As of 2016, there have been 10 F1 races on July 16 in the 67 years of F1’s history, many of which have seen their fair share of historic moments.
Here are just four reasons July 16 is a historic day in F1 history:
1-2. Two first-time winners
The first F1 race to be held on July 16 was in 1955, where Stirling Moss picked up his maiden F1 victory. The race was held in front of his home fans at Aintree Circuit in England. Moss had run second behind his Mercedes teammate Juan Manuel Fangio for most of the race. However, as they came to the line Moss edged out Fangio to take the win over his teammate by just 0.2 seconds, much to the delight of his home fans. However, the title became Fangio’s. Many believe that Fangio let Moss win that day, although the Argentine legend never admitted to it.
Johnny Herbert's maiden F1 win was made possible when Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher collided at the British GP in Silverstone on July 16, 1995.
40 years later, Johnny Herbert joined Stirling Moss in the record books as a British winner at the British GP when he crossed the line in first position in his Benetton at Silverstone. Herbert was helped out a bit on Lap 46 when Damon Hill attempted an ambitious pass on championship rival Michael Schumacher for the lead. The two came together and were out on the spot.
3-4. Two legendary debutants
Back in that race at Aintree in 1955, a 29-year-old Australian named Jack Brabham made his debut in a Cooper T40. While Brabham failed to finish the race, he continued to make history on July 16 with race wins at Silverstone in 1960 and Brands Hatch in 1966 on that same date. Brabham went on to win three world championships.
While he was never champion, another F1 legend who made his debut on July 16 was Gilles Villeneuve at the 1977 British GP at Silverstone. Villeneuve finished in 11th position in a McLaren M23, in his only race that was not in a Ferrari. Villeneuve went on to take six wins in his all-too-short F1 career.
