On 15 March, Formula One history shows that even the start of a season cannot always be taken for granted.

In 1981, political conflict between FISA and the FOCA teams had already disrupted the championship calendar. With the Argentine Grand Prix postponed and a controversial non-championship race held in South Africa, the World Championship effectively began on the streets of Long Beach, where Alan Jones led a Williams one–two finish in the United States Grand Prix West.

More than three decades later, the 2015 Australian Grand Prix opened another season in Melbourne, confirming Mercedes’ dominance of the hybrid era as Lewis Hamilton led teammate Nico Rosberg to a commanding victory.

But in 2020, the Australian Grand Prix became the race that never happened. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world, the event was cancelled just hours before practice was due to begin — delaying the start of the Formula One season and bringing the sport to a sudden halt.

Three very different moments, all tied to one date — when Formula One’s seasons didn’t start quite as planned.

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On 14 March 1993, Formula One returned to Kyalami for a season opener that would quietly become a historic milestone. Alain Prost began his comeback season with victory in the technologically remarkable Williams FW15C, while Ayrton Senna fought hard in an underpowered McLaren and a young Michael Schumacher showed flashes of the future. In the years that followed, the race would take on additional significance as the most recent Formula One World Championship event held in Africa.

We also revisit the opening race of the 2010 season in Bahrain, where Fernando Alonso won on his Ferrari debut and Michael Schumacher made his long-awaited return to Formula One.

And we remember Eugenio Castellotti, one of Ferrari’s most promising drivers of the 1950s, whose career showed immense promise before his tragic death during testing in 1957.

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On 13 March 1983 the Formula One season began in dramatic fashion at Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro. Nelson Piquet thrilled the home crowd by winning for Brabham in their radical new BMW-powered BT52, but the race is remembered just as much for the chaos behind him. A fiery pit stop for Keke Rosberg triggered one of the most unusual outcomes in Grand Prix history: the reigning World Champion finished second on the road, only to be disqualified after the race for receiving an illegal push start — leaving the official results with no driver credited with second place.

In this episode of Chequered Past, we explore that remarkable Brazilian Grand Prix and the turbulent early days of Formula One’s turbo era.

We also remember the life and career of Vic Elford, one of motorsport’s greatest all-round drivers. From winning the Monte Carlo Rally to conquering Daytona and the Targa Florio in the same extraordinary season, Elford’s versatility defined an era when the best drivers succeeded across every form of racing.

Finally, we travel back to Brands Hatch in 1965 for the inaugural Race of Champions, where early dominance from Jim Clark gave way to a surprise overall victory for Lotus teammate Mike Spence after the race was decided across two dramatic heats.

Three stories from one day in racing history — a controversial Grand Prix in Brazil, a tribute to one of motorsport’s most versatile drivers, and a non-championship race that delivered an unexpected winner.

Cover Image: Nelson Piquet by Bill Nicholls, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

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On this day in Formula One history, three races capture the sport at very different moments in its evolution.

At Brands Hatch Circuit in 1967, the Race of Champions brought together many of the era’s leading drivers for one of the most prestigious non-championship contests on the calendar. Dan Gurney guided his Eagle to victory after a race shaped by clever tactics, mechanical trouble and fierce competition from Ferrari, Brabham and Honda.

More than three decades later, the 2000 Australian Grand Prix opened the Formula One season in Melbourne. When Michael Schumacher took victory for Ferrari, it proved to be the first step in ending Ferrari’s 21-year wait for the drivers’ championship and the beginning of one of the most dominant eras in the sport’s history.

Six years later, the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix opened the season that would become Schumacher’s final campaign with Ferrari. His battle with Fernando Alonso that day set the tone for a championship fight that would bring the Schumacher-Ferrari era to its close.

From the non-championship races of the 1960s to the Ferrari dominance of the early 2000s, today’s episode explores how three races on the same date helped frame the beginning — and the ending — of a remarkable period in Formula One history.

Cover image: By Morio, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

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On 11 March 1990, Formula One returned to the streets of Phoenix for the opening race of a new season. What should have been a routine victory for one of the sport’s established stars instead became the race that introduced a remarkable new talent. In only his ninth Grand Prix start, Jean Alesi stunned the paddock by taking the lead at the start and going wheel-to-wheel with Ayrton Senna. Their fierce duel on the tight Phoenix street circuit turned the season opener into one of the most memorable breakthrough performances in modern Formula One.

In this episode of Chequered Past, we revisit that dramatic 1990 United States Grand Prix and the moment Alesi announced himself to the world.

We also celebrate the birthday of Irish driver Derek Daly, whose career took him from the British Formula 3 championship to Formula One before continuing across the Atlantic in IndyCar and endurance racing.

And we remember Arturo Merzario — a distinctive figure of 1970s Formula One — whose courage during Niki Lauda’s fiery Nürburgring crash in 1976 became one of the most remarkable acts of bravery in the sport’s history.

Three stories from one day in racing history: a breakthrough duel, a career that crossed continents, and a moment of courage that saved a champion.

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On this day in motorsport history, a remarkable debut nearly rewrote the record books.

In 1996, Formula One arrived at Albert Park in Melbourne for the first time as the Australian Grand Prix moved from Adelaide. It was also the debut race for Jacques Villeneuve, the reigning CART and Indianapolis 500 champion — and the Canadian immediately made history by taking pole position in his first Formula One race. After a dramatic start and race restart, Villeneuve led most of the race and even set fastest lap, but an oil leak in the closing laps forced him to slow, handing victory to teammate Damon Hill, who equalled the career win total of his father, two-time World Champion Graham Hill.

We also remember Tony Vandervell, who died on this day in 1967. The industrialist behind the Vanwall team helped transform Britain’s place in Grand Prix racing, delivering the country’s first Formula One Constructors’ Championship in 1958 and paving the way for the era of British engineering dominance that followed.

And in 1991, the Formula One season began on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, where Ayrton Senna delivered a commanding victory in the United States Grand Prix — the opening step in the campaign that would bring him his third World Championship.

Cover Image: Jacques Villeneuve 1996 by Rdikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

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On 9 March, the Australian Grand Prix has twice opened the Formula One season in Melbourne — and on both occasions it was David Coulthard who stood on the top step of the podium.

In this episode of Chequered Past, we revisit the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, a race that marked a moment of transition for Formula One. New teams arrived on the grid with the debut of Stewart Grand Prix and Prost Grand Prix, Bridgestone entered the sport as a tyre supplier, and the hastily prepared Lola team collapsed before the race even began. Amid the chaos, reigning world champion Damon Hill started his title defence at the back of the grid with Arrows. But as the race unfolded, early drama for pole-sitter Jacques Villeneuve and late heartbreak for Heinz-Harald Frentzen opened the door for David Coulthard to deliver McLaren’s first victory in more than three years.

Six years later, Melbourne once again launched the season with the 2003 Australian Grand Prix. With Ferrari dominating the early 2000s, the new season began under a completely revised single-lap qualifying format and in unpredictable conditions on race day. Strategy, changing track conditions and a crucial mistake from Juan Pablo Montoya ultimately handed Coulthard another victory at Albert Park — a result that would prove to be the final win of his Formula One career.

We also mark the birthday of Teo Fabi, the Italian driver who built a unique career across Formula One and American open-wheel racing, famously starting the 1983 Indianapolis 500 from pole position as a rookie.

Two Australian Grands Prix, six years apart — and the driver who won them both.

Cover Image: By Martin Lee - David_Coulthard_2003_Silverstone_8, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

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The 1998 Formula One season began in Melbourne with new technical regulations, a dominant McLaren, and a finish that would spark one of the sport’s first controversies of the year.

In this episode of Chequered Past, we revisit the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, where Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard controlled the race for McLaren before a pit-lane misunderstanding changed the order. What followed — Coulthard slowing to allow Häkkinen back through — honoured a pre-race agreement between the teammates but sparked immediate debate and even a protest from the race organisers.

We also mark the birthday of Michael Bartels, whose brief Formula One opportunity with Lotus in 1991 was followed by a long and successful career in touring cars and GT racing, including multiple FIA GT Championship titles and victories at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

And as the 2026 Formula One season begins, we look ahead to a new era for the sport, with sweeping technical regulations, the removal of DRS, new overtaking systems, and the arrival of Audi as a works team alongside Cadillac’s entry as the grid expands.

From Melbourne controversy to the dawn of another championship fight, this episode explores how Formula One’s past and present continue to shape its future.

Cover Image: David Coulthard driving a McLaren Mercedes, Montreal, 1998, by Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

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