1970 French Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jochen Rindt claimed another victory in the Lotus 72 after the early promise of Ferrari and Matra unravelled at Charade. Chris Amon finished second and Jack Brabham held off Denny Hulme for third in a race that demanded precision and endurance throughout.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Pole time	2:58.22
Fastest lap	Jack Brabham	Brabham
Fastest-lap time	3:00.750 on lap 29
First	Jochen Rindt	Lotus
Second	Chris Amon	March
Third	Jack Brabham	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
3 July 1970	Friday timed practice	Two and a half hours; afternoon
4 July 1970	Saturday first timed practice	One hour; after lunch
4 July 1970	Saturday final qualifying	One hour; evening
5 July 1970	Sunday extra practice	14:15–14:30
5 July 1970	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Jackie Stewart arrived at round 6 leading the 1970 F1 World Championship on 19 points, with Jochen Rindt on 18. March – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 25 points.

Race entries

Hulme returned despite continuing discomfort from his burned hands, joining Gurney at McLaren. Ferrari fielded Ickx and Giunti, while Surtees was absent because an engine was unavailable. The field was limited to 20 starters, leaving the non-seeded entrants competing to avoid elimination.

Friday timed practice

Ferrari missed the session after customs delayed its transporter. Stewart and Amon led on a dusty circuit, while Cevert quickly showed encouraging pace. Rindt struggled with discomfort and was struck in the face by a stone after changing helmet styles. Miles completed extensive running before running out of fuel, and Stewart used the spare March during throttle-slide work.

Saturday first timed practice

Ferrari immediately made up ground, with Ickx fastest ahead of Beltoise and Rindt. Giunti also settled into the competitive group. Amon’s regular March was not running correctly, Gurney stopped with fuel-pressure trouble and Moser damaged the Bellasi’s nose. The twelve-cylinder cars were establishing a serious challenge on the twisting course.

Saturday final qualifying

Beltoise was first below three minutes, but Ickx ultimately took pole ahead of the Matra. Rindt, Amon, Stewart and Brabham also broke the barrier as the session intensified. Lovely crashed, and he, Moser and Soler-Roig were the three drivers left out. De Adamich qualified the Alfa Romeo-powered McLaren for the first time.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	10	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	2:58.22
2	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	2:58.70
3	14	Chris Amon	March	2:59.14
4	1	Jackie Stewart	March	2:59.24
5	23	Jack Brabham	Brabham	2:59.67
6	6	Jochen Rindt	Lotus	2:59.74
7	19	Denny Hulme	McLaren	3:00.42
8	20	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	3:00.59
9	18	Ronnie Peterson	March	3:01.21
10	3	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	3:01.29
11	11	Ignazio Giunti	Ferrari	3:01.85
12	5	Jackie Oliver	BRM	3:02.77
13	2	François Cevert	March	3:02.87
14	22	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	3:03.41
15	16	Andrea de Adamich	McLaren	3:03.48
16	12	Jo Siffert	March	3:03.78
17	17	Dan Gurney	McLaren	3:04.04
18	7	John Miles	Lotus	3:04.16
19	4	George Eaton	BRM	3:04.92
20	8	Graham Hill	Lotus	3:07.84
DNQ	24	Silvio Moser	Bellasi	3:08.10
DNQ	9	Alex Soler-Roig	Lotus	3:14.49
DNQ	25	Pete Lovely	Lotus	3:15.58

Sunday extra practice

Ferrari let Ickx try the spare after a valve concern developed in his qualifying car. He disliked its braking, handling and power, so returned to the original machine for the race. Oliver’s BRM was also misfiring before the 15:00 start, leaving him with a known problem as the field assembled in pairs.

What happened in the 1970 French Grand Prix?

Ickx and Beltoise pulled clear, while Stewart lost time replacing an ignition unit. Rindt passed Amon to lead the chasing group but initially had no answer to the leaders. Ickx’s valve-gear failure then left Beltoise in front, raising hopes of a French victory in a French car.

A slow puncture progressively unsettled the Matra. Rindt closed in, passed and took control, with Amon following him through. Beltoise stopped for tyres and fell out of contention. Brabham and Hulme fought closely for the final podium place after escaping a slower midfield group.

Rindt won by seven and a half seconds from Amon. Brabham resisted Hulme to finish third, with Pescarolo and Gurney completing the points. Beltoise’s late fuel-feed trouble compounded his disappointment, while Rindt left with another win for the rapidly improving Lotus 72.

After the race, Jochen Rindt headed the drivers’ standings with 27 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 19. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 32, with March – Ford on 31.

1970 French Grand Prix race results

The 1970 French Grand Prix was held on 5 July 1970, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Jochen Rindt	Lotus	38	1:55:57.0	9
2	14	Chris Amon	March	38	+ 7.61	6
3	23	Jack Brabham	Brabham	38	+ 44.83	4
4	19	Denny Hulme	McLaren	38	+ 45.66	3
5	20	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	38	+ 1:19.42	2
6	17	Dan Gurney	McLaren	38	+ 1:19.65	1
7	22	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	38	+ 2:20.16	0
8	7	John Miles	Lotus	38	+ 2:47.17	0
9	1	Jackie Stewart	March	38	+ 3:09.61	0
10	8	Graham Hill	Lotus	37	+ 1 Lap	0
11	2	François Cevert	March	37	+ 1 Lap	0
12	4	George Eaton	BRM	36	+ 2 Laps	0
13	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	35	Out of Fuel	0
14	11	Ignazio Giunti	Ferrari	35	+ 3 Laps	0
NC	16	Andrea de Adamich	McLaren	29	+ 9 Laps	0
Ret	12	Jo Siffert	March	23	Accident	0
Ret	18	Ronnie Peterson	March	17	Differential	0
Ret	10	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	16	Engine	0
Ret	3	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	6	Gearbox	0
Ret	5	Jackie Oliver	BRM	5	Engine	0
DNQ	24	Silvio Moser	Bellasi			0
DNQ	9	Alex Soler-Roig	Lotus			0
DNQ	25	Pete Lovely	Lotus			0

1970 French Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	23	Jack Brabham	Brabham	29	3:00.750

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1970 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1970 French Grand Prix.

1970 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Lotus	27
2	Jackie Stewart	British	March	19
3	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	19
4	Chris Amon	New Zealander	March	12
5	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	12
6	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	10
7	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra	9
8	Henri Pescarolo	French	Matra	7
9	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren	6
10	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	6
11	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	4
12	Mario Andretti	American	March	4
13	Ignazio Giunti	Italian	Ferrari	3
14	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	3
15	John Miles	British	Lotus	2
16	Rolf Stommelen	German	Brabham	2
17	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	French	March	2
18	John Surtees	British	McLaren	1
19	Dan Gurney	American	McLaren	1
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	March	0
–	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Lotus	0
–	François Cevert	French	March	0
–	Peter de Klerk	South African	Brabham	0
–	George Eaton	Canadian	BRM	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0
–	Piers Courage	British	De Tomaso	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	BRM	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	McLaren	0
–	Derek Bell	British	Brabham	0
–	Peter Gethin	British	McLaren	0

1970 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	32
2	March – Ford	31
3	Brabham – Ford	21
4	McLaren – Ford	19
5	Matra	15
6	BRM	10
7	Ferrari	7
—	De Tomaso – Ford	0
—	McLaren – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Bellasi – Ford	0

Drivers counted their best 6 results from rounds 1–7 and their best 5 from rounds 8–13. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.

1970 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1970 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	7 March
2	1970 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	19 April
3	1970 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	10 May
4	1970 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	7 June
5	1970 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	21 June
6	1970 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Charade, Clermont-Ferrand	5 July
7	1970 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	18 July
8	1970 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	2 August
9	1970 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	16 August
10	1970 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
11	1970 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite	20 September
12	1970 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	4 October
13	1970 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	25 October