1971 South African Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Mario Andretti claimed his first World Championship victory in a dramatic South African season opener. Denny Hulme appeared set to win until a late suspension failure slowed his McLaren, allowing Andretti’s Ferrari through ahead of Jackie Stewart and Clay Regazzoni.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Pole time	1:17.8
Fastest lap	Mario Andretti	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:20.300 on lap 73
First	Mario Andretti	Ferrari
Second	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Third	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
3 March 1971	Wednesday timed practice	Three hours; afternoon
4 March 1971	Thursday timed practice	Three hours; afternoon
5 March 1971	Friday final qualifying	Three hours; afternoon
6 March 1971	Saturday untimed practice	30 minutes
6 March 1971	Race	Start time unconfirmed

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

Championship background

Ferrari entered the new season with considerable momentum after its strong finish to 1970. Lotus began a full campaign with Fittipaldi and Wisell, while Tyrrell now fielded two cars of its own design. The new McLaren and Surtees promised a stronger challenge to the established front-runners.

Race entries

Andretti joined Ickx and Regazzoni at Ferrari, although damage in testing kept the new 312B2 out of the race. Amon moved to Matra, Hill joined Brabham and Ganley made his championship debut for BRM. Redman drove a third Surtees, while local drivers Charlton, Love and Pretorius strengthened the field.

Wednesday timed practice

Stewart’s 1:17.8 secured pole on the first day, with Amon also setting the time that would place him alongside. McLaren worked to understand the unusual suspension responses of its new M19, while Peterson showed promise in the March 711. Stewart compared Tyrrell’s new and old cars before preferring the original machine.

Thursday timed practice

Stewart’s engine failed during full-tank work, leaving Regazzoni to head the session and claim the remaining front-row place. Fittipaldi improved as he learned Kyalami, and Cevert also showed encouraging speed in his first appearance at the circuit. Amon felt his Matra engine had lost performance, prompting another overnight change.

Friday final qualifying

Fresh engines went into the cars of Stewart, Amon and Ickx, but the front row remained unchanged. Hulme and Surtees made notable progress with their new cars to reach the third row. Charlton’s extensive running paid off in the Brabham after a return to larger rear wheels, while Amon remained dissatisfied with his replacement engine.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	9	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:17.8
2	19	Chris Amon	Matra	1:18.4
3	5	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:18.7
4	6	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	1:19.0
5	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:19.1
6	20	John Surtees	Surtees	1:19.1
7	11	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:19.1
8	4	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:19.2
9	10	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:19.2
10	16	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	1:19.3
11	12	Peter Gethin	McLaren	1:19.6
12	15	Dave Charlton	Brabham	1:19.8
13	7	Ronnie Peterson	March	1:19.9
14	3	Reine Wisell	Lotus	1:19.9
15	21	Rolf Stommelen	Surtees	1:20.1
16	17	Jo Siffert	BRM	1:20.2
17	28	Brian Redman	Surtees	1:20.2
18	22	Henri Pescarolo	March	1:20.2
19	14	Graham Hill	Brabham	1:20.5
20	25	Jackie Pretorius	Brabham	1:21.7
21	24	John Love	March	1:21.9
22	8	Andrea de Adamich	March	1:22.2
23	23	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	1:22.3
24	27	Howden Ganley	BRM	1:23.7
25	26	Alex Soler-Roig	March	1:25.8

Saturday untimed practice

The pre-race setting-up session produced an urgent problem for Tyrrell when Cevert’s engine failed. The mechanics completed a replacement in time to retain a full 25-car starting field. The final preparations offered little warning of the late mechanical drama that would decide the race.

What happened in the 1971 South African Grand Prix?

Regazzoni led away as Stewart and Amon reacted slowly to the flag. Hulme worked through and passed the Ferrari to take command, while Surtees also advanced strongly. Heat and mechanical problems undermined BRM’s challenge, and Ickx lost time with a puncture.

Surtees retired after losing gearbox oil, leaving Andretti to pursue Hulme. The McLaren driver appeared able to answer the challenge until a rear-suspension locating bolt failed with only a few laps remaining. He continued slowly, but Andretti swept past and moved clear.

Andretti took his breakthrough victory, with Stewart passing Regazzoni for second. Wisell and Amon followed, while Hulme salvaged sixth after a cruel late reversal. The result gave Ferrari an early success, but the pace of McLaren and Surtees suggested an open contest ahead.

After the race, Mario Andretti headed the drivers’ standings with 9 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 6. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 9, with Tyrrell – Ford on 6.

1971 South African Grand Prix race results

The 1971 South African Grand Prix was held on 6 March 1971.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	79	1:47:35.5	9
2	9	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	79	+ 20.9	6
3	5	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	79	+ 31.4	4
4	3	Reine Wisell	Lotus	79	+ 1:09.4	3
5	19	Chris Amon	Matra	78	+ 1 Lap	2
6	11	Denny Hulme	McLaren	78	+ 1 Lap	1
7	28	Brian Redman	Surtees	78	+ 1 Lap	0
8	4	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	78	+ 1 Lap	0
9	14	Graham Hill	Brabham	77	+ 2 Laps	0
10	7	Ronnie Peterson	March	77	+ 2 Laps	0
11	22	Henri Pescarolo	March	77	+ 2 Laps	0
12	21	Rolf Stommelen	Surtees	77	+ 2 Laps	0
13	8	Andrea de Adamich	March	75	+ 4 Laps	0
Ret	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	58	Engine	0
Ret	20	John Surtees	Surtees	56	Gearbox	0
Ret	10	François Cevert	Tyrrell	45	Accident	0
Ret	27	Howden Ganley	BRM	42	Physical	0
Ret	16	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	33	Overheating	0
Ret	15	Dave Charlton	Brabham	31	Engine	0
Ret	17	Jo Siffert	BRM	31	Overheating	0
Ret	24	John Love	March	30	Differential	0
Ret	25	Jackie Pretorius	Brabham	22	Engine	0
Ret	12	Peter Gethin	McLaren	7	Fuel Leak	0
Ret	23	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	5	Suspension	0
Ret	26	Alex Soler-Roig	March	5	Engine	0

1971 South African Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	73	1:20.300

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 South African Grand Prix.

1971 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mario Andretti	American	Ferrari	9
2	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	6
3	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	4
4	Reine Wisell	Swedish	Lotus	3
5	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Matra	2
6	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	1
–	Brian Redman	British	Surtees	0
–	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	0
–	Graham Hill	British	Brabham	0
–	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March	0
–	Rolf Stommelen	German	Surtees	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	March	0
–	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	0
–	John Surtees	British	Surtees	0
–	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	BRM	0
–	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Brabham	0
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	BRM	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	March	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Brabham	0
–	Peter Gethin	British	McLaren	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	McLaren	0
–	Alex Soler-Roig	Spanish	March	0

1971 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	9
2	Tyrrell – Ford	6
3	Lotus – Ford	3
4	Matra	2
5	McLaren – Ford	1
—	Surtees – Ford	0
—	Brabham – Ford	0
—	March – Ford	0
—	March – Alfa Romeo	0
—	BRM	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