Jo Siffert delivered a superb Austrian Grand Prix victory for BRM, surviving a late tyre problem to beat Emerson Fittipaldi. Tim Schenken claimed his only championship podium, while Jackie Stewart secured his second world title despite retiring.
Race Guide
Season: 1971 F1 World Championship
Race date: 15 August 1971
Race start time: 15:00 local time (UTC+01:00)
Circuit: Österreichring
Laps: 54 laps
Circuit length: 5.911 km
1970 winner: Jacky Ickx
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Jo Siffert | BRM |
| Pole time | 1:37.44 | |
| Fastest lap | Jo Siffert | BRM |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:38.470 on lap 22 | |
| First | Jo Siffert | BRM |
| Second | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus |
| Third | Tim Schenken | Brabham |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 12 August 1971 | Thursday timed practice | 15:00–18:00 |
| 13 August 1971 | Friday timed practice | 15:00–18:00 |
| 14 August 1971 | Saturday final qualifying | 14:00–17:00 |
| 15 August 1971 | Sunday untimed practice | 50 minutes; morning |
| 15 August 1971 | 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 8 leading the 1971 F1 World Championship on 51 points, with Jacky Ickx on 19. Tyrrell – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 51 points.
Race entries
Niki Lauda made his championship debut in a March and Marko started for BRM. Gethin also joined BRM after leaving McLaren, allowing Oliver to take over his former car. Matra stayed away to work on improvements, while Ferrari ran without Andretti.
Thursday timed practice
Morning rain cleared to leave cool, favourable conditions, and Stewart set a formidable benchmark. Fittipaldi used a tow to improve late in the session, while both Brabhams lost time with driveshaft problems. Oliver and Pescarolo were still waiting for delayed transporters, and March faced engine trouble.
Friday timed practice
Heat prevented most drivers from matching Thursday’s times. Fittipaldi nevertheless headed the day after running in Hulme’s slipstream. Stommelen spread oil after a pipe failure and Ickx suffered a similar problem, while Stewart’s mechanics investigated his throttle slides. Lauda, Galli, Oliver and Pescarolo all missed running because their cars were unavailable.
Saturday final qualifying
The missing cars finally arrived, but Oliver crashed after losing a brake pad and Lauda suffered an oil leak. Tyrrell returned Stewart’s car to its normal wheelbase after earlier experiments and attended to gearbox concerns. Siffert seized his opportunity in the spare BRM, setting the weekend’s fastest lap and beating Stewart to pole. Regazzoni also chose a spare car for the race.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Jo Siffert | BRM | 1:37.44 |
| 2 | 11 | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell | 1:37.65 |
| 3 | 12 | François Cevert | Tyrrell | 1:37.86 |
| 4 | 5 | Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | 1:37.90 |
| 5 | 2 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus | 1:37.90 |
| 6 | 4 | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 1:38.27 |
| 7 | 8 | Tim Schenken | Brabham | 1:38.64 |
| 8 | 7 | Graham Hill | Brabham | 1:38.70 |
| 9 | 9 | Denny Hulme | McLaren | 1:38.80 |
| 10 | 3 | Reine Wisell | Lotus | 1:38.95 |
| 11 | 17 | Ronnie Peterson | March | 1:39.01 |
| 12 | 24 | Rolf Stommelen | Surtees | 1:39.08 |
| 13 | 25 | Henri Pescarolo | March | 1:39.09 |
| 14 | 15 | Howden Ganley | BRM | 1:39.46 |
| 15 | 19 | Nanni Galli | March | 1:39.54 |
| 16 | 23 | Peter Gethin | BRM | 1:39.67 |
| 17 | 16 | Helmut Marko | BRM | 1:39.80 |
| 18 | 22 | John Surtees | Surtees | 1:40.37 |
| 19 | 27 | Mike Beuttler | March | 1:41.46 |
| 20 | 28 | Jo Bonnier | McLaren | 1:41.66 |
| 21 | 26 | Niki Lauda | March | 1:43.68 |
| 22 | 10 | Jackie Oliver | McLaren | 1:44.22 |
Sunday untimed practice
Ferrari, Lotus and BRM elected not to run, but McLaren used the session extensively. Oliver checked his repaired car and recovered some of the mileage lost earlier in the weekend. Pescarolo also made the most of the extra track time, while both Tyrrell drivers completed further laps.
What happened in the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix?
Siffert led from the start, with Stewart initially his main pursuer. Cevert moved ahead of his team-mate as Stewart’s handling deteriorated, while Ferrari’s challenge ended through engine-related failures. Fittipaldi and Schenken fought closely further back.
Stewart retired after a rear-driveline failure, but Ickx’s retirement and Peterson’s result meant the championship was already his. Cevert then lost his transmission while chasing Siffert, promoting Fittipaldi into second. A slowly deflating rear tyre forced Siffert to ease his pace dramatically in the closing laps.
Siffert held on to win by just over four seconds, with Fittipaldi second and Schenken third. Wisell beat a tyre-troubled Hill to fourth, and Pescarolo completed the points. The victory was Siffert’s second and final championship win, a deserved reward for an exceptional weekend.
After the race, Jackie Stewart headed the drivers’ standings with 51 points, followed by Jacky Ickx on 19. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 51, with Ferrari on 32.
1971 Austrian Grand Prix race results
The 1971 Austrian Grand Prix was held on 15 August 1971, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Jo Siffert | BRM | 54 | 1:30:23.91 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus | 54 | + 4.12 | 6 |
| 3 | 8 | Tim Schenken | Brabham | 54 | + 19.77 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Reine Wisell | Lotus | 54 | + 31.87 | 3 |
| 5 | 7 | Graham Hill | Brabham | 54 | + 48.43 | 2 |
| 6 | 25 | Henri Pescarolo | March | 54 | + 1:24.51 | 1 |
| 7 | 24 | Rolf Stommelen | Surtees | 54 | + 1:37.42 | 0 |
| 8 | 17 | Ronnie Peterson | March | 53 | + 1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 10 | Jackie Oliver | McLaren | 53 | + 1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 23 | Peter Gethin | BRM | 52 | + 2 laps | 0 |
| 11 | 16 | Helmut Marko | BRM | 52 | + 2 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 19 | Nanni Galli | March | 51 | + 3 laps | 0 |
| NC | 27 | Mike Beuttler | March | 47 | + 7 laps | 0 |
| Ret | 12 | François Cevert | Tyrrell | 42 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 11 | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell | 35 | Halfshaft | 0 |
| Ret | 4 | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 31 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 26 | Niki Lauda | March | 20 | Handling | 0 |
| Ret | 22 | John Surtees | Surtees | 12 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 5 | Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | 8 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 15 | Howden Ganley | BRM | 6 | Ignition | 0 |
| Ret | 9 | Denny Hulme | McLaren | 4 | Engine | 0 |
| DNS | 28 | Jo Bonnier | McLaren | 0 | Fuel leak | 0 |
1971 Austrian Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Jo Siffert | BRM | 22 | 1:38.470 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.
1971 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix.
1971 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
1971 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyrrell – Ford | 51 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 32 |
| 3 | BRM | 21 |
| 4 | Lotus – Ford | 19 |
| 5 | March – Ford | 18 |
| 6 | Matra | 8 |
| 7 | McLaren – Ford | 6 |
| 8 | Brabham – Ford | 5 |
| 9 | Surtees – Ford | 5 |
| — | March – Alfa Romeo | 0 |
| — | Lotus | 0 |
Drivers counted their best 5 results from rounds 1–6 and their best 4 from rounds 7–11. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.
1971 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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