Chequered Past
Chequered Past is a Formula 1 history podcast that dives deep into iconic races, legendary drivers, and forgotten moments from motorsport’s rich and dramatic past. Each episode revisits Grand Prix events that took place on the same date in history, uncovering fascinating stories, on-track controversies, and the evolution of F1 through the decades. Whether you're a lifelong fan or new to the sport, Chequered Past offers compelling insights and nostalgia-fuelled storytelling from the world’s fastest sport.
Chequered Past
30th May 1965: The Day The Championship Looked West
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The thirtieth of May has appeared on the Formula One World Championship calendar more times than almost any other date — and it has never produced a quiet afternoon.
In this episode of Chequered Past, we follow four stories across seven decades. In Monaco in 1965, Graham Hill took to the escape road on lap twenty-five and came back to win his third consecutive Grand Prix at the principality, while Jim Clark was making history at Indianapolis the following day.
For eleven years between 1950 and 1960, the Indianapolis 500 sat inside the World Championship as an official round — a strange arrangement that produced Vukovich and Ruttman and Hanks and Pat O’Connor, and ended quietly in 1960 with no Formula One driver present.
In Monaco in 1976, Niki Lauda won from pole for his fifth victory of the season and extended a championship lead that looked unassailable — though none of us watching could have known what was coming at the Nürburgring ten weeks later.
And in Istanbul in 2010, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel collided while running first and second for Red Bull, handed McLaren a 1-2, and planted the seed of a bitterness that would take years to fully bloom.
Music by #Mubert Music Rendering