1971 Austrian Grand Prix

The 1971 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on 15 August 1971. It was race 8 of 11 in both the 1971 World Championship of Drivers and the 1971 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.[1] The 54-lap race was won by BRM driver Jo Siffert after he started from pole position. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second for the Lotus team and Brabham driver Tim Schenken came in third. This was the debut race of the future world champion Niki Lauda.

1971 Austrian Grand Prix
The Österreichring (in 1971)
The Österreichring (in 1971)
Race details
Date 15 August 1971
Official name IX Großer Preis von Österreich
Location Österreichring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.911 km (3.673 miles)
Distance 54 laps, 317.347 km (198.686 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver BRM
Time 1:37.44
Fastest lap
Driver Switzerland Jo Siffert BRM
Time 1:38.47
Podium
First BRM
Second Lotus-Ford
Third Brabham-Ford
Lap leaders

Race report

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Jo Siffert took a surprise pole position from Jackie Stewart and led away at the start from Clay Regazzoni and Jacky Ickx. The front two drew away from the pack, where Regazzoni was duelling with François Cevert and Ickx was dropping back with mechanical problems. On lap 21, Stewart with a poorly handling car allowed Cevert through so he could chase Siffert. Further down the field, there were two Brabham-Lotus battles, with Tim Schenken duelling with Emerson Fittipaldi and Reine Wisell trading places with Graham Hill. By lap 32, Ickx had retired with a spark plug problem, Regazzoni had an engine blow up and Fittipaldi had passed Schenken and set about catching Stewart.

On lap 36, Stewart's race ended with a violent accident - his left rear driveshaft broke and the wheel was torn off. He emerged unhurt to be greeted as World Champion following Ickx's retirement. Cevert was chasing down Siffert, but with 12 laps to go his gearbox exploded.

Fittipaldi was now carving chunks out the BRM's lead, due to a left-rear puncture for the Swiss. However he managed to nurse the ailing car home for a popular victory by 4 seconds. Schenken was 3rd, with Wisell pipping Hill for 4th place - the Englishman was another to suffer a puncture in the dying stages and Henri Pescarolo finished 6th in his March. Stewart won the Drivers' Championship with 3 races left to go.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 14   Jo Siffert BRM 1:37.44
2 11   Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 1:37.65 +0.21
3 12   François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 1:37.86 +0.42
4 5   Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:37.90 +0.46
5 2   Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 1:37.90 +0.46
6 4   Jacky Ickx Ferrari 1:38.27 +0.83
7 8   Tim Schenken Brabham-Ford 1:38.64 +1.20
8 7   Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 1:38.70 +1.26
9 9   Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 1:38.80 +1.36
10 3   Reine Wisell Lotus-Ford 1:38.95 +1.51
11 17   Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 1:39.01 +1.57
12 24   Rolf Stommelen Surtees-Ford 1:39.08 +1.64
13 25   Henri Pescarolo March-Ford 1:39.09 +1.65
14 15   Howden Ganley BRM 1:39.46 +2.02
15 19   Nanni Galli March-Alfa Romeo 1:39.54 +2.10
16 23   Peter Gethin BRM 1:39.67 +2.23
17 16   Helmut Marko BRM 1:39.80 +2.36
18 22   John Surtees Surtees-Ford 1:40.37 +2.93
19 27   Mike Beuttler March-Ford 1:41.46 +4.02
20 28   Jo Bonnier McLaren-Ford 1:41.66 +4.22
21 26   Niki Lauda March-Ford 1:43.68 +6.24
22 10   Jackie Oliver McLaren-Ford 1:44.22 +6.78
Source:[2]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 14   Jo Siffert BRM 54 1:30:23.91 1 9
2 2   Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 54 + 4.12 5 6
3 8   Tim Schenken Brabham-Ford 54 + 19.77 7 4
4 3   Reine Wisell Lotus-Ford 54 + 31.87 10 3
5 7   Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 54 + 48.43 8 2
6 25   Henri Pescarolo March-Ford 54 + 1:24.51 13 1
7 24   Rolf Stommelen Surtees-Ford 54 + 1:37.42 12  
8 17   Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 53 +1 Lap 11  
9 10   Jackie Oliver McLaren-Ford 53 +1 Lap 22  
10 23   Peter Gethin BRM 52 +2 Laps 16  
11 16   Helmut Marko BRM 52 +2 Laps 17  
12 19   Nanni Galli March-Alfa Romeo 51 +3 Laps 15  
NC 27   Mike Beuttler March-Ford 47 Not Classified 19  
Ret 12   François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 42 Engine 3  
Ret 11   Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 35 Halfshaft 2  
Ret 4   Jacky Ickx Ferrari 31 Engine 6  
Ret 26   Niki Lauda March-Ford 20 Handling 21  
Ret 22   John Surtees Surtees-Ford 12 Engine 18  
Ret 5   Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 8 Engine 4  
Ret 15   Howden Ganley BRM 5 Ignition 14  
Ret 9   Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 4 Engine 9  
DNS 28   Jo Bonnier McLaren-Ford 0 Fuel Leak 20  
Source:[3]

Notes

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  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for future World Champion and Austrian driver Niki Lauda.
  • This race saw the first Grand Slam for a Swiss driver.
  • This was the 10th pole position for a BRM and for a BRM-powered car.

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ "1971 Austrian Grand Prix Entry list".
  2. ^ Pritchard, Anthony (1972). The Motor Racing Year No3. ISBN 0393085023.
  3. ^ "1971 Austrian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Austria 1971 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.


Previous race:
1971 German Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1971 season
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1971 Italian Grand Prix
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1970 Austrian Grand Prix
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