What Happened On This Day September 23 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, September 23 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1887

Alfieri Maserati was born on this day in Voghera, Italy. He became an engineer and, along with his brothers, established Maserati as a racing team and car manufacturer. As a driver, he won several races on either side of World War One. Sadly, Alfieri Maserati passed away in 1932 during surgery to repair liver damage sustained in a racing accident five years earlier.

The company’s legacy in F1 was cemented by the iconic Maserati 250F. This stunningly designed car not only helped Stirling Moss showcase his talents, eventually leading him to a factory drive with Mercedes, but it also propelled Juan Manuel Fangio to the 1954 and 1957 World Drivers’ Championships.

The 1954 championship also stands out as it was the year when Fangio drove and won races for Maserati and Mercedes-Benz, making him the only driver in F1 history to win a championship driving for more than one team in the same season.

1973

Utter confusion surrounded McLaren driver Peter Revson‘s victory at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park. It took more than ten minutes after the chequered flag for officials to announce the result, and only after a series of protests was it confirmed. The chaos stemmed from accidents and a rain-delayed start. When the safety car came out on the 55th lap, Emerson Fittipaldi was leading. However, ten laps under the yellow flag followed, creating confusion. Fittipaldi claimed, “I was ahead of Revson from the start. I don’t see how I didn’t win.” Lotus boss Colin Chapman, convinced of Fittipaldi’s victory, threw his hat in the air as Fittipaldi crossed the line. It was later revealed that the safety car, a new concept, had come out ahead of the wrong car, allowing Revson to legally make up a lap. Brit, Jackie Oliver claimed third with the Shadow team, his first podium in five years and his last ever. It also turned out to be Revson’s last victory and podium finish in Formula One.

1973 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Peter Revson	McLaren Ford	80	1:59:04.083	9
2	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus Ford	80	+32.734s	6
3	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow Ford	80	+34.505s	4
4	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	80	+36.514s	3
5	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell Ford	79	+1 lap	2
6	25	Howden  Ganley	Iso Marlboro Ford	79	+1 lap	1
7	27	James Hunt	March Ford	78	+2 laps	0
8	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	78	+2 laps	0
9	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees Ford	78	+2 laps	0
10	29	Chris Amon	Tyrrell Ford	77	+3 laps	0
11	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham Ford	77	+3 laps	0
12	9	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham Ford	76	+4 laps	0
13	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	75	+5 laps	0
14	26	Tim  Schenken	Iso Marlboro Ford	75	+5 laps	0
15	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	75	+5 laps	0
16	12	Graham Hill	Shadow Ford	73	+7 laps	0
17	16	George  Follmer	Shadow Ford	73	+7 laps	0
18	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees Ford	72	DNF	0
NC	18	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March Ford	71	+9 laps	0
NC	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign Ford	68	+12 laps	0
NC	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	62	DNF	0
NC	0	Jody Scheckter	McLaren Ford	32	DNF	0
NC	6	Francois Cevert	Tyrrell Ford	32	DNF	0
NC	15	Mike  Beuttler	March Ford	20	DNF	0
NC	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	19	Peter Gethin	BRM	5	DNF	0

1981

Robert Doornbos was born on this day in Rotterdam, Netherlands. A driver whose diverse career spanned Formula One, Champ Car, A1GP, and IndyCar.

Robert Doornbos

F1 Debut 2005 German Grand Prix

Current/Last Team Red Bull Racing

Though his time in F1 was relatively short, he raced under both Dutch and Monégasque licences and competed in Formula One for Minardi and Red Bull Racing between 2005 and 2006, alongside stints as a test and third driver with Jordan.

1990

A brilliant victory at the 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix dispelled speculation that Ferrari driver Nigel Mansell would retire. This win and a new deal to drive for Williams after two seasons with Ferrari influenced his decision to continue racing. Mansell fended off a strong challenge from the McLaren of Ayrton Senna in a race stopped nine laps early after Alex Caffi crashed his Arrows. In post-race interviews, Mansell’s teammate, Alain Prost, who finished third, admitted he was out of the title race and criticised his Ferrari team, saying, “We don’t deserve to win the world championship because there is nobody in the team with the authority to give direction and make the strategy to compete with McLaren.”

This race was notable for being the first in Formula One to feature an effective traction control system. Ferrari installed the system on both Prost’s and Mansell’s cars. The system helped Prost secure a third-place podium finish. Although Mansell’s car was also equipped with the system, he opted to turn it off during the race but still went on to claim victory.

1990 Portuguese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Nigel Mansell	Ferrari	61	1:22:11.014	9
2	27	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	61	+2.808s	6
3	1	Alain Prost	Ferrari	61	+4.189s	4
4	28	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	61	+5.896s	3
5	20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Ford	61	+57.418s	2
6	19	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton Ford	61	+58.249s	1
7	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	60	+1 lap	0
8	4	Jean Alesi	Tyrrell Ford	60	+1 lap	0
9	9	Michele Alboreto	Arrows Ford	60	+1 lap	0
10	25	Nicola Larini	Ligier Ford	59	+2 laps	0
11	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	59	+2 laps	0
12	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	Leyton House Judd	59	+2 laps	0
13	10	Alex Caffi	Arrows Ford	58	DNF	0
14	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Lamborghini	58	DNF	0
15	21	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara Ford	58	+3 laps	0
NC	26	Philippe Alliot	Ligier Ford	52	DNF	0
NC	7	David Brabham	Brabham Judd	52	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Judd	51	DNF	0
NC	5	Thierry Boutsen	Williams Renault	30	DNF	0
NC	29	Eric Bernard	Lola Lamborghini	24	DNF	0
NC	8	Stefano Modena	Brabham Judd	21	DNF	0
NC	12	Martin Donnelly	Lotus Lamborghini	14	DNF	0
NC	11	Derek Warwick	Lotus Lamborghini	5	DNF	0
NC	18	Yannick Dalmas	AGS Ford	3	DNF	0

2012

The McLaren of Lewis Hamilton started from pole position at the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix, but it was Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel who claimed his second victory of the season after Hamilton’s gearbox failed early in the race. Hamilton’s teammate Jenson Button claimed second while Fernando Alonso completed the podium in third for Ferrari.

Following the race, the stewards handed the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher a ten-place grid penalty for the next round at Suzuka, after his collision with the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne, which resulted in both drivers retiring from the race.

2012 Singapore Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	59	2:00:26.144	25
2	3	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	59	+8.959s	18
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	59	+15.227s	15
4	11	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	59	+19.063s	12
5	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	59	+34.784s	10
6	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus Renault	59	+35.759s	8
7	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	59	+36.698s	6
8	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	59	+42.829s	4
9	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR Ferrari	59	+45.820s	2
10	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber Ferrari	59	+50.619s	1
11	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	59	+67.175s	0
12	24	Timo Glock	Marussia Cosworth	59	+91.918s	0
13	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	59	+97.141s	0
14	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	59	+99.413s	0
15	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham Renault	59	+107.967s	0
16	25	Charles Pic	Marussia Cosworth	59	+132.925s	0
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT Cosworth	58	+1 lap	0
18	19	Bruno Senna	Williams Renault	57	DNF	0
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham Renault	57	+2 laps	0
NC	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Ferrari	38	DNF	0
NC	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	38	DNF	0
NC	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	36	DNF	0
NC	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT Cosworth	30	DNF	0
NC	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	22	DNF	0

2024

Rupert Keegan died on this day, 23 September 2024, in Portoferraio, Italy, after a long battle with cancer, aged 69. A driver whose career captured both the grit and glamour of 1970s Formula One, Keegan rose rapidly through the junior ranks, clinching the 1976 British Formula 3 Championship — a triumph that propelled him onto the world stage. He made his F1 debut on 8 May 1977 and went on to compete in 37 Grand Prix. Though he never scored a championship point, he achieved his best finish with a determined seventh place at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix in a Hesketh.

Rupert Keegan

F1 Debut 1977 Spanish Grand Prix

Current/Last Team March

Keegan drove for Hesketh and Surtees during his early F1 seasons, later returning with RAM in a Williams FW07B and making further appearances with March. Away from the main championship spotlight, he found greater success by winning the 1979 Aurora Formula One Championship. After his F1 career, he raced in America in CART and competed in endurance events before moving into business and working as a racing instructor.

F1 Driver Birthdays 23 September

Birthday	F1 Driver
23 September 1930	Don Edmunds (d. 2020)
23 September 1931	Jim Packard (d. 1960) He attempted to qualify for the 1959 and 1960 Indianapolis 500, which would have earned him results towards the Formula One championship. However, he was not able to qualify.
23 September 1981	Robert Doornbos
23 September 1995	Jack Aitken

F1 Driver Deaths 23 September

Death	F1 Driver
23 September 2021	Nino Vaccarella (b. 1933)
23 September 2024	Rupert Keegan (b. 1955)