1969 Formula One season
The 1969 Formula One season was the 23rd season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 20th World Championship of Drivers, the 12th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and four non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over eleven races between 1 March and 19 October 1969.
Teams and drivers
The following
- Pink background denotes F2 entrants to the German Grand Prix.
Team and driver changes
- Matra did not operate a works team this year, instead focusing on their collaboration with Ken Tyrrell. The Tyrrell team (entered under Matra International) kept Jackie Stewart but replaced Johnny Servoz-Gavin with works driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise.
- company withdrew their support.
- Honda, but the manufacturer had withdrawn from the sport.
- The same was true for Cooper and Eagle. Both manufacturers were seen back just once in the 1969 season, being driven by privateer teams.
- Jacky Ickx moved to Brabham to take Rindt's place and his old team, Scuderia Ferrari, reduced their operations to one car for Chris Amon.
- This season marked the debut of legendary team owner Frank Williams. He bought a Brabham BT26A and promoted his Formula Two driver Piers Courage.
Mid-season changes
Going into the second half of the season,
Calendar
Round | Grand Prix | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | South African Grand Prix | Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand | 1 March |
2 | Spanish Grand Prix | Montjuïc circuit, Barcelona | 4 May |
3 | Monaco Grand Prix | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | 18 May |
4 | Dutch Grand Prix | Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort | 21 June |
5 | French Grand Prix | Charade Circuit, Clermont-Ferrand
|
6 July |
6 | British Grand Prix | Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone | 19 July |
7 | German Grand Prix | Nürburgring, Nürburg | 3 August |
8 | Italian Grand Prix | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza
|
7 September |
9 | Canadian Grand Prix | Mosport Park, Bowmanville
|
20 September |
10 | United States Grand Prix | Watkins Glen International, New York | 5 October |
11 | Mexican Grand Prix | Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City
|
19 October |
Calendar changes
- The South African Grand Prix remained the season opener, but was moved back from January to March.
- The Mosport Park.
- The Charade Circuit due to safety concerns that were made apparent by Jo Schlesser's fatal accident in the 1968 French Grand Prix.
- After the 1968 Mexican Grand Prix had been held in November to avoid a clash with the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the Mexican Grand Prix was back at its usual date in October.
Cancelled rounds
The Belgian Grand Prix was originally to be held on 8 June, but Jackie Stewart, a strong advocate for safety in Formula One, had inspected the track and demanded multiple changes to the circuit. The track owners did not grant his wishes and the drivers boycotted the Grand Prix.[4][5]
Regulation changes
Aerodynamics had been the talk of the town since last season and most teams chose to implement front and rear wings, besides the front nose spoilers which had been around a little longer. Lotus had pioneered movable wings, operated by a fourth pedal at the driver's feet, and their rivals had used the winter stop to implement a system of their own. McLaren, for example, gave their drivers a lever next to their left hand to flatten the rear wing, giving more speed on the straight, and connected the brake pedal to the wing to automatically put the wing back to its original position and add downforce for the corner. Tyrrell Matra came up with an electrically-operated rear wing, automatically flattening the rear wing when fifth gear was selected.[6]
At the beginning of the season, the wings were positioned as high as possible to generate the most
From the next race on, wings would be allowed again, but only if there no movable parts, if they were rigidly attached to
Championship report
Rounds 1 to 4
During
For the first time, the Spanish Grand Prix was run at Montjuïc circuit (although the street circuit had existed since 1933). During practice, Rindt hit a stray dog and damaged his suspension but still managed to qualify on pole, ahead of Amon and Hill. Stewart and Brabham qualified on the second row. Only twelve drivers managed to start the race and Hill crashed out after just six laps, but Rindt led away without trouble. On lap 20, however, his rear wing collapsed while travelling 225 km/h (140 mph) and he crashed into the Armco barrier. He hit the wreckage of Hill's car and then overturned. He was taken into hospital and would miss the next race. Amon inherited the lead with almost 40 seconds over Stewart, until his engine blew on lap 56. While Jacky Ickx was in second place, his wing collapsed, necessating a pit stop, and later, his Brabham's rear wishbone broke, making retirement unavoidable. Once again, Stewart was unchallenged, two full laps ahead of Bruce McLaren and teammate Jean-Pierre Beltoise.[10]
Going into the
The ban on movable wings was still active during the
In the Drivers' Championship, Jackie Stewart (Matra) was leading with 27 points, ahead of Graham Hill (Lotus) with 15 and Jo Siffert (Lotus) with 13. For the Manufacturers' Cup, Matra was leading the standings with 27 points, ahead of Lotus (21) and McLaren (15).
Rounds 5 to 8
With the rules on aerodynamic devices now formalised, the French Grand Prix would likely show who the favourites would be for the title. And first of all, it was Jackie Stewart claiming pole position for Matra, ahead of 1967 champion Denny Hulme for McLaren and Jochen Rindt for Lotus. Reigning champion Graham Hill started down in eighth, out of just thirteen entrants. The Lotus 63 was prepared for their Formula Three driver John Miles, giving him the honour to make the first ever start in a four-wheel drive Formula One car. He did retire with a broken fuel pump, however, on the first lap. Stewart, meanwhile, took an easy win, with his teammate and home hero Jean-Pierre Beltoise finishing in second, and Belgian driver Jacky Ickx completing the podium in his Brabham.[13]
During
For the German Grand Prix, twelve Formula Two cars complemented the grid, and one of them, Gerhard Mitter, was sadly killed during practice. On the F1 grid, it was Ickx who set his first pole position of the year, ahead of Stewart and Rindt, and the Belgian made a good start. Mario Andretti, coming over from the United States to further develop the four-wheel drive Lotus, slowed down during the first lap and saw Vic Elford crashing into him and flying into the trees. The McLaren driver broke his arm in three places. Meanwhile, Ickx fell back to fourth place, but he made an inspired recovery to second place. He closed up and the leading pair went nose-to-tail for two full laps. Ickx made a heroic pass under braking, but locked up, and Stewart held on. On lap 6, the Brabham took the lead firmly and quickly set a lap record. He eventually took the win with a minute advantage over the championship leader. Bruce McLaren and Graham Hill finished third and fourth, respectively. [15]
Ickx had climbed up to second place in the standings, but was looking at such a distance to Stewart, that the championship would be decided at the Italian Grand Prix if the Scot managed to win the race. During qualifying, he did not manage more than third, behind Rindt and Hulme, but overtook the New Zealander at the start and the Austrian later in the first lap. Ickx had to pit when his oil pressure dropped. The three at the front traded places a couple of times, with a group of five drivers behind them joining in the slipstream battle. Hill had started in ninth but was charging Stewart for the lead near the end of the race, until his drive shaft broke with four laps to go. After at least fourteen lead changes and even a lot more in the remaining points-paying positions, it was Stewart's teammate Beltoise who made a do-or-die move into the last corner of the race. He went too fast and ran wide, but hindered Rindt while doing so, which was just as good a result. The top four finished within 0.19 seconds of each other and Stewart was given the win, ahead of Rindt, Beltoise and McLaren. Ickx had retired three laps from the end when he ran out of fuel.[16]
His sixth win of the season gave Jackie Stewart (Matra) an unsurmountable lead in the Drivers' Championship. He stood at 60 points, ahead of Bruce McLaren (McLaren) with 24 and Jacky Ickx (Brabham) with 22. Matra now also had enough to be awarded the Manufacturers' Cup with 60 points, ahead of Lotus with 34 and Brabham with 30.
Rounds 9 to 11
After he was injured in a testing accident in June,
The
In qualifying for the
Jackie Stewart (Matra) finished first in the Drivers' Championship with 63 points, ahead of Jacky Ickx (Brabham) with 37 and Bruce McLaren (McLaren) with 26. In the standings for the Manufacturers' Cup, Matra had achieved 66 points, ahead of Brabham with 49 and Lotus with 47.
Results and standings
Grands Prix
World Drivers' Championship standings
Points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the top six finishers at each Grand Prix. However, only the best five results from the first six races and the best four results from the last five races counted towards the World Championship.
|
|
- 1 – Ineligible for Formula One points, because they drove with Formula Two cars.
Formula 2 cars occupied the positions between fifth and tenth at the German GP, but the drivers who drove these cars did not earn points for the championship. The fifth and sixth points went to the eleventh and twelfth in the race, Siffert and Beltoise.
International Cup for F1 Manufacturers standings
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 |
ITA |
CAN |
USA |
MEX |
Pts. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Matra-Ford | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | NC | 4 | 66 |
2 | Brabham-Ford | Ret | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | (5) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 49 (51) |
3 | Lotus-Ford | 2 | Ret | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 47 |
4 | McLaren-Ford
|
3 | 2 | (5) | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Ret | 1 | 38 (40) |
5 | BRM | 7 | 5 | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | NC | NC | 3 | 6 | 7 | |
6 | Ferrari | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | 5 | 7 | 7 | |
— | Cooper-Maserati | 7 | WD | 0 | |||||||||
— | Brabham-Repco | 8 | 0 | ||||||||||
— | Brabham-Climax | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||
— | Eagle-Climax
|
DSQ | 0 | ||||||||||
Pos. | Manufacturer | RSA |
ESP |
MON |
NED |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
ITA |
CAN |
USA |
MEX |
Pts. |
- Bold results counted to championship totals.
Non-championship races
Other Formula One races were held in 1969, which did not count towards the World Championship. The Madrid Grand Prix and Gold Cup were held concurrently with Formula 5000 cars.
Race name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
IV Race of Champions | Brands Hatch | 16 March | Jackie Stewart | Matra-Cosworth | Report |
XXI BRDC International Trophy | Silverstone | 30 March | Jack Brabham | Brabham-Cosworth | Report |
Madrid Grand Prix | Jarama
|
13 April | Keith Holland
|
Lola-Chevrolet | Report |
International Gold Cup
|
Oulton Park | 16 August | Jacky Ickx | Brabham-Cosworth | Report |
References
- ^ "1969 Driver Standings". Formula1.com. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "1969 Constructor Standings". Formula1.com. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ Jackie Stewart´s Matra MS80 was built in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France. Fernando Alonso's Renault R25 and Renault R26 were built in Enstone, UK.
- ^ "Grand Prix - The Killer Years". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ David Hayhoe, Formula 1: The Knowledge records and trivia since 1950 – 2nd Edition, 2021, page 35.
- ^ a b Michael Tee (1 March 1969). "South African Grand Prix race report: Stewart streaks ahead". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ a b Jennie Mowbray (13 February 2024). "#F1 History: 1969 - High wings banned". TheJugde13. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Safety Improvements in F1 since 1963". AtlasF1. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ Steven de Grootte (1 January 2009). "F1 rules and stats 1960-1969". F1Technical.net. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ Andrew Marriott (4 May 1969). "Spanish Grand Prix race report: Stewart goes the distance". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ Denis Jenkinson (18 May 1969). "Monaco Grand Prix race report: Hill knocks 'em for five". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ Denis Jenkinson (21 June 1969). "Dutch Grand Prix race report: No match for Matra". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Denis Jenkinson (6 July 1969). "French Grand Prix race report: Gallic glory in full flow". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Denis Jenkinson (19 July 1969). "British Grand Prix race report: Stewart wins as Rindt foiled". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Denis Jenkinson (3 August 1969). "German Grand Prix race report: Ickx props up Brabham". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Denis Jenkinson (7 September 1969). "Italian Grand Prix race report: Stewart's sixth seals it". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ISBN 0-905138-36-8.
- ^ Andrew Marriott (20 September 1969). "1969 Canadian Grand Prix race report: Ickx's dice doubles return". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ Andrew Marriott (5 October 1969). "1969 United States Grand Prix race report: Rindt runs the show". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ Andrew Marriott (19 October 1969). "1969 Mexcian Grand Prix race report: Hulme comes to the fore once more". Motorsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2024.