1970 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jochen Rindt snatched victory at Monaco when Jack Brabham slid into the barrier at the final corner of the final lap. The dramatic finish gave the Lotus 49 its last championship win, with Brabham recovering second and Henri Pescarolo earning his only Formula One podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jackie Stewart	March
Pole time	1:24.0
Fastest lap	Jochen Rindt	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:23.200 on lap 80
First	Jochen Rindt	Lotus
Second	Jack Brabham	Brabham
Third	Henri Pescarolo	Matra

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
7 May 1970	Thursday timed practice	Afternoon
8 May 1970	Friday timed practice	One hour; early morning
9 May 1970	Saturday general qualifying	Afternoon
9 May 1970	Saturday non-seeded qualifying	Additional 30 minutes
10 May 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 3 leading the 1970 F1 World Championship on 13 points, with Jack Brabham on 9. March – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 13 points.

Race entries

Peterson made his championship debut in a privately entered March. Lotus reverted to its older 49C cars while developing the 72, and Ickx returned after his Spanish burns. Ten seeded drivers were guaranteed places, leaving the other entrants to compete for six remaining starts.

Thursday timed practice

Stewart and Amon established March at the front as dust cleared from the street circuit. Lotus was less satisfied with its older cars, although the newer 72 remained available as a spare. Siffert suffered engine trouble and Oliver lost running to gearbox problems, leaving BRM near the bottom of the order.

Friday timed practice

Heavy rain made the session unrepresentative for the grid. Stewart remained comfortably fastest among those running, while Hill and McLaren both struck the edges of the circuit. Teams gained wet-weather experience, but there was little incentive to risk damage chasing times far slower than Thursday’s laps.

Saturday general qualifying

Stewart improved to secure pole, while Ickx and Brabham disputed positions behind the leading Marches. Hill crashed heavily enough to put his car out of action, and Servoz-Gavin also damaged his March. BRM tried a different ignition system but remained short of the leaders’ pace.

Saturday non-seeded qualifying

The non-seeded drivers had a final opportunity to earn a start, although these laps could not improve their grid positions. Siffert and Courage excelled. Pescarolo’s earlier time kept him in despite fuel trouble, while Servoz-Gavin failed to qualify in the spare March. Hill was then allowed to take over Miles’ non-qualifying Lotus, but had to start at the back because he had not practised in it.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	21	Jackie Stewart	March	1:24.0
2	28	Chris Amon	March	1:24.6
3	11	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:25.1
4	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	1:25.4
5	26	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:25.5
6	8	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:25.6
7	9	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	1:25.7
8	3	Jochen Rindt	Lotus	1:25.9
9	24	Piers Courage	De Tomaso	1:26.1
10	12	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	1:26.1
11	19	Jo Siffert	March	1:26.2
DNQ	6	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	1:26.3
DNQ	10	Andrea de Adamich	McLaren	1:26.3
14	1	Graham Hill	Lotus	1:26.8
15	23	Ronnie Peterson	March	1:26.8
DNQ	15	George Eaton	BRM	1:27.0
17	14	John Surtees	McLaren	1:27.4
DNQ	2	John Miles	Lotus	1:27.4
19	16	Jackie Oliver	BRM	1:27.5
DNQ	20	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	March	1:28.1
21	17	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:28.8

What happened in the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix?

Stewart led initially, with Amon and Brabham in pursuit. Brabham passed Amon before Stewart’s misfire forced him into the pits, handing the lead to the Australian. Ickx and Beltoise retired, and Hulme’s gearbox trouble allowed Rindt and Pescarolo to move ahead.

Amon’s suspension failure left Rindt second, nine seconds behind Brabham. The Lotus driver began an extraordinary late charge, setting fastest lap as he reduced the gap. Brabham still reached the final lap in front but came under increasing pressure through traffic.

At the last corner Brabham took a defensive line, locked his wheels on the dusty surface and slid into the barrier. Rindt swept past to win, while Brabham reversed out and salvaged second. Pescarolo, Hulme, Hill and Rodríguez completed the points after one of Monaco’s most memorable finishes.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 15 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 13. Brabham – Ford led the constructors’ table on 15, with McLaren – Ford on 15.

1970 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 1970 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 10 May 1970, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	3	Jochen Rindt	Lotus	80	1:54:37.4	9
2	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham	80	+ 23.1	6
3	9	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	80	+ 51.4	4
4	11	Denny Hulme	McLaren	80	+ 1:28.3	3
5	1	Graham Hill	Lotus	79	+ 1 Lap	2
6	17	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	78	+ 2 Laps	1
7	23	Ronnie Peterson	March	78	+ 2 Laps	0
8	19	Jo Siffert	March	76	Out of Fuel	0
Ret	28	Chris Amon	March	60	Suspension	0
NC	24	Piers Courage	De Tomaso	58	+ 22 Laps	0
Ret	21	Jackie Stewart	March	57	Engine	0
Ret	16	Jackie Oliver	BRM	42	Engine	0
Ret	8	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	21	Differential	0
Ret	12	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	19	Suspension	0
Ret	14	John Surtees	McLaren	14	Oil Pressure	0
Ret	26	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	11	Halfshaft	0
DNQ	10	Andrea de Adamich	McLaren			0
DNQ	6	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham			0
DNQ	15	George Eaton	BRM			0
DNQ	2	John Miles	Lotus			0
DNQ	20	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	March			0

1970 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	3	Jochen Rindt	Lotus	80	1:23.200

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 Monaco Grand Prix.

1970 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

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

1970 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Brabham – Ford	15
2	McLaren – Ford	15
3	Lotus – Ford	14
4	March – Ford	13
5	Matra	7
6	BRM	1
—	Ferrari	0
—	De Tomaso – Ford	0
—	McLaren – Alfa Romeo	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