The XV Gran Premio de España, otherwise known as the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix, staged on the 4th of May 1969, was the second round of the 1969 FIA Formula One World Championship, held on the Montjuïc Circuit in Barcelona.[1] The race would become infamous in F1 history, with the FIA banning the use of high wings after two spectacular failures for Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt.[1]
The weekend itself had been going rather well for the latter of the two victims, with Rindt storming to pole with half a second in hand over Chris Amon.[1] Hill would start the maiden race on the city circuit in third, while Championship leader Jackie Stewart would start from fourth.[1]
It would be an undramatic start to the race on Sunday, with Rindt pulling into an early lead ahead of Amon and Hill, while Jo Siffert pushed himself into fourth.[1] So it remained for the following laps, the only changes coming when Jackie Oliver retired, before the first of the failures occurred.[1]
Coming over the rise just after the pits on lap eight, Hill's car suddenly snapped sideways, a result of the towering wing suddenly telescoping down onto the rear wheels.[1] The Englishman was thrown into the barriers at high speed, his car writing itself off in the process, with Hill himself lucky to escape without injury.[1]
Eleven laps later, and Hill was able to witness what happened when the exact same failure happened to Rindt.[1] Indeed, as Hill attempted to send a message to Team Lotus garage, Rindt crested the hill, lost downforce and slammed into the wall.[1]
Unfortunately, Hill's car was still out on the track, and with a certain inevitability, Rindt's car slammed into its sister and rolled over, leaving the Austrian to ride out a 100mph slide.[1] He, however, would emerge from his ruined Lotus with minor injuries, a broken nose the worst of them, with the race carrying on regardless.[1]
Amon had inherited the lead as a result of the accident, and was fielding a huge advantage in the Ferrari as the race passed half distance.[1] Indeed, it seemed as if F1's unluckiest driver would finally get his maiden win, until the V12 engine seized, leaving a heartbroken Amon on the sidelines once again.[1]
It would therefore be Stewart who ultimately claimed victory, the Scot crossing the line with a two lap advantage to record a dominant looking performance.[1] Bruce McLaren and Jean-Pierre Beltoise completed the podium, while the remaining points went to Denny Hulme, John Surtees and Jacky Ickx.[2]
Background
Grand Prix racing in Spain had been badly affected by the wars of the 1930s and 40s, and despite a brief attempt to race in 1968, criticism of the Jarama circuit made it doubtful that the race would return.[2] That was, until the Real Automovil de Cataluna agreed to host the Spanish Grand Prix on the Montjuïc Circuit, located in the heart of Barcelona.[2] A revived circuit from the pre-war era, Monjuic featured both flowing curves and tight, technical twists all set on a hill side overlooking the city, with a decaying Olympic Stadium hosting the paddock to complete another picturesque venue for the Championship.[2] Furthermore, the G.P.D.A. were keen for the new circuit to be a success, as Montjuic became the first venue to have a full armco barrier lining both sides of the circuit.[2]
Only one team would field brand new cars at the first European round of the season, with Ken Tyrrell's Matra International squad bringing two new Matra MS80s with an older MS10 in reserve.[2] The new cars had a redesigned nose since Jackie Stewart had taken victory at the IV Race of Champions, the Scot being partnered by Frenchman Jean-Pierre Beltoise once again.[2] The factory Matra team were not in attendance, the ex-ammunition firm instead focusing on completing the rumoured four-wheel-drive F1 project instead.[2]
Another team rumoured to be preparing a 4WD effort were Lotus-Ford Cosworth, although they, like Matra, would not bring those cars to Spain.[2] Instead, Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt would race the older 49Bs they had previously used in South Africa, with a Tasman Championship car held in reserve.[2] Third driver Mario Andretti was back in the United States, the Italian-American prioritising his U.S.C.A. running once again.[2] Jo Siffert and the Rob Walker Racing Team would also be out for the second round of the season.
McLaren-Ford Cosworth were widely regarded as the most technologically advanced team in the field, but had only one update available in Spain.[2] Denny Hulme got to use the new front wheels for his M7A, while Bruce McLaren would use a new M7C, previously run at the XXI BRDC International Trophy earlier in the year.[2] The M7C featured a different monocoque from the M7A, but was otherwise unchanged underneath the bodywork.[2]
Elsewhere, Brabham-Ford Cosworth had their two updated BT26As, with both Jack Brabham and Jacky Ickx getting new gearboxes from Hewland.[2] Ickx would also receive a new suspension setup to bring his car in line with "the gaffer's", while a third chassis was entered for Piers Courage.[2] Courage's car, however, would not be run by the factory team, having been bought and entered by Frank Williams, a British privateer.[2]
BRM had been busy since the race in South Africa, finally getting their new V12 engines to run with their unchanged cars.[2] Indeed, John Surtees and Jackie Oliver would be using the same cars that the team had entered in 1968, although Surtees' car required modification to use the more reliable Hewland gearbox installed in Oliver's chassis.[2] The third entry of Reg Parnell Racing and Pedro Rodríguez was also back in action, although the relationship between factory and customer was getting increasingly strained, Tim Parnell's team not receiving the new engine.[2]
The final entry was made by Ferrari, although the Italian firm looked to be in a sorry state having entered just one car for Chris Amon.[2] In truth, their engineers had been hard at work updating their V12 engine in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Amon now allowed to push the engine up to 11,500 rpm.[2] Indeed, rumours that the Ferrari unit had surpassed the power output of the Ford Cosworth DFV engine were rife ahead of the weekend, although it would take until practice before those thoughts were put to the test.[2]
Victory in South Africa had left Stewart at the top of the Championship after the opening round, continuing his strong form from the second half of the previous season. Defending Champion Hill had opened his defence with a safe second, suggesting that he would be a threat for a third title, while Hulme claimed a promising third. Siffert, McLaren and Beltoise were also on the board after the first bout of the season.
Matra-Ford Cosworth were on top of the Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers' Standings after the opening round, with Stewart's victory backed up (although not on the board) by Beltoise's sixth place. Lotus-Ford Cosworth would have been second even if Siffert's tally had been added to Hill's second place, with the Lotus 49B getting more wings over the weekend. Completing the scorers would be McLaren-Ford Cosworth with Hulme and McLaren both in the points.
Entry list
The full entry list for the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview
Qualifying
Report
Qualifying Results
Grid
| Pos | Pos | Pos | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | Driver | |||
| ______________ | |||||
| 1 | ______________ | ||||
| Jochen Rindt | 2 | ______________ | |||
| Chris Amon | 3 | ||||
| Graham Hill | |||||
| ______________ | |||||
| 4 | ______________ | ||||
| Jackie Stewart | 5 | ||||
| Jack Brabham | |||||
| ______________ | |||||
| 6 | ______________ | ||||
| Jo Siffert | 7 | ______________ | |||
| Jacky Ickx | 8 | ||||
| Denny Hulme | |||||
| ______________ | |||||
| 9 | ______________ | ||||
| John Surtees | 10 | ||||
| Jackie Oliver | |||||
| ______________ | |||||
| 11 | ______________ | ||||
| Piers Courage | 12 | ______________ | |||
| Jean-Pierre Beltoise | 13 | ||||
| Bruce McLaren | |||||
| ______________ | |||||
| 14 | ______________ | ||||
| Pedro Rodríguez | 15 | ||||
| ______________ | |||||
| 16 | ______________ | ||||
| 17 | ______________ | ||||
| 18 | |||||
|
| |||||
Race
Report
Results
Milestones
- First entry to a World Championship race by Frank Williams.
- Seventh victory for Jackie Stewart.
- Matra took their fifth win as a constructor.
- Jochen Rindt awarded his maiden fastest lap.
- Last race of Formula One's "big wing" era.
Standings
Two wins from the opening two races left Jackie Stewart with a formidable lead at the top of the Championship standings, the Scot leaving Spain with almost double the points of his nearest rival. That man was Bruce McLaren, who had been pacing himself in the opening rounds and so was a point ahead of teammate Denny Hulme in third. Graham Hill was sat in fourth after his accident, with Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Jo Siffert, John Surtees and Jacky Ickx the other scorers.
Matra-Ford Cosworth were well on their way to becoming Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers' Champions thanks to Stewart's two wins, holding an eight point advantage after just two rounds. McLaren-Ford Cosworth were their closest challengers with Lotus-Ford Cosworth four further back after their disasterous failures. BRM and Brabham-Ford Cosworth completed the early season scorers, with Ferrari notable by their absence, the only factory team yet to have scored.
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References
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: SPANISH GP, 1969', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2016), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr175.html, (Accessed 18/12/2016)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 D.S.J., 'Spanish Grand Prix', motorsportmagazine.com, (MotorSport Magazine, 01/06/1969), http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1969/60/spanish-grand-prix, (Accessed 18/12/2016)
- ↑ 'Spain 1969: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1969/espagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 18/12/2016)
| V T E |  Spanish Grand Prix
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| Circuits | Pedralbes (1951, 1954), Jarama (1967-1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976-1981), Montjuïc (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975), Jerez (1986-1990), Catalunya (1991-Present) |  |
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