On April 22nd 1951, Alberto Ascari was untouchable at the San Remo Grand Prix. A spectator was not so fortunate. On April 22nd 1957, a twenty-seven-year-old from Luton won the Glover Trophy at Goodwood in a car nicknamed the Toothpaste Tube, with a young Bernie Ecclestone watching from the pit lane. Eighteen months later, both their lives would be changed forever. And on April 22nd 2012, Formula One drove into Bahrain — a country in the middle of an uprising — and held a grand prix anyway. Sebastian Vettel won. Force India withdrew from practice to keep their mechanics safe. And the paddock argued with itself, in public, about what it means to show up somewhere and call it sport.

Three dates. One story about what Formula One has always been.

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