On this day in 2002, chaos ensued at the first corner of the Australian Grand Prix. The Williams of Ralf Schumacher locked up and ran into the rear of Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari. This crash caused 8 cars, including Ralf's and Rubens' cars to retire. This race also saw a small, Australian rookie by the name of Mark Webber get his first points, and Minardi's only points of that year on his debut, and in front of his home crowd.

On this day, March 4th, in 1936, two-time F1 World Champion Jim Clark was born in Kilmany, Scotland.

On this day, February 28th, in 1940, F1 World Champion, and racing legend, Mario Andretti was born in modern-day Montona, Italy.

On this day, February 24th, in 1955, four-time world champion, and team founder, manager, and owner, Alain Prost was born in Lorette, France.

On this day, February 23rd in 1958, Juan Manuel Fangio was kidnapped by Cuban revolutionaries two days before the Cuban Grand Prix. His kidnapping was purely for Fidel Castro's political views with bringing attention to himself, and Fangio was not hurt in the whole debacle.

On this day, February 22nd in 1949, three-time F1 World Champion and Non-Executive Chairman of Mercedes AMG F1 Team, Niki Laura was born in Vienna, Austria. (Also, I have returned from my extended hiatus! My life has leveled out, and I'll try to stay more on track with the posts.)

On this day in 1948, F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg was born in Solna, Sweden. Happy 1 year anniversary!

Apologies

Hey there, just wanted to quickly apologize for my lack of posting lately. As all content creators who haven't created content for a while say, "School's just been really busy." And I have to agree with that one. School has been really busy for me first and foremost. And while I missed out on relatively small things like Pascal Wehrlein's birthday, or the only running of the Moroccan Grand Prix in 1958, but when I missed posting about the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, that was just kinda inexcusable. And to be fair, it's not just been school. Overwatch and Forza Horizon 3 are incredible, this U.S. election is just killing me as an American, and when I actually have free time, and I don't feel like playing either Overwatch or Forza Horizon 3, I need to watch TV to keep up with my acting career. So, this blog has simply fallen to the wayside. I'm sorry to everyone who's been looking forward to my posts, because I've simply dropped the ball on this one. I'll resume posting whenever I find the time, but for now, I just need to get my life sorted out. -todayinf1

On this day, October 30th, in 1988, the title-deciding round of that season was held at the Japanese Grand Prix. The only drivers capable of clinching the title were McLaren's Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the all-conquering MP4/4. Senna's chances of clinching the title were slim off the start as he stalled his car from pole position, and started back up in 14th place. But with the brilliant combination of a dominant car, light rain, and an exquisite pass on his teammate, the championship for Senna was secured giving him is first World Championship.

On this day, October 28th in 1930, Chief Executive of the Formula One Group and former Brabham Executive Bernie Ecclestone was born in Bungay, England.

On this day, October 27th, in 2013, Sebastian Vettel clinched his 4th World Championship in dominant fashion at the Indian Grand Prix. Donuts were served on track, and Vettel bowed to his car in respect much to the delight of the fans.

On this day, October 26th, in 1986, the Australian Grand Prix held the title-deciding race of that season where one of three drivers could have clinched the title. The three were Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, and Alain Prost. Mansell had a substantial lead points, but will still vulnerable to losing the championship if he finished out of the points, or retired. Chances were small for Prost and Piquet, but still there. The gap in points proved to be substantial for Mansell's championship hopes were quickly dashed as on lap 63, his left rear tire exploded in a shower of sparks, forcing him to retire and prompt Piquet to pit out of precautionary measures. All either Prost or Piquet had to do to clinch the championship was for 1 to finish ahead of the other, and after Piquet's stop, he was 15 seconds behind Prost. This gap closed to 4.2 seconds, but the race ended and the championship was Prost's.

On this day, October 26th, in 1997, the title-deciding race of that season was held at the European Grand Prix in Jerez. The deciding moment of the race wasn't at the finish line, but at an overtake of Jacques Villeneuve on Michael Schumacher on lap 48 ended with Schumacher intentionally turning into Villeneuve retiring Michael's car with the intent of retiring Jacques' car therefore securing the championship for Michael by 1 point. However, only Michael's car suffered damage letting Villeneuve limo home to 3rd place, but clinch the championship by 3 points. Major backlash followed after the race against Schumacher, and instead of finishing as runner-up to Villeneuve that year, Michael was disqualified entirely for his actions at that race.

On this day in 1997, the closest qualifying session ever was held at the European Grand Prix. Identical times are rare, but not unheard of. But to have a 3-way tie for pole position has never happened. The tie-up was between Williams' Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, and pole position was decided by who set the 1:21.072 time first which was Villeneuve followed by Schumacher and Frentzen respectively.

On this day, October 24th in 1976, the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix was held which had a legendary rain-soaked title decider between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. All Lauda had to do to win the championship was finish ahead of Hunt. However, Niki's chances dropped as he withdrew on lap 2 from concerns regarding the amount of rain falling at Fuji Speedway. This now meant Hunt had to finish 3rd or higher, which he would go on to did, beating Lauda by a single point.

On this day, October 22nd in 1989, Alain Prost collided with Ayrton Senna at the Casio Triangle of the title-deciding Japanese Grand Prix for that year. Prost retired, but Senna continued through the escape road and technically won the race, but was disqualified for using the completely legal escape road sparking much controversy, and clinched the championship for Prost.

On this day in 2007, a dramatic title-decider at Interlagos ended with Kimi Raikkonen emerging victorious not only in the race, but in the Driver's Championship as well. Coming into the race, Lewis Hamilton led in the standings only 4 points clear of his teammate, Fernando Alonso, and 7 points clear of Raikkonen. However, early gearbox issues in Hamilton's McLaren all but destroyed his hopes of becoming a rookie World Champion, which opened up the door for Alonso to pounce. However, the two Ferraris of Raikkonen and Felipe Massa held the first two spots with Raikkonen ahead. With Hamilton's 7th, Alonso's 3rd, and Raikkonen's win, this meant that Alonso and Hamilton were tied for 2nd place with Raikkonen emerging the victor for that season.