The 1970 United States Grand Prix was the 12th race of the 1970 Formula One season, held on October 4. Entering into the race, Jacky Ickx still had a mathematical chance of catching the late Jochen Rindt for the World Championship. Ickx had 28 points, and if he won at both Watkins Glen and Mexico, he would beat Rindt, 46 to 45. Even though Ickx started on pole, most of the race was dominated by Jackie Stewart in the new Tyrrell 001, who led the first 82 laps and almost lapping the field, before retiring when an oil leak caused his engine to seize. Pedro Rodríguez took over the lead, until he had to stop to refuel with seven laps to go, giving the dramatic victory to Brazilian rookie Emerson Fittipaldi in a Lotus-Ford. Rodríguez held on for second, and Fittipaldi's new teammate, Reine Wisell, took a fine third place in his debut. Ickx's fourth place gave championships to Rindt and Lotus.
Background[]
This was to be the last race held on the original configuration of Watkins Glen. Plans were being shown of a massive rebuilding and upgrade of the track, with the work to be completed by the 1971 race. in the mean time, the pits were still cramped and antiquated, so the organizers would only allow 24 starters. With 27 entries, there would be three non qualifiers. As Watkins Glen did not pay starting money (but did pay an enormous amount of prize money), and the only seeded drivers were former champions (Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, John Surtees, Denny Hulme and Jackie Stewart), practice had a bit more urgency than usual.
Entry list[]
The full entry list for the 1970 United States Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying Results[]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |  Jacky Ickx
|
Ferrari | 1:03.07 | — |
| 2 | 1 |  Jackie Stewart
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:03.62 | +0.55 |
| 3 | 24 |  Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:03.67 | +0.60 |
| 4 | 19 |  Pedro Rodríguez
|
BRM | 1:04.18 | +1.11 |
| 5 | 12 |  Chris Amon
|
March-Ford | 1:04.23 | +1.16 |
| 6 | 4 |  Clay Regazzoni
|
Ferrari | 1:04.30 | +1.23 |
| 7 | 20 | Jackie Oliver
|
BRM | 1:04.37 | +1.30 |
| 8 | 17 | John Surtees
|
Surtees-Ford | 1:04.52 | +1.45 |
| 9 | 23 |  Reine Wisell
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:04.79 | +1.72 |
| 10 | 14 | Graham Hill
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:04.81 | +1.74 |
| 11 | 8 | Denny Hulme
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:04.84 | +1.77 |
| 12 | 7 |  Henri Pescarolo
|
Matra | 1:05.00 | +1.93 |
| 13 | 18 | Derek Bell
|
Surtees-Ford | 1:05.00 | +1.93 |
| 14 | 21 |  George Eaton
|
BRM | 1:05.14 | +2.07 |
| 15 | 29 | Ronnie Peterson
|
March-Ford | 1:05.18 | +2.11 |
| 16 | 15 |  Jack Brabham
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:05.29 | +2.22 |
| 17 | 2 | François Cevert
|
March-Ford | 1:05.30 | +2.23 |
| 18 | 6 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise
|
Matra | 1:05.44 | +2.37 |
| 19 | 16 |  Rolf Stommelen
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:05.77 | +2.70 |
| 20 | 30 | Tim Schenken
|
De Tomaso | 1:06.08 | +3.01 |
| 21 | 9 | Peter Gethin
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:06.12 | +3.05 |
| 22 | 16 |  Gus Hutchison
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:06.22 | +3.15 |
| 23 | 11 | Jo Siffert
|
March-Ford | 1:06.23 | +3.16 |
| 24 | 27 | Jo Bonnier
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:06.46 | +3.39 |
| DNQ | 32 | Peter Westbury
|
BRM | 1:07.20 | +4.13 |
| DNQ | 28 | Pete Lovely
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:07.45 | +4.38 |
| DNQ | 10 |  Andrea de Adamich
|
McLaren-Alfa Romeo | 1:12.24 | +9.17 |
Grid[]
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Lotus-Ford | 108 | 1:57:32.79 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | 19 | Pedro Rodríguez
|
BRM | 108 | +36.39 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 23 | Reine Wisell
|
Lotus-Ford | 108 | +45.17 | 9 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Jacky Ickx
|
Ferrari | 107 | +1 Lap | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 12 | Chris Amon
|
March-Ford | 107 | +1 Lap | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 18 | Derek Bell
|
Surtees-Ford | 107 | +1 Lap | 13 | 1 |
| 7 | 8 | Denny Hulme
|
McLaren-Ford | 106 | +2 Laps | 11 | |
| 8 | 7 | Henri Pescarolo
|
Matra | 105 | +3 Laps | 12 | |
| 9 | 11 | Jo Siffert
|
March-Ford | 105 | +3 Laps | 23 | |
| 10 | 15 | Jack Brabham
|
Brabham-Ford | 105 | +3 Laps | 16 | |
| 11 | 29 | Ronnie Peterson
|
March-Ford | 104 | +4 Laps | 15 | |
| 12 | 16 | Rolf Stommelen
|
Brabham-Ford | 104 | +4 Laps | 19 | |
| 13 | 4 | Clay Regazzoni
|
Ferrari | 101 | +7 Laps | 6 | |
| 14 | 9 | Peter Gethin
|
McLaren-Ford | 100 | +8 Laps | 21 | |
| Ret | 1 | Jackie Stewart
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 82 | Oil leak | 2 | |
| Ret | 14 | Graham Hill
|
Lotus-Ford | 72 | Clutch | 10 | |
| Ret | 2 | François Cevert
|
March-Ford | 62 | Lost wheel | 17 | |
| Ret | 30 | Tim Schenken
|
De Tomaso-Ford | 61 | Suspension | 20 | |
| Ret | 27 | Jo Bonnier
|
McLaren-Ford | 51 | Water pipe | 24 | |
| Ret | 6 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise
|
Matra | 28 | Handling | 18 | |
| Ret | 31 | Gus Hutchison
|
Brabham-Ford | 22 | Fuel leak | 22 | |
| Ret | 20 | Jackie Oliver
|
BRM | 15 | Engine | 7 | |
| Ret | 21 | George Eaton
|
BRM | 11 | Engine | 14 | |
| Ret | 17 | John Surtees
|
Surtees-Ford | 6 | Flywheel | 8 |
Milestones[]
- First victory for Emerson Fittipaldi, which clinched championships for Jochen Rindt and Lotus.
- First posthumous world title.
- First race and points, and only career podium, for Reine Wisell.
- Only career point for Derek Bell.
- Only race for Gus Hutchison.
- Final entry for Peter Westbury.
- Final race for De Tomaso.
Standings after race[]
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| V T E | United States Grand Prix
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|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Sebring (1959), Riverside (1960), Watkins Glen (1961–1980), Phoenix (1989–1991), Indianapolis (2000–2007), Austin (2012–present) |  |
| Formula One Races | 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981–1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992–1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008–2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • | |
| Non-F1 races | 1908 • 1909 • 1910 • 1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1917–1957 • 1958 | |
| See also | Miami Grand Prix • Las Vegas Grand Prix • United States Grand Prix West • Indianapolis 500 • Detroit Grand Prix • Caesars Palace Grand Prix • Dallas Grand Prix • Questor Grand Prix |
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