1971 Argentine Grand Prix
| 1971 Argentine Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-championship race in the 1971 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 24 January 1971 | ||
| Official name | VIII Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina | ||
| Location |
Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.41 km (2.12 miles) | ||
| Distance | 50 x 2 laps, 341.045 km (211.9 miles) | ||
| Weather | Fine, cool | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Surtees-Cosworth | ||
| Time | 1:15.85 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Chris Amon | Matra | |
| Time | 1:15.05 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Matra | ||
| Second | March-Cosworth | ||
| Third |
McLaren-Cosworth | ||
The 1971 Argentine Grand Prix was a
This event was held because at that time the FIA regulations required a demonstration race to be held as a quality check, before a Grand Prix could be admitted as part of the World Championship. The race was run over two heats of 50 laps each, the final results being an aggregate of the two.
Scuderia Ferrari had entered three cars for this event, but they were withdrawn after the fatal accident suffered by Ignazio Giunti in a sports car race two weeks previously. Jean-Pierre Beltoise was also involved in that accident, and as a consequence had his international license suspended, and was unable to compete.
Qualifying
Note: a blue background indicates a Formula 5000 entrant.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 |  Rolf Stommelen
|
Surtees-Cosworth | 1:15.85 | — |
| 2 | 8 | Chris Amon
|
Matra | 1:15.88 | +0.03 |
| 3 | 4 |  Reine Wisell
|
Lotus-Cosworth | 1:16.03 | +0.18 |
| 4 | 2 |  Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Lotus-Cosworth | 1:16.28 | +0.43 |
| 5 | 16 |  Carlos Reutemann
|
McLaren-Cosworth
|
1:16.49 | +0.64 |
| 6 | 12 |  Jo Siffert
|
March-Cosworth | 1:16.61 | +0.76 |
| 7 | 14 |  Henri Pescarolo
|
March-Cosworth | 1:16.80 | +0.95 |
| 8 | 10 | Derek Bell
|
March-Cosworth | 1:17.23 | +1.38 |
| 9 | 6 | Wilson Fittipaldi
|
Lotus-Cosworth | 1:17.90 | +2.05 |
| 10 | 20 | Silvio Moser
|
Bellasi-Cosworth | 1:19.01 | +3.16 |
| 11 | 22 |  David Prophet
|
McLaren-Chevrolet
|
1:20.58 | +4.73 |
| 12 | 26 | Jo Bonnier
|
Lola-Chevrolet
|
1:21.96 | +6.11 |
| 13 | 24 | Gordon Spice
|
McLaren-Chevrolet
|
1:23.45 | +7.60 |
| 14 | 30 | Nestor García-Veiga
|
Surtees-Chevrolet | 1:26.26 | +10.41 |
| 15 | 28 | Carlos Marincovich
|
McLaren-Chevrolet
|
2:00.06 | +44.15 |
Heat one
Heat two
The grid for heat two was decided by the finishing order from the first heat, with Greg Young taking over Marincovich's car. At the start, Siffert pulled away from Stommelen to take the lead. Amon quickly passed Reutemann and Pescarolo to move into third place, but he caught Stommelen just as the German was trying to pass Siffert. Amon and Stommelen collided and Stommelen's Surtees went off the track, causing gearbox damage which soon proved to be terminal. Shortly afterwards, Amon passed Siffert for the lead. During the next two laps, Siffert was also passed by Pescarolo, Reutemann,
Classification
Note: the classification was determined using the sum of the times obtained in the two heats.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Entrant | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | 1st / 2nd heat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Chris Amon
|
Equipe Matra Elf | Matra | 100 | 2:08:19.29 | 4th / 1st |
| 2 | 14 | Henri Pescarolo
|
Frank Williams Racing Cars | March-Cosworth | 100 | + 21.86 s | 3rd / 2nd |
| 3 | 16 | Carlos Reutemann
|
Ecurie Bonnier
|
McLaren-Cosworth
|
100 | + 53.31 s | 6th / 3rd |
| 4 | 22 | David Prophet
|
David Prophet Racing | McLaren-Chevrolet
|
96 | + 4 Laps | 9th / 4th |
| Ret | 10 | Derek Bell
|
Tom Wheatcroft Racing | March-Cosworth | 88 | Engine | 7th / Ret |
| Ret | 12 | Jo Siffert
|
Siffert Racing Team | March-Cosworth | 86 | Suspension | 2nd / Ret |
| Ret | 4 | Reine Wisell
|
Gold Leaf Team Lotus | Lotus-Cosworth | 84 | Accident | 5th / Ret |
| NC | 24 | Gordon Spice
|
Gordon Spice | McLaren-Chevrolet
|
84 | 12th / 5th | |
| Ret | 6 | Wilson Fittipaldi
|
Gold Leaf Team Lotus | Lotus-Cosworth | 71 | Engine | 8th / Ret |
| NC | 26 | Jo Bonnier
|
Ecurie Bonnier
|
Lola-Chevrolet
|
68 | Battery | Ret / 7th |
| Ret | 20 | Silvio Moser
|
Jolly Club Switzerland | Bellasi-Cosworth | 66 | Engine | 11th / Ret |
| Ret | 18 | Rolf Stommelen
|
Team Surtees | Surtees-Cosworth | 60 | Gearbox | 1st / Ret |
| NC | 28 | Carlos Marincovich Greg Young
|
Luigi Chinetti | McLaren-Chevrolet
|
59 | Fuel injection | Ret / 6th |
| Ret | 2 | Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Gold Leaf Team Lotus | Lotus-Cosworth | 48 | Oil pressure | 10th / Ret |
| Ret | 30 | Nestor García-Veiga
|
Luigi Chinetti | Surtees-Chevrolet | 11 | Oil leak | Ret / DNS |
| WD |  Mario Andretti
|
Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | ||||
| WD |  Jacky Ickx
|
Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | ||||
| WD | Clay Regazzoni
|
Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | ||||
| WD |  Ignazio Giunti
|
Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | ||||
| WD | Jean-Pierre Beltoise
|
Equipe Matra Elf | Matra | ||||
| WD | Chris Craft
|
Alain de Cadenet | Brabham-Cosworth | ||||
| WD | Ronnie Peterson
|
March Racing Team | March-Cosworth | ||||
References
- ^ "1971 Argentine GP – Heat 1 Classification". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ a b "1971 – VIII Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina". StatsF1. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ ISBN 0-393-08502-3 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "1971 Argentine GP – Heat 1 Classification". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "1971 Argentine GP – Heat 2 Classification". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "1971 Argentine GP – Aggregate Timings". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 28 February 2024.