1970 Mexican Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ferrari finished the season with another one-two, Jacky Ickx leading Clay Regazzoni home ahead of Denny Hulme in Mexico City. Severe crowd-control problems delayed the start, while Jack Brabham’s final Grand Prix ended with engine failure.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
Pole time	1:41.86
Fastest lap	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:43.110 on lap 46
First	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Second	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
Third	Denny Hulme	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
23 October 1970	Friday timed practice	Four hours; afternoon
24 October 1970	Saturday final qualifying	Four hours; afternoon
25 October 1970	Race	14:30 scheduled; 16:00 actual

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

Championship background

Jochen Rindt arrived at round 13 leading the 1970 F1 World Championship on 45 points, with Jacky Ickx on 31. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 59 points.

Race entries

The organisers limited the field to 18 cars for financial reasons. Cevert ultimately received the final invitation instead of Bonnier, joining Stewart in the Tyrrell camp. Several regulars, including Peterson and Schenken, were absent. The established two-car teams formed the core of the entry, with Hill and Surtees also taking part.

Friday timed practice

Teams adjusted fuel settings for the altitude and worked through gearing, brake balance and handling changes. Ickx set the fastest time despite carrying a full fuel load, with Regazzoni and Stewart leading the pursuit. Brabham escaped injury when a rear suspension component failed, Hulme lost running to a fuel-pump problem, and both Surtees and Fittipaldi suffered engine failures. Numerous overnight engine changes followed.

Saturday final qualifying

Stewart appeared to have pole with a 1:41.88, but Regazzoni responded two-hundredths quicker after Ickx’s engine failed. Brabham qualified fourth for his final start. Both works Marches suffered failures with freshly rebuilt engines, and Lotus endured further trouble with Fittipaldi and Wisell’s power units. Ferrari emerged fastest, but the scale of the mechanical problems left many teams concerned about completing the race.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	4	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:41.86
2	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:41.88
3	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:42.41
4	15	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:43.57
5	12	Chris Amon	March	1:43.71
6	6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:43.82
7	19	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:44.01
8	14	Graham Hill	Lotus	1:44.13
9	2	François Cevert	March	1:44.21
10	9	Peter Gethin	McLaren	1:44.46
11	7	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	1:44.55
12	23	Reine Wisell	Lotus	1:44.59
13	20	Jackie Oliver	BRM	1:44.70
14	8	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:44.95
15	17	John Surtees	Surtees	1:45.03
16	11	Jo Siffert	March	1:46.15
17	16	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	1:46.30
18	24	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:48.13

What happened in the 1970 Mexican Grand Prix?

The scheduled 14:30 start was delayed until 16:00 as spectators crowded dangerously close to the track. Appeals from Rodriguez and Stewart failed to resolve the situation fully. When racing finally began, Ickx moved into the lead, with Stewart and Regazzoni in pursuit.

Stewart lost time with a steering-column problem and later retired after striking a dog that had reached the circuit, damaging his suspension. Ferrari was left in control. Brabham had been running third, but engine failure ended his final Grand Prix and promoted Hulme to the podium.

Ickx led Regazzoni home, with Hulme third ahead of Amon, Beltoise and Rodriguez. The result left Ickx second in the championship behind Rindt and completed Ferrari’s strong finish to the season. The crowd-control failures had a lasting consequence: Mexico disappeared from the championship calendar and did not return until 1986.

After the race, Jochen Rindt headed the drivers’ standings with 45 points, followed by Jacky Ickx on 40. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 59, with Ferrari on 52.

1970 Mexican Grand Prix race results

The 1970 Mexican Grand Prix was held on 25 October 1970, with a scheduled start of 14:30 scheduled; 16:00 actual local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	65	1:53:28.36	9
2	4	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	65	+ 24.64	6
3	8	Denny Hulme	McLaren	65	+ 45.97	4
4	12	Chris Amon	March	65	+ 47.05	3
5	6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	65	+ 50.11	2
6	19	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	65	+ 1:24.76	1
7	20	Jackie Oliver	BRM	64	+ 1 lap	0
8	17	John Surtees	Surtees	64	+ 1 lap	0
9	7	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	61	+ 4 laps	0
NC	23	Reine Wisell	Lotus	56	+ 9 laps	0
Ret	15	Jack Brabham	Brabham	52	Engine	0
Ret	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	33	Suspension	0
Ret	9	Peter Gethin	McLaren	27	Engine	0
Ret	16	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	15	Fuel system	0
Ret	2	François Cevert	March	8	Engine	0
Ret	14	Graham Hill	Lotus	4	Overheating	0
Ret	11	Jo Siffert	March	3	Engine	0
Ret	24	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1	Engine	0

1970 Mexican Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	46	1:43.110

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 Mexican Grand Prix.

1970 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Lotus	45
2	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	40
3	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	33
4	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	27
5	Jackie Stewart	British	March / Tyrrell	25
6	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	25
7	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	23
8	Chris Amon	New Zealander	March	23
9	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra	16
10	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	12
11	Rolf Stommelen	German	Brabham	10
12	Henri Pescarolo	French	Matra	8
13	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	7
14	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren	6
15	Reine Wisell	Swedish	Lotus	4
16	Mario Andretti	American	March	4
17	Ignazio Giunti	Italian	Ferrari	3
18	John Surtees	British	McLaren / Surtees	3
19	John Miles	British	Lotus	2
20	Jackie Oliver	British	BRM	2
21	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	French	March	2
22	François Cevert	French	March	1
23	Peter Gethin	British	McLaren	1
24	Dan Gurney	American	McLaren	1
25	Derek Bell	British	Brabham / Surtees	1
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	March	0
–	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	McLaren	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Lotus	0
–	George Eaton	Canadian	BRM	0
–	Peter de Klerk	South African	Brabham	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0
–	Piers Courage	British	De Tomaso	0
–	Pete Lovely	American	Lotus	0
–	Tim Schenken	Australian	De Tomaso	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	McLaren	0
–	Silvio Moser	Swiss	Bellasi	0
–	Gus Hutchison	American	Brabham	0

1970 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	59
2	Ferrari	52
3	March – Ford	48
4	Brabham – Ford	35
5	McLaren – Ford	35
6	BRM	23
7	Matra	23
8	Surtees – Ford	3
—	McLaren – Alfa Romeo	0
—	De Tomaso – Ford	0
—	Bellasi – Ford	0
—	Tyrrell – 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