• October 1 down the years

Lotuses limp to victory

1967
Jim Clark and Graham Hill completed a British 1-2 at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, keeping the season alive to the final race - in the event Denny Hulme did enough in Mexico to take the title despite Clark winning there too. Hill had led until he suffered from gear problems, allowing Clark to overtake and then Chris Amon's Ferrari to take second. Amon ran out of oil, restoring Hill to second, but by then he was seeimingly too far behind to challenge his team-mate. Three laps from the finish a support broke on the top of Clark's right rear suspension, causing the wheel to sag inward and forcing him to slow when cornering. Hill was in no position to fully capitalise and both Lotuses eventually spluttered over the line with Hulme, who seemed set to pip them both, back in third after running out of fuel at the death.

2006
The 91st and - to date - last Formula One win for Michael Schumacher came at the Chinese Grand Prix which drew him level in the drivers' standings with Fernando Alonso, who came second in his Renault. Alonso had been leading by 19 seconds from Giancarlo Fisichella when he pitted on the 22nd lap, but a mistake with his tyres cost him dear. "The decision to switch Fernando to new intermediate tyres at his first stop was taken jointly, and obviously cost him time as he waited for them to scrub in," said Michelin F1 director, Nick Shorrock. "With the benefit of hindsight that was a mistake but, in the heat of a race, split-second decisions have to be taken." Schumacher got past Fisichella when the pair pitted and was never headed.

1912
In a brief career, David Bruce-Brown won the American Grand Prix in 1910 and 1911 and finished third in the inaugural 1911 Indianapolis 500 . He died on this day in 1912 while practising for the American Grand Prix, a tyre bursting and sending his car into a ditch. Bruce-Brown and his mechanic were hurled into a nearby field and killed. It was said other drivers wept when they heard the news. It was later revealed he had been warned his tyres were dangerously worn before he headed out.

1927
The second British Grand Prix (officially known as the Royal Automobile Club GP) at Brooklands was won by Robert Benoist. It was the fifth and final race in the 1927 AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship season, and as Benoist had won four, his Delage team won the title.

1995
Damon Hill conceded the title was Schumacher's after crashing out of the European Grand Prix on the ninth lap. He had a tight battle for third with Schumacher before he clipped a curb, span and piled into a barrier. Schumacher went on to take the chequered flag with a brilliant drive, leaving him 27 points clear of Hill with only 30 left up for grabs.

1989
A flag-to-flag victory for Ayrton Senna in a McLaren at the Spanish Grand Prix only came after he held of a determined challenge from the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger. Alain Prost, who took third, still held a commanding lead in the drivers' championship, but team-mate Senna's victory kept him in the hunt. "It was Mission Impossible," Prost said. "I just sat back and drove my taxi home for third place."

1978
Carlos Reutemann won the US Grand Prix, the fourth and final win in his last season before leaving Ferrari, while championship leader Mario Andretti, driving the JPS team's second car after an accident in practice, retired when his engine blew.

1942
Born on this day in Paris, Jean-Pierre Jabouille secured his place in the history books when he scored the first win by a turbocharged car at the 1979 French Grand Prix. That it was in a Renault only served to cap a great day for France. It was the first of two F1 wins in 49 starts - those were to be his only podium finishes - but a broken leg in a crash at the 1980 Canadian GP all but ended his career.

1928
Born on this day in Momignies, Belgium, Willy Mairesse only started 12 grands prix over four seasons (finishing three) but in that time gained a reputation for accidents, and his F1 career ended when he crashed at the German GP. In 1968 he was thrown out in a crash at Le Mans and sustained serious head injuries. Although he recovered he realised he could not race again and committed suicide a year later.

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