• September 20 down the years

Victorious Prost becomes the most successful driver

1987
Alain Prost recorded his 28th career win - beating the record of 27 held by Jackie Stewart since 1973 - at an event-filled Portuguese Grand Prix, his relentless harrying of long-time leader Gerhard Berger paying off two laps from the end when Berger spun his Ferrari. "I wasn't altogether surprised when he spun because we were both running very hard," Prost said. The race had to be restarted after the first attempt finished after two laps following a multi-car pile-up at the first corner. Off the track, the headlines were taken by a very unhappy Nigel Mansell, who made no secret of the fact he thought his Honda team were not working with him and that his car was "five miles-per-hour slower than the others". He retired after 13 laps with engine trouble, almost ending his hopes of winning the drivers' title.

1873
The birth of the first grand prix winner, Ferenc Szisz, in Szeghalom, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. An engineer, he moved to France in 1900 and acted as the riding mechanic for Louis Renault and subsequently took up driving. It was in 1906 he drove a Renault AK 90CV to victory in the first Grand Prix at Le Mans.

1989
American driver Richie Ginther died of a heart attack while on holiday was his family in France aged 59. His F1 debut at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1960 in a Ferrari saw him finish sixth. From this, Ferrari signed him to race in 1961 and his battle with Stirling Moss in Monaco was the performance which gave him considerable attention. But at Indianapolis in 1967 he broke a fuel line at Indianapolis and a mix of ethanol and gasoline spilled down his back. He decided enough was enough and retired there and then. In 52 F1 starts he had one win, in Mexico in 1965.

1975
Fast and feisty, Juan Pablo Montoya, who was born on this day in Columbia, was seen as the man who could topple Michael Schumacher when he landed a drive with Williams in 2001 after winning the Indianapolis 500. His best year was 2003 when he could have secured the title but for a drive-through penalty back at Indianapolis. A switch to McLaren in 2005 produced a season-best three wins but quit in 2006, disenchanted with the sport. Thereafter he drove in NASCAR in the USA.

1914
Peter Whitehead, who was born on this day in Yorkshire, was the first Ferrari F1 privateer after convincing Enzo Ferrari to allow him to buy a Formula 1 car in 1949. In ten starts he climbed on the podium once, leading the French Grand prix in 1950 before gearbox problems relegated him to third. In 1958 while competing in the Tour de France Automobile, his 3.4-litre Jaguar, driven by his half-brother Graham, plunged off a bridge at Lasalle, near Nimes. Peter was killed.

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