Jochen Rindt won a thrilling Monaco Grand Prix at the final corner, after the race-leader of 67 laps, Jack Brabham, crashed.
Jackie Stewart had taken an early lead but dropped out of contention with a misfire, handing Brabham first place. After holding off Chris Amon in the March, who was forced to retire with suspension failure on lap 61, Brabham looked locked on for the win. However, Rindt suddenly found a turn of pace in his Lotus and closed the gap as Brabham got baulked by Joe Siffert. By the final lap, they were running nose to tail and as they rounded the tight and twisty circuit it looked as though Brabham would hold off Rindt's charge. But with just 400 yards remaining he hit the brakes a fraction too late and slid wide into the hay bales. Rindt breezed past to take victory, leaving his red-faced competitor to reverse his car out of the makeshift barrier and across the line 23 seconds later.
1967
Lorenzo Bandini died in hospital from serious burns after crashing his Ferrari in a ball of flames at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix three days earlier. Bandini had hit a lamp post at the harbour-side chicane, splitting his fuel tank open with him trapped unconscious in the upturned car. Marshalls ran to his aid and rescued Bandini before the majority of fuel caught fire in a massive explosion. He suffered third-degree burns on 70% of his body and died in hospital after some indecision over how to treat him. Bandini took just one victory in his seven year F1 career, at the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari. He did, however, win the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1963, the Targa Florio in 1965 and the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967.
1936
Team orders were employed at the 1936 Tripoli Grand Prix to ensure Italian Achille Varzi won on home soil ahead of Hans Von Stuck in the dominant Auto Unions. The call had come from the Nazi German government that was seeking an alliance with fascist Italy and wanted to sweeten the relationship with its extremist European neighbour as much as possible. Stuck was easily leading the race when Auto Union boss Karl Feuereissen told him to slow down and let Varzi through. Varzi was later humiliated at the victory party when Marshall Balbo, leader of Italian North Africa, proposed a toast to "the real winner, Hans Stuck".
2008
Lewis Hamilton said he regretted taking part in a Vodafone publicity stunt, which saw him hoisted into the air in a harness at a Turkish theatre to play the Greek god Apollo in a show depicting the battle of Troy. He was immediately ridiculed by the British press with The Times stating: "In the pantheon of ridiculous publicity stunts, it may rate among the greatest. Dressed in his logoed race driving suit, he looked less like a majestic Apollo than a cross between Peter Pan and an astronaut." For once Hamilton agreed with his critics and said he was concerned about his image. "I thought 'that really was not cool'," Hamilton said. "I just turned up and got on with what I've been told to do. Now I've seen the footage and it's one of the worst things I've ever seen. At the end of the day I have a cool image, and things like that don't help."
1964
Graham Hill won the second of his five career Monaco victories, lapping the whole field in his BRM. However, the final classification flattered to deceive, as Hill had actually been locked in a tough battle with Dan Gurney and Jim Clark for much of the race. Gurnery led half the distance but was slowed by a gearbox problem that forced him to retire on lap 63. Meanwhile, Clark's Lotus, which had qualified on pole, was hampered in the race by a lose anti-roll bar and finally retired completely four laps from the end with engine failure.
1841
The birth of the immensely rich, badly behaved owner of the New York Times whose philanthropy extended across a wide variety of sports. In 1900 he donated a trophy to encourage international competition in motor racing, then in its infancy, and the Gordon Bennett Cup was staged every year until 1905. The races were between national teams who sported their own colours.
