  1986 Portuguese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

1986 Portuguese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	70	1:37:21.900	9
2	1	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	70	+18.772s	6
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams Honda	70	+49.274s	4
4	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Renault	69	DNF	3
5	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	69	+1 lap	2
6	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	69	+1 lap	1
7	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier Renault	69	+1 lap	0
8	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton BMW	68	DNF	0
9	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus Renault	68	+2 laps	0
10	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	67	+3 laps	0
11	17	Christian Danner	Arrows BMW	67	+3 laps	0
12	14	Jonathan  Palmer	Zakspeed	67	+3 laps	0
13	22	Allen Berg	Osella Alfa Romeo	63	+7 laps	0
NC	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	62	DNF	0
NC	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola Ford	62	+8 laps	0
NC	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi Motori Moderni	60	DNF	0
NC	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton BMW	44	DNF	0
NC	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi Motori Moderni	43	DNF	0
NC	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren TAG	41	DNF	0
NC	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham BMW	41	DNF	0
NC	26	Philippe Alliot	Ligier Renault	39	DNF	0
NC	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell Renault	28	DNF	0
NC	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell Renault	18	DNF	0
NC	15	Alan  Jones	Lola Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	9	DNF	0
NC	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	8	DNF	0
NC	31	Ivan Capelli	AGS Motori Moderni	6	DNF	0

1997

Jacques Villeneuve claimed his tenth career victory at the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix, starting from pole for Williams. However, the standout of the weekend was Jarno Trulli, who, in just his 14th grand prix, qualified third for the struggling Prost team. Trulli took the lead on the first lap and built a significant advantage before heartbreak struck on lap 59 when his engine blew, forcing his retirement. Michael Schumacher also drew attention, receiving a ten-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, which relegated him to sixth place. David Coulthard claimed second for McLaren, while Villeneuve’s teammate, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, finished in third.

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  1997 Austrian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

1997 Austrian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Renault	71	1:27:35.999	10
2	10	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	71	+2.909s	6
3	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams Renault	71	+3.962s	4
4	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan Peugeot	71	+12.127s	3
5	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan Peugeot	71	+31.859s	2
6	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	+33.410s	1
7	1	Damon Hill	Arrows Yamaha	71	+37.207s	0
8	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Petronas	71	+49.057s	0
9	17	Gianni Morbidelli	Sauber Petronas	71	+66.455s	0
10	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton Renault	70	+1 lap	0
11	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi Hart	69	+2 laps	0
12	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell Ford	69	+2 laps	0
13	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows Yamaha	67	DNF	0
14	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	64	DNF	0
NC	14	Jarno Trulli	Prost Mugen Honda	58	DNF	0
NC	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart Ford	58	DNF	0
NC	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost Mugen Honda	57	DNF	0
NC	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Ford	48	DNF	0
NC	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	38	DNF	0
NC	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton Renault	37	DNF	0
NC	9	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	1	DNF	0

2014

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed victory at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix from pole position, with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finishing second and his teammate Daniel Ricciardo taking third. This marked Hamilton’s seventh win of the season and the 29th of his career. The victory also propelled Hamilton back to the top of the World Drivers’ Championship standings with 241 points, putting him three points ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg, who retired after 14 laps.

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  2014 Singapore Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

2014 Singapore Grand Prix Race Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	60	2:00:04.795	25
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	60	+13.534	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	60	+14.273	15
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	60	+15.389	12
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	60	+42.161	10
6	25	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	60	+56.801	8
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	60	+59.038	6
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	60	+1:00.641	4
9	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	60	+1:01.661	2
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	60	+1:02.230	1
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	60	+1:05.065	0
12	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	60	+1:06.915	0
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	60	+1:08.029	0
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	60	+1:12.008	0
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	60	+1:34.188	0
16	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	60	+1:34.543	0
17	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	59	+1 Lap	0
Ret	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	52	Electrical	0
Ret	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	40	Water leak	0
Ret	21	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	17	Electrical	0
Ret	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	13	Steering wheel	0
DNS	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham		Oil pressure	0

2025

Max Verstappen controlled the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from lights to flag, claiming victory with a dominant 1:33:26.408 run over 51 laps. The Red Bull driver never relinquished the lead, crossing the line 14.609 seconds clear of George Russell, with Carlos Sainz completing the podium in third for Williams after a strong recovery from his near-miss in qualifying on pole. Rookie Kimi Antonelli finished a close fourth, just two seconds shy of a podium, while Liam Lawson delivered a career-best fifth for Racing Bulls, ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in a team-best sixth.

McLaren endured a difficult afternoon. Lando Norris finished seventh, unable to progress from his grid slot and failing to pass Tsunoda in a late duel, while Oscar Piastri and his race ended almost as soon as it began. The championship leader jumped the start, triggered anti-stall, and then crashed out at Turn 5 on the opening lap, cutting his advantage in the standings to 25 points. Ferrari salvaged eighth and ninth with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, while Isack Hadjar secured the final point in tenth for Racing Bulls.

Further down the order, Gabriel Bortoleto finished 11th for Kick Sauber, ahead of Ollie Bearman and Alex Albon, though Albon was penalised 10 seconds for a collision with Franco Colapinto. Esteban Ocon recovered to 14th from the back after a rear wing infringement disqualified his qualifying result, while Fernando Alonso also dropped down the order after a jump-start penalty. Nico Hülkenberg, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, and Colapinto rounded out the finishers. Piastri’s lone retirement tightened the 2025 F1 World Championship narrative, as Verstappen and Norris both closed the gap heading into the final flyaways.

Full Race Report

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  2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Race Results

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPS	TIME / RETIRED	PTS.
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	51	01:33:26	25
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	51	+14.609s	18
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	51	+19.199s	15
4	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	51	+21.760s	12
5	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	51	+33.290s	10
6	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing	51	+33.808s	8
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	51	+34.227s	6
8	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	51	+36.310s	4
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	51	+36.774s	2
10	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	51	+38.982s	1
11	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber	51	+67.606s	0
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas	51	+68.262s	0
13	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	51	+72.870s	0
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas	51	+77.580s	0
15	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	51	+78.707s	0
16	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber	51	+80.237s	0
17	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	51	+96.392s	0
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	50	+1 lap	0
19	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	50	+1 lap	0
NC	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 21 September

Birthday	F1 Driver
21 September 1920	Ken McAlpine (d. 2023)

F1 Driver Deaths 21 September

Death	F1 Driver
21 September 1952	Frank Lueptow (b. 1905) An American racing driver. He attempted to qualify for the 1952 Indianapolis 500, but failed to do so. This was his only Indianapolis 500 entry, as he was killed a few months later in a racing accident.
21 September 1958	Peter Whitehead (b. 1914)
21 September 2012	Mike Sparken (b. 1930)

Death	F1 Mention
21 September 1992	Paul Metternich (b. 1917) President of the FIA between 1975 and 1985.

F1 Champion 21 September

Date	Team/Driver
21 September 1986	Williams