1971 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Peter Gethin won an extraordinary Italian Grand Prix by just one-hundredth of a second from Ronnie Peterson. François Cevert, Mike Hailwood and Howden Ganley completed a five-car finish covered by only 0.61 seconds, bringing Monza’s final pre-chicane championship race to an unforgettable conclusion.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Chris Amon	Matra
Pole time	1:22.40
Fastest lap	Henri Pescarolo	March
Fastest-lap time	1:23.800 on lap 9
First	Peter Gethin	BRM
Second	Ronnie Peterson	March
Third	François Cevert	Tyrrell

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
3 September 1971	Friday first timed practice	15:00
3 September 1971	Friday second timed practice	After an approximately one-hour break
4 September 1971	Saturday final qualifying	Afternoon; until 18:30
5 September 1971	Sunday extra practice	10:00–11:00
5 September 1971	Race	15:30

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 9 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

Fittipaldi drove the Lotus turbine under the World Wide Racing entry, with the regular works entry absent amid legal issues following Rindt’s fatal accident. Hailwood returned to Formula One with Surtees, while Amon represented Matra. Moser brought the Bellasi, and several proposed private entries failed to appear.

Friday first timed practice

Teams arrived with reduced aerodynamic drag for Monza’s high speeds. Cevert set an early pace, while Amon changed cars during water-pump work. Schenken lost time after an extinguisher was accidentally activated, and Lotus adjusted the turbine car’s gearing and intake during the break.

Friday second timed practice

Slipstreaming intensified as the air cooled, with Siffert heading a tightly packed group. Ferrari struggled with its tyres and considered an alternative supplier. Stommelen then suffered a tyre failure and crashed heavily, escaping injury but putting his Surtees out of action.

Saturday final qualifying

Ickx tried Goodyear tyres and switched to an older Ferrari, while Stewart lost time with gearbox trouble. The late rush for a tow produced a remarkable lap from Amon. His 1:22.40 was initially omitted from the provisional result, then accepted after Matra challenged the timing, giving him pole ahead of Ickx. Hailwood returned after an overnight engine change.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	12	Chris Amon	Matra	1:22.40
2	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:22.82
3	20	Jo Siffert	BRM	1:23.03
4	19	Howden Ganley	BRM	1:23.15
5	2	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:23.41
6	25	Ronnie Peterson	March	1:23.46
7	30	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:23.49
8	4	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:23.69
9	11	Tim Schenken	Brabham	1:23.73
10	16	Henri Pescarolo	March	1:23.77
11	18	Peter Gethin	BRM	1:23.88
12	21	Helmut Marko	BRM	1:23.96
13	14	Jackie Oliver	McLaren	1:24.09
14	10	Graham Hill	Brabham	1:24.27
15	7	John Surtees	Surtees	1:24.45
16	24	Mike Beuttler	March	1:25.01
17	9	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:25.17
18	5	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:25.18
19	22	Nanni Galli	March	1:25.19
20	23	Andrea de Adamich	March	1:25.73
21	28	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	1:26.14
22	27	Silvio Moser	Bellasi	1:26.54
23	8	Rolf Stommelen	Surtees	1:27.92
24	26	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	1:28.19

Sunday extra practice

Siffert bedded in a new engine and Stewart tried taller gearing for slipstreaming. Amon stayed away, satisfied with his preparations. Hill’s gearbox jammed and Hailwood’s engine misfired, forcing both teams to complete major replacements before the 15:30 start.

What happened in the 1971 Italian Grand Prix?

Regazzoni made a rapid start, but the lead soon began changing repeatedly in the slipstreaming pack. Stewart, Ickx and Regazzoni all retired early, opening the contest to a new group of potential winners. Siffert dropped back with gearbox trouble, while Amon later lost his visor and suffered fuel-system difficulties.

Peterson, Cevert, Hailwood and Gethin traded positions as the finish approached, with Ganley close enough to benefit from any mistake. Gethin had worked patiently back into the leading group before putting his BRM in contention for the final sprint. None of the five had previously won a championship Grand Prix.

Cevert led onto the final approach, Peterson moved ahead under braking and Gethin emerged from Parabolica in front. The BRM crossed the line inches ahead of Peterson, with Cevert, Hailwood and Ganley almost alongside. Amon took sixth. Gethin’s only championship win became one of Formula One’s defining finishes, while Tyrrell secured the manufacturers’ title.

After the race, Jackie Stewart headed the drivers’ standings with 51 points, followed by Ronnie Peterson on 23. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 55, with Ferrari on 32.

1971 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 1971 Italian Grand Prix was held on 5 September 1971, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	18	Peter Gethin	BRM	55	1:18:12.60	9
2	25	Ronnie Peterson	March	55	+ 0.01	6
3	2	François Cevert	Tyrrell	55	+ 0.09	4
4	9	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	55	+ 0.18	3
5	19	Howden Ganley	BRM	55	+ 0.61	2
6	12	Chris Amon	Matra	55	+ 32.36	1
7	14	Jackie Oliver	McLaren	55	+ 1:24.83	0
8	5	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	54	+ 1 Lap	0
9	20	Jo Siffert	BRM	53	+ 2 Laps	0
10	28	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	51	+ 4 Laps	0
Ret	10	Graham Hill	Brabham	47	Gearbox	0
NC	26	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	47	+ 8 Laps	0
Ret	24	Mike Beuttler	March	41	Engine	0
Ret	16	Henri Pescarolo	March	40	Suspension	0
Ret	23	Andrea de Adamich	March	33	Engine	0
Ret	4	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	17	Engine	0
Ret	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	15	Engine	0
Ret	30	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	15	Engine	0
Ret	22	Nanni Galli	March	11	Electrical	0
Ret	11	Tim Schenken	Brabham	5	Suspension	0
Ret	27	Silvio Moser	Bellasi	5	Suspension	0
Ret	21	Helmut Marko	BRM	3	Engine	0
Ret	7	John Surtees	Surtees	3	Engine	0
DNS	8	Rolf Stommelen	Surtees		Accident	0
WD	6	Herbert Müller	Lotus			0
WD	15	Carlos Pace	March			0
WD	29	François Mazet	March			0

1971 Italian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	16	Henri Pescarolo	March	9	1:23.800

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 Italian Grand Prix.

1971 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	51
2	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March / March	23
3	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	19
4	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	16
5	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus / Lotus	16
6	Jo Siffert	Swiss	BRM	13
7	Mario Andretti	American	Ferrari	12
8	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	12
9	Peter Gethin	British	McLaren / BRM	9
10	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	9
11	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Matra	9
12	Reine Wisell	Swedish	Lotus / Lotus	7
13	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	6
14	Tim Schenken	Australian	Brabham	5
15	Henri Pescarolo	French	March	4
16	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	3
17	John Surtees	British	Surtees	3
18	Rolf Stommelen	German	Surtees	3
19	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	BRM	2
20	Graham Hill	British	Brabham	2
21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra	1
–	Jackie Oliver	British	McLaren	0
–	Brian Redman	British	Surtees	0
–	Gijs van Lennep	Dutch	Surtees	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	McLaren	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	March / March	0
–	Helmut Marko	Austrian	BRM	0
–	Vic Elford	British	BRM	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	March	0
–	François Mazet	French	March	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	March	0
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	Skip Barber	American	March	0
–	Max Jean	French	March	0
–	Alex Soler-Roig	Spanish	March	0
–	Niki Lauda	Austrian	March	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Brabham / Lotus	0
–	Derek Bell	British	Surtees	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	March	0
–	Silvio Moser	Swiss	Bellasi	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Brabham	0
–	David Walker	Australian	Lotus	0

1971 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Tyrrell – Ford	55
2	Ferrari	32
3	BRM	30
4	March – Ford	24
5	Lotus – Ford	19
6	Matra	9
7	Surtees – Ford	8
8	McLaren – Ford	6
9	Brabham – Ford	5
—	Lotus	0
—	March – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Bellasi – Ford	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

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1971 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	6 March
2	1971 Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc, Barcelona	18 April
3	1971 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	23 May
4	1971 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	20 June
5	1971 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	4 July
6	1971 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	17 July
7	1971 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	1 August
8	1971 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	15 August
9	1971 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	5 September
10	1971 Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport Park, Bowmanville	19 September
11	1971 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	3 October