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The British Grand Prix was held on July 18, 1970. Jochen Rindt, in a Lotus-Ford, inherited the victory after Jack Brabham's car ran short of fuel on the final lap. The two drivers had been dueling for much of the race. Denny Hulme's McLaren-Ford just beat rookie Clay Regazzoni's Ferrari for third.

Background[]

Brands Hatch usually attracts a healthy turnout, and this event was no exception. Out of 30 entries, 25 cars materialized, and the organizers had announced that there would not be a limit to the number of cars allowed to race.

  • Brabham: Jack Brabham's car was fitted with inboard rear brakes, to save on unsprung weight and improve response on the bumps.
  • BRM: All three cars had revised gear linkages, after the problems suffered by Pedro Rodríguez in France. The team had been having problems with oil surge, so the sump and tanks had been redesigned, with different variations being tried.
  • De Tomaso: The team returned after the tragic loss of Piers Courage, using the second car that was run at Brands earlier in the season. Brian Redman, who it was revealed had turned down an offer to join Tyrrell after Monaco, was driving the De Tomaso here. This car featured a narrower track than the older car.
  • Ferrari: Clay Regazzoni was back in the second car. The team had been having problems with oil surge similar to BRM, so the oil tanks had a revised baffle configuration.
  • Lotus: Jochen Rindt's 72 was seen with a fiberglass air intake box, drawing air into the engine from both sides of the roll bar. This was the first example of what eventually became a required part of every F1 car. The 49C that had been driven by Alex Soler-Roig earlier in the season was entrusted to Formula 3 champion Emerson Fittipaldi here, and was looking much more carefully prepared.
    • Graham Hill's 49C had some revised suspension components from the factory.
    • Pete Lovely made his final European appearance of the season, but his 49B was definitely showing it's age.
  • March: The Race of Champions had shown that the Marches had serious suspension issues on bumpy tracks like Brands Hatch. All of the cars had some form of revised suspension (the factory had a kit available, but their own cars were not using it), and a great deal of experimentation went on during practice. Jo Siffert was driving a new monocoque after his accident in France.
    • Both Tyrrell cars had made their own modifications to the rear suspension of the cars, and the team was experimenting with inertia switches for the fire extinguisher on Jackie Stewart's car.
    • Ronnie Peterson's car was the only one to use the revised rear suspension offered by the factory without modification, so it became the baseline by default. Peterson was actually faster than the factory cars in practice.
    • Mario Andretti's STP team had completely rebuilt and modified the car on their own during testing in the US since it was last seen at Spain, and the changes were noted with interest. This car was faster than all of the Marches except for Stewart's.
  • Matra: No changes, but Henri Pescarolo used the spare car for most of the weekend.
  • McLaren: The two Cosworth powered cars were unchanged, but the Alfa Romeo car of Andrea de Adamich had been having similar oil surge problems as the 12-cylinder cars. Alfa Romeo had redesigned the oil tank and sump systems, but the larger tank required a higher ride height than the other cars.
  • Surtees: John Surtees became the fourth driver (after Jack Brabham, Dan Gurney and the late Bruce McLaren) to drive in Formula One in a car that his own team manufactured, with the debut of the new Surtees TS7. The car looked well prepared, but needed further development, so this weekend was a big test session for the team.


Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1970 British Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 D
2 France François Cevert United Kingdom Tyrrell Racing Organisation March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 D
3 Belgium Jacky Ickx Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B Ferrari 001 F12 3.0 F
4 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B Ferrari 001 F12 3.0 F
5 Austria Jochen Rindt United Kingdom Gold Leaf Team Lotus Lotus 72C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
6 United Kingdom John Miles United Kingdom Gold Leaf Team Lotus Lotus 72B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
7 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise France Equipe Matra Elf Matra MS120 Matra MS12 V12 3.0 G
8 France Henri Pescarolo France Equipe Matra Elf Matra MS120 Matra MS12 V12 3.0 G
9 New Zealand Denny Hulme United Kingdom Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M14D Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
10 United States Dan Gurney United Kingdom Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M14A Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
11 Italy Andrea de Adamich United Kingdom Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M7D Alfa Romeo T33 V8 3.0 G
12 United Kingdom Peter Gethin United Kingdom Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M7A Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
14 United Kingdom Graham Hill United Kingdom Brooke Bond Oxo / Rob Walker Lotus 49C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
15 Switzerland Jo Siffert United Kingdom March Engineering March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
16 New Zealand Chris Amon United Kingdom March Engineering March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
17 Australia Jack Brabham United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT33 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
18 West Germany Rolf Stommelen United Kingdom Auto Motor und Sport Brabham BT33 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
19 Australia Tim Schenken United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT33 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
20 United Kingdom John Surtees United Kingdom Team Surtees Surtees TS7 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
21 United Kingdom Trevor Taylor United Kingdom Team Surtees McLaren M7C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
22 Mexico Pedro Rodríguez United Kingdom Yardley Team BRM BRM P153 BRM P142 V12 3.0 D
23 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver United Kingdom Yardley Team BRM BRM P153 BRM P142 V12 3.0 D
24 Canada George Eaton United Kingdom Yardley Team BRM BRM P153 BRM P142 V12 3.0 D
25 United Kingdom Brian Redman United Kingdom Frank Williams Racing Cars De Tomaso 505/38 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 D
26 United States Mario Andretti United States STP Corporation March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
27 Sweden Ronnie Peterson United Kingdom Colin Crabbe Racing March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
28 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United Kingdom Gold Leaf Team Lotus Lotus 49C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
29 United States Pete Lovely United States Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc. Lotus 49B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
30 Sweden Jo Bonnier Sweden Ecurie Bonnier McLaren M7C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
31 Switzerland Silvio Moser Switzerland Silvio Moser Racing Team Bellasi F1 70 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

Pos No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
P1 P2
1 5 Austria Jochen Rindt Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:24.8 1:26.3
2 17 Australia Jack Brabham Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:26.6 1:24.8
3 3 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari 1:25.8 1:25.1 +0.3s
4 23 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver BRM 1:25.6 1:25.8 +0.8s
5 9 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:25.6 1:27.5 +0.8s
6 4 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:29.6 1:25.8 +1.0s
7 6 United Kingdom John Miles Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:26.8 1:25.9 +1.1s
8 1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart March-Ford Cosworth 1:26.1 1:26.0 +1.2s
9 26 United States Mario Andretti March-Ford Cosworth 1:28.4 1:26.2 +1.4s
10* 18 West Germany Rolf Stommelen Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:26.3 No time +1.5s
11 7 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra 1:27.2 1:26.5 +1.7s
12 10 United States Dan Gurney McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:26.6 1:26.8 +1.8s
13 8 France Henri Pescarolo Matra 1:27.5 1:26.7 +1.9s
14 27 Sweden Ronnie Peterson March-Ford Cosworth 1:30.6 1:26.8 +2.0s
15 2 France François Cevert March-Ford Cosworth 1:27.5 1:26.8 +2.0s
16 22 Mexico Pedro Rodríguez BRM 1:26.9 1:27.2 +2.1s
17 24 Canada George Eaton BRM 1:27.5 1:26.9 +2.1s
18 16 New Zealand Chris Amon March-Ford Cosworth 1:27.7 1:27.0 +2.2s
19 11 Italy Andrea de Adamich McLaren-Alfa Romeo 1:27.7 1:27.1 +2.3s
20 20 United Kingdom John Surtees Surtees-Ford Cosworth 1:29.2 1:27.7 +2.9s
21 15 Switzerland Jo Siffert March-Ford Cosworth 1:30.2 1:28.0 +3.2s
22 28 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:28.1 1:28.3 +3.3s
23 14 United Kingdom Graham Hill Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:28.4 1:31.2 +3.6s
24 29 United States Pete Lovely Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:35.4 1:30.3 +5.5s
25* 25 United Kingdom Brian Redman De Tomaso-Ford Cosworth 1:32.8 No time +8.0s
WD 12 United Kingdom Peter Gethin McLaren-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
WD 19 Australia Tim Schenken Brabham-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
WD 21 United Kingdom Trevor Taylor McLaren-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
WD 30 Sweden Jo Bonnier McLaren-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
WD 31 Switzerland Silvio Moser Bellasi-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
  • * Stommelen and Redman were both withdrawn before the next practice session in Friday.
  • De Adamich has fuel leak trouble when he was unable to take the start of the race.

Grid[]

Pos Pos Pos
Driver Driver Driver
______________
______________ 1
______________ 2 Jochen Rindt
3 Jack Brabham
Jacky Ickx
______________
______________ 4
5 Jackie Oliver
Denny Hulme
______________
______________ 6
______________ 7 Clay Regazzoni
8 John Miles
Jackie Stewart
______________
______________ 9
10 Mario Andretti
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
______________
______________ 11
______________ 12 Dan Gurney
13 Henri Pescarolo
Ronnie Peterson
______________
______________ 14
15 François Cevert
Pedro Rodríguez
______________
______________ 16
______________ 17 George Eaton
18 Chris Amon
Andrea de Adamich*
______________
______________ 19
20 John Surtees
Jo Siffert
______________
______________ 21
______________ 22 Emerson Fittipaldi
23 Graham Hill
Pete Lovely

Race[]

Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 5 Austria Jochen Rindt Lotus-Ford 80 1:57:02.0 1 9
2 17 Australia Jack Brabham Brabham-Ford 80 +32.9 2 6
3 9 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 80 +54.4 5 4
4 4 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 50 +54.8 6 3
5 16 New Zealand Chris Amon March-Ford 79 +1 Lap 17 2
6 14 United Kingdom Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 79 +1 Lap 22 1
7 2 France François Cevert March-Ford 79 +1 Lap 14  
8 28 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 78 +2 Laps 21  
9 27 Sweden Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 72 +8 Laps 13  
NC 29 United States Pete Lovely Lotus-Ford 69 +11 Laps 23  
Ret 32 United States Dan Gurney McLaren-Ford 60 Oil pressure 11  
Ret 22 Mexico Pedro Rodríguez BRM 58 Accident 15  
Ret 23 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver BRM 54 Engine 4  
Ret 1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart March-Ford 52 Clutch 8  
Ret 20 United Kingdom John Surtees Surtees-Ford 51 Oil pressure 19  
Ret 8 France Henri Pescarolo Matra 41 Accident 12  
Ret 7 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra 24 Broken wheel 10  
Ret 26 United States Mario Andretti March-Ford 21 Suspension 9  
Ret 15 Switzerland Jo Siffert March-Ford 19 Suspension 20  
Ret 6 United Kingdom John Miles Lotus-Ford 15 Engine 7  
Ret 24 Canada George Eaton BRM 10 Oil pressure 16  
Ret 3 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari 6 Transmission 3  
DNS 11 Italy Andrea de Adamich McLaren-Alfa Romeo Fuel leak 18  

Milestones[]

Standings after race[]

Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts +/-
1 Austria Jochen Rindt 36
2 Australia Jack Brabham 25
3 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart 19 ▼1
4 New Zealand Denny Hulme 16
5 New Zealand Chris Amon 14 ▼1
6 Mexico Pedro Rodríguez 10
7 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise 9
8 France Henri Pescarolo 7
United Kingdom Graham Hill 7 ▲1
10 New Zealand Bruce McLaren 6 ▼1
Switzerland Clay Regazzoni 6 ▲3
12 United States Mario Andretti 4 ▼1
Belgium Jacky Ickx 4 ▼1
14 Italy Ignazio Giunti 3 ▼1
15 United Kingdom John Miles 2
France Johnny Servoz-Gavin 2
Germany Rolf Stommelen 2
18 United Kingdom John Surtees 1
United States Dan Gurney 1
Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers
Pos. Team Pts +/-
1 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 41
2 United Kingdom March-Ford 33
3 United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 27
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 24
5 France Matra 15
6 United Kingdom BRM 10
Italy Ferrari 10 ▲1
V T E United Kingdom British Grand Prix
Circuits Brooklands (1926 - 1927), Silverstone (1948 - Present), Aintree (1955 - 1962), Brands Hatch (1963 - 1986)
SilverstoneArena2010
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-Championship Races 1926192719481949
V T E 1970 Formula One Season
Constructors Bellasi • Brabham • BRM • De Tomaso • Ferrari • Lotus • March • Matra • McLaren • Surtees • Tyrrell
Engines Alfa Romeo • BRM • Ferrari • Ford Cosworth • Matra
Drivers De Adamich • Amon • Andretti • Bell • Beltoise • Bonnier • Brabham • Cevert • Charlton • Courage • Eaton • Fittipaldi • Galli • Gethin • Giunti • Gurney • Hahne • Hill • Hulme • Hutchison • Ickx • De Klerk • Love • Lovely • McLaren • Miles • Moser • Oliver • Pescarolo • Peterson • Redman • Regazzoni • Rindt • Rodríguez • Schenken • Siffert • Soler-Roig • Stewart • Stommelen • Surtees • Westbury • Wisell
Cars Bellasi F1 70 • Brabham BT26A • BRM P139 • BRM P153 • De Tomaso 505/38 • Ferrari 312B • Lotus 49 • Lotus 49B • Lotus 49C • Lotus 72 • Lotus 72B • Lotus 72C • March 701 • Matra MS120 • McLaren M7C • McLaren M7D • McLaren M14A • McLaren M14D • Surtees TS7 • Tyrrell 001
Tyres Dunlop • Firestone • Goodyear
Races South Africa • Spain • Monaco • Belgium • Netherlands • France • Britain • Germany • Austria • Italy • Canada • United States • Mexico
Non-championship Races Race of Champions • International Trophy • Gold Cup
See also 1969 Formula One Season • 1971 Formula One Season • Category
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