1971 Formula One season

1971 FIA Formula One World Championship season
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Index: Races by country | Races by season

The 1971 Formula One season included the 22nd FIA Formula One World Championship season, which commenced on March 6, 1971, and ended on October 3 after eleven races.

Season summary

After the death of Jochen Rindt the previous year, Lotus had a desultory season, with young and inexperienced drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi appearing in the cars. The team spent a lot of time experimenting with a gas turbine powered car, and with four wheel drive again. Using their own chassis heavily inspired by the Matra MS80 but with conventional tanks, Tyrrell and Jackie Stewart easily took success in 1971.

Jo Siffert and Pedro Rodríguez both lost their lives racing in 1971.

The Belgian Grand Prix was originally supposed to be held on June 6 (between the Monaco and Dutch Grands Prix), at the notorious 8.7 mile (14.1 km) Spa-Francorchamps circuit, but the failure of the track owners and authorities to bring Spa up to mandatory safety specs meant that the circuit was deemed unsuitable for Formula One cars to race on and the event was promptly cancelled.

Season review

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyre	Report
1	South African Grand Prix	Kyalami	March 6	Jackie Stewart	Mario Andretti	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	F	Report
2	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc	April 18	Jacky Ickx	Jacky Ickx	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	G	Report
3	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	May 23	Jackie Stewart	Jackie Stewart	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	G	Report
4	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	June 20	Jacky Ickx	Jacky Ickx	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	F	Report
5	French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard	July 4	Jackie Stewart	Jackie Stewart	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	G	Report
6	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	July 17	Clay Regazzoni	Jackie Stewart	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	G	Report
7	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	August 1	Jackie Stewart	François Cevert	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	G	Report
8	Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring	August 15	Jo Siffert	Jo Siffert	Jo Siffert	BRM	F	Report
9	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	September 5	Chris Amon	Henri Pescarolo	Peter Gethin	BRM	F	Report
10	Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport Park	September 19	Jackie Stewart	Denny Hulme	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	G	Report
11	United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen	October 3	Jackie Stewart	Jacky Ickx	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	G	Report

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1971 FIA World Championship.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
Gold Leaf Team Lotus World Wide Racing	Lotus	72C 72D 56B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Pratt & Whitney STN76 tbn	F	Emerson Fittipaldi	1-3, 5-11
					Reine Wisell	1-8, 10-11
					David Walker	4
					Dave Charlton	6
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	312B 312B2	Ferrari 001 3.0 F12 Ferrari 001/1 3.0 F12	F	Jacky Ickx	All
					Clay Regazzoni	All
					Mario Andretti	1-4, 7, 10-11
STP March Racing Team	March	711	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Alfa Romeo T33 3.0 V8	F	Ronnie Peterson	All
					Andrea de Adamich	1-2, 5-7, 9, 11
					Alex Soler-Roig	1-5
					Nanni Galli	3-11
					Niki Lauda	8
					Mike Beuttler	10
Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell	001 002 003	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Jackie Stewart	All
					François Cevert	All
					Peter Revson	11
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren	M19A M14A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Denny Hulme	1-8, 10-11
					Peter Gethin	1-7
					Jackie Oliver	6, 8-9
Motor Racing Developments Ltd	Brabham	BT33 BT34	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Graham Hill	All
					Dave Charlton	1
					Tim Schenken	2-11
Yardley Team BRM	BRM	P160 P153	BRM P142 3.0 V12	F	Pedro Rodríguez	1-5
					Jo Siffert	All
					Howden Ganley	All
					Vic Elford	7
					Helmut Marko	8-11
					Peter Gethin	8-11
					George Eaton	10
					John Cannon	11
Equipe Matra Sports	Matra	MS120B	Matra MS71 3.0 V12	G	Chris Amon	1-7, 9-11
					Jean-Pierre Beltoise	2-6, 10-11
Brooke Bond Oxo Team Surtees Auto Motor und Sport Team Surtees Team Surtees	Surtees	TS9 TS7	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	John Surtees	All
					Rolf Stommelen	1-10
					Brian Redman	1
					Derek Bell	6
					Mike Hailwood	9, 11
					Sam Posey	11
					Gijs van Lennep	11
Frank Williams Racing Cars	March	701 711	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	Henri Pescarolo	All
					Max Jean	5
Ecurie Bonnier	McLaren	M7C	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Joakim Bonnier	1, 7-9, 11
					Helmut Marko	7
Team Gunston	March Brabham	701 BT26A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	John Love	1
					Jackie Pretorius	1
Gene Mason Racing	March	711	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	Skip Barber	3-4, 10-11
Stichting Autoraces Nederland	Surtees	TS7	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	Gijs van Lennep	4
Jo Siffert Automobiles	March	701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	François Mazet	5
Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie Racing	March	701 711	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	Mike Beuttler	6-9
Shell Arnold Team	March	701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	Jean-Pierre Jarier	9
Jolly Club of Switzerland	Bellasi	F1 70	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Silvio Moser	9
Penske-White Racing	McLaren	M19A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Mark Donohue	10-11
					David Hobbs	11
Ecurie Evergreen	Brabham	BT33	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	Chris Craft	10-11
Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc.	Lotus	69	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	F	Pete Lovely	10-11

1971 Drivers Championship final standings

Pos. Driver RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA Pts. 1 Jackie Stewart 2 1 1 11 1 1 1 Ret Ret 1 5 62 2 Ronnie Peterson 10 Ret 2 4 Ret 2 5 8 2 2 3 33 3 François Cevert Ret 7 Ret Ret 2 10 2 Ret 3 6 1 26 4 Jacky Ickx 8 2 3 1 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 19 5 Jo Siffert Ret Ret Ret 6 4 9 DSQ 1 9 9 2 19 6 Emerson Fittipaldi Ret Ret 5 3 3 Ret 2 8 7 NC 16 7 Clay Regazzoni 3 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret 6 13 8 Mario Andretti 1 Ret DNQ Ret 4 13 DNS 12 9 Peter Gethin Ret 8 Ret NC 9 Ret Ret 10 1 14 9 9 10 Pedro Rodríguez Ret 4 9 2 Ret 9 11 Chris Amon 5 3 Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret 6 10 12 9 12 Reine Wisell 4 NC Ret DSQ 6 NC 8 4 5 Ret 9 13 Denny Hulme 6 5 4 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 Ret 9 14 Tim Schenken 9 10 Ret 12 12 6 3 Ret Ret Ret 5 15 Howden Ganley Ret 10 DNQ 7 10 8 Ret Ret 5 DNS 4 5 16 Mark Donohue 3 DNS 4 17 Henri Pescarolo 11 Ret 8 NC Ret 4 Ret 6 Ret DNS Ret 4 18 Mike Hailwood 4 15 3 19 John Surtees Ret 11 7 5 8 6 7 Ret Ret 11 17 3 20 Rolf Stommelen 12 Ret 6 DSQ 11 5 10 7 DNS Ret 3 21 Graham Hill 9 Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 9 5 Ret Ret 7 2 22 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 6 Ret 9 7 7 Ret 8 1 — Jackie Oliver Ret 9 7 0 — Brian Redman 7 0 — Gijs Van Lennep 8 DNS 0 — Jo Bonnier Ret DNQ DNS 10 16 0 — David Hobbs 10 0 — Nanni Galli DNQ Ret DNS 11 12 12 Ret 16 Ret 0 — Helmut Marko DNS 11 Ret 12 13 0 — Andrea de Adamich 13 Ret Ret NC Ret Ret 11 0 — Vic Elford 11 0 — François Mazet 13 0 — John Cannon 14 0 — George Eaton 15 0 — Mike Beuttler Ret DSQ NC Ret NC 0 — Skip Barber DNQ NC Ret NC 0 — Pete Lovely NC NC 0 — Max Jean NC 0 — Jean-Pierre Jarier NC 0 — Alex Soler-Roig Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret 0 — Dave Charlton Ret Ret 0 — Chris Craft DNQ Ret 0 — John Love Ret 0 — Jackie Pretorius Ret 0 — David Walker Ret 0 — Derek Bell Ret 0 — Niki Lauda Ret 0 — Silvio Moser Ret 0 — Sam Posey Ret 0 — Peter Revson Ret 0 Pos. Driver RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA Pts.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Light blue Practiced only (PO) Friday test driver (TD) (from 2003 onwards) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

1971 Constructors Championship final standings

Lotus-Ford placed 5th in the 1971 Constructors title

Points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers at each round, however only the best placed car from each manufacturer was eligible to score points. The best five results from the first six rounds and the best four results from the last five rounds were retained.

Pos.	Manufacturer	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	Pts.
1	Tyrrell-Ford	2	1	1	11	1	1	1	Ret	3	1	1	73
2	BRM	Ret	4	9	2	4	8	11	1	1	9	2	36
3	Ferrari	1	2	3	1	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	8	6	33
4	March-Ford	10	Ret	2	4	13	2	5	6	2	2	3	33 (34)
5	Lotus-Ford	4	NC	5	DSQ	3	3	8	2		5	NC	21
6	McLaren-Ford	6	5	4	12	9	Ret	Ret	9	7	3	10	10
7	Matra	5	3	Ret	9	5	7	Ret		6	10	8	9
8	Surtees-Ford	7	11	6	5	8	5	7	7	4	11	15	8
9	Brabham-Ford	9	9	10	10	12	12	6	3	Ret	Ret	7	5
—	Lotus-Pratt & Whitney				Ret		NC			8			0
—	March-Alfa Romeo	13				Ret	NC	12	12	Ret		11	0
—	Bellasi-Ford									Ret			0
Pos.	Manufacturer	RSA	ESP	MON	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA	Pts.

• Bold results counted to championship totals.

Non-Championship race results

Other Formula One races were also held in 1971, which did not count towards the World Championship.

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
XIV Argentine Grand Prix	Buenos Aires	January 24	Chris Amon	Matra	Report
VI Race of Champions	Brands Hatch	March 21	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	Report
Questor Grand Prix	Ontario Motor Speedway, California	March 28	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	Report
XII Spring Trophy	Oulton Park	April 9	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	Report
XXIII BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	May 8	Graham Hill	Brabham-Cosworth	Report
VI Rhein-Pokalrennen	Hockenheim	June 13	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	Report
XVIII International Gold Cup	Oulton Park	August 22	John Surtees	Surtees-Cosworth	Report
I World Championship Victory Race	Brands Hatch	October 24	Peter Gethin	BRM	Report