Every day is an opportunity to take a “dive” into the history of F1 and motorsport. Let’s take a look at the most important events of the day.
Today’s retrospective is short but extremely concise. In Formula 1, we will remember how Sebastian Vettel proved to everyone that he is a driver who would conquer everything in the sport, while we will learn when the shortest (full) race in the history of the event took place. In MotoGP, Indianapolis made its debut 16 years ago while Valentino Rossi took another victory in front of his compatriots.
Read below what happened On This Day, 14/9, in the world of Formula 1 and motorsport.
On this day in 1980, a year after its first non-championship F1 race, the Imola track hosted the official Italian GP for the first time, due to the absence of Monza from the schedule for renovation works. Nelson Piquet from Brabham comfortably drove to victory, with Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann from Williams joining him on the podium. The race also went down in history for the severe accident of Gilles Villeneuve in the 6th lap, in which, fortunately, he was not injured.
On this day in 2001, Mika Häkkinen announced that he would not compete in Formula 1 for the 2002 season, with his seat at McLaren being filled by the then-up-and-coming and young compatriot, Kimi Räikkönen. The two-time world champion ultimately never returned to the sport, despite offers he received from major teams. After a career that saw him race for nearly three decades, starting in karts in 1974 at just 5 years old, the “Flying Finn” decided to retire to dedicate himself to his family.
On this day in 2003, the fastest and shortest full race in the history of F1 was completed. Specifically, the Italian GP at Monza lasted just 1 hour and 14 minutes, with winner Michael Schumacher taking the checkered flag having recorded an average speed close to 248 km/h. The top five in the standings remained unchanged from start to finish, with the German Ferrari champion being followed on the podium by Juan Pablo Montoya from Williams and Rubens Barrichello. Notably, Mark Gene made an impression in the other Williams – the Spanish tester returned to the grid after almost three years, replacing the injured Ralf Schumacher, and finished 5th for the best result of his career.
On this day in 2008, Sebastian Vettel made history as the youngest race winner in Formula 1, impressively converting his pole position into victory at the Italian GP. Driving for Toro Rosso at just 21 years old, the German made waves in the wet conditions of Monza and achieved a highly unexpected result, as well as the first victory in F1 for a team now known as Scuderia AlphaTauri and formerly as Minardi. Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica joined Vettel on the podium of this timeless race, while title challengers Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton settled for 6th and 7th respectively.
On this day, also in 2008, history was made in Indianapolis as a major motorcycle race was hosted there for the first time since 1909, the first year of operation of the legendary American track. It was the 14th stop of the MotoGP season, which took place under adverse conditions due to Hurricane Ike affecting the area. The race finished early by 7 laps, with Valentino Rossi being crowned the winner. Nicky Hayden was second and Jorge Lorenzo was third.
On this day in 2014, Valentino Rossi triumphed in Misano and returned to victory after the Dutch GP of the previous year. In fact, the MotoGP legend notched up his 107th career victory and became the first rider to accumulate over 5,000 points. Jorge Lorenzo was second and Dani Pedrosa was third.
Photos: thebishf1/X