Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever grand prix winner aged 22 years and 104 days after clinching his maiden grand prix victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix. 43 years since Bruce McLaren became the youngest ever winner, Alonso made the most of appalling starts from the Williams duo of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. The faster Kimi Raikkonen was held up along with all the other Alonso pursuers by Mark Webber's Jaguar, allowing Alonso to stretch his lead and win by almost 17 seconds from Raikkonen and Montoya by the chequered flag. Perhaps more importantly, the victory set up an amazing finish for the drivers' championship with Michael Schumacher on 72 points, Montoya on 71 points and Raikkonen on 70 points.
1997
Michael Schumacher claimed the 26th victory of his Formula One career by winning the Belgian Grand Prix from Giancarlo Fisichella and Mika Hakkinen. The victory will be remembered as one of his finest as Schumacher waltzed away from the field at an embarrassing rate in monsoon-like conditions.
1881
Vincenzo Lancia, the founder of the legendary manufacturer, was born on this day in Fobello near Turin. From an early age he was interested in engineering and soon moved into working in the fledgling motor industry, becoming chief inspector and test driver for Fiat by the time he was 19. Although he showed promise as a racer, his forte was production. He unveiled his first model in 1907 and continued until suffering a fatal heart attack when aged 55 in 1937. His wife and their son continued running the company for another 18 years.
2008
Valencia staged its first ever grand prix and Felipe Massa emerged victorious, winning from Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica. It was a somewhat processional race around the tight new circuit and Massa was in control from the outset. Perhaps the most notable incident of the race came as Kimi Raikkonen tried to leave the pits before the refuelling hose was detached and the team's refueller, Pietro Timpini, was knocked over. He suffered a fracture in his foot and some pain in his back. Massa's victory closed the gap in the championship race to six points between him and leader Hamilton.
1958
Stirling Moss won the Portuguese Grand Prix to close the gap in the drivers' championship to four points between himself and compatriot Mike Hawthorn. There was a sombre mood in the paddock three weeks after Peter Collins's fatal accident at the Nurburgring and Enzo Ferrari (who had lost Luigi Musso a few weeks before Collins) decided not to replace the English driver and so ran only two cars for Hawthorn and Wolfgang Von Trips. Hawthorn was briefly in front before Moss reasserted himself and pulled away to win from Hawthorn's Ferrari and team-mate Stuart Lewis-Evans.
