© F1-photo.com / Cahier Archive
July 15th has seen several British Grand Prix races over the years.
The first British Formula 1 race held on this date was in 1961 (above). Victory went to Wolfgang von Trips in a dominant wet weather performance for Ferrari which saw his team mates Phil Hill and Richie Ginther join him on the podium. Home favourite Stirling Moss had been forced out with brake issues but then took over Jack Fairman's Ferguson - only to be disqualified for receiving a push start.
©DavidPhipps
Six years later, Jim Clark held on to take victory in the 1967 British Grand Prix. The Lotus team had been going through a tough time with reliability problems, and Clark's team mate Graham Hill ended up retiring from the lead with suspension issues. Clark crossed the line 12s ahead of Braham's Denny Hulme to win his home race, but that year's title ultimately went ot the Kiwi.
In 1972 it was Emerson Fittipaldi who claimed the honours at Brands Hatch in the beautiful black-and-gold Lotus. He won by a narrow margin over Tyrell's Jackie Stewart. Jackie Icyx had been on pole before his Ferrari succumbed to oil pressure issues while Ronnie Peterson suffered a late spin and his March crashed into the retired cars of Graham Hill and Francois Cevert.
© F1-photo.com / Cahier Archive
The next British Grand Prix on the 15th wasn't until 1990. That was another Ferrari victory, this time with Alain Prost at the wheel. He benefitted from mechanical issues for team mate Nigel Mansell and a spin for Aryton Senna. The McLaren driver eventually finished in third place behind Williams' Thierry Boutsen, but it was Senna who had the last laugh when he clinched that year's championship.
Ferrari should have won the 2001 British Grand Prix as well. Michael Schumacher started the race from pole position but he struggled with balance issues and the victory went to McLaren's Mika Hakkinen.
© XPB
