1971 United States Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

François Cevert claimed his first and only World Championship victory at Watkins Glen, completing a magnificent season for Tyrrell. Jo Siffert held second despite late fuel concerns, with Ronnie Peterson third after Jacky Ickx’s challenge ended in mechanical failure.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Pole time	1:42.642
Fastest lap	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:43.474 on lap 43
First	François Cevert	Tyrrell
Second	Jo Siffert	BRM
Third	Ronnie Peterson	March

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
29 September 1971	Familiarisation testing	Start time unconfirmed
1 October 1971	Friday timed practice	13:00–17:00
2 October 1971	Saturday final qualifying	12:00–16:00
3 October 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

Jackie Stewart arrived at round 11 leading the 1971 F1 World Championship on 60 points, with Ronnie Peterson on 29. Tyrrell – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 64 points.

Watkins Glen had been widened, resurfaced and extended with the new section known as the Boot. Both championships were already settled, but the substantial prize fund attracted a large field and made the finale important to teams throughout the grid.

Race entries

Tyrrell added Revson in a third car. Posey earned a Surtees drive after being compared with van Lennep, while Cannon joined BRM and Craft made his first championship start in a Brabham. Andretti and Donohue practised but left for a rescheduled American race; Hobbs drove the Penske McLaren and Barber gained a start.

Wednesday unofficial practice

The circuit opened for unofficial running on Wednesday while contractors completed markings, fencing and other work. Teams began learning the longer layout, whose banked corners and changing gradients would place different demands on tyres and gearing.

Friday timed practice

Stewart headed the first four-hour session, while Hulme and Peterson both needed replacement engines. McLaren completed Hulme’s change quickly enough for him to resume. Tyre durability was a major concern in the heat, and Regazzoni gave Ferrari encouragement with second-fastest time. Van Lennep drove the available Surtees while Posey waited for his opportunity.

Saturday final qualifying

Fittipaldi mounted a serious challenge for pole, but Stewart responded and beat him by just 0.017 seconds. Hulme completed the front row. Posey quickly outpaced van Lennep to secure the Surtees seat, while Ickx switched to the older Ferrari after an engine failure. Interruptions did not extend the scheduled finish, catching Amon short of a final attempt once his Matra was running properly.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	8	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:42.642
2	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:42.659
3	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:42.925
4	5	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:43.002
5	9	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:43.152
6	6	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	1:43.195
7	14	Jo Siffert	BRM	1:43.468
8	32	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:43.843
9	11	Chris Amon	Matra	1:43.970
10	3	Reine Wisell	Lotus	1:44.024
11	12	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	1:44.067
12	25	Ronnie Peterson	March	1:44.193
13	16	Howden Ganley	BRM	1:44.430
14	18	John Surtees	Surtees	1:44.908
15	20	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:45.094
16	23	Tim Schenken	Brabham	1:45.110
17	17	Helmut Marko	BRM	1:45.204
18	19	Sam Posey	Surtees	1:45.267
19	31	Mark Donohue	McLaren	1:45.378
20	22	Graham Hill	Brabham	1:45.448
21	10	Peter Revson	Tyrrell	1:45.515
22	21	Henri Pescarolo	March	1:45.568
23	15	Peter Gethin	BRM	1:45.729
24	31	David Hobbs	McLaren	1:46.270
25	26	Nanni Galli	March	1:46.608
26	28	John Cannon	BRM	1:47.471
27	33	Skip Barber	March	1:47.673
28	27	Andrea de Adamich	March	1:47.952
29	19	Gijs van Lennep	Surtees	1:48.029
30	24	Chris Craft	Brabham	1:48.698
31	29	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	1:49.391
32	30	Pete Lovely	Lotus	1:52.140

What happened in the 1971 United States Grand Prix?

Hulme made the strongest start, but Stewart led by the end of the opening lap. Cevert moved into second and closed as Stewart’s tyres deteriorated; the champion allowed his team-mate through. Ickx then emerged as the principal threat, steadily reducing Cevert’s advantage.

The Ferrari’s alternator broke loose and damaged the gearbox, ending Ickx’s pursuit and leaving oil on the circuit. Hulme crashed on it, while Cevert also touched the barrier but continued. Siffert inherited second, with Peterson advancing to third.

Cevert managed the closing laps to win comfortably. Siffert conserved his dwindling fuel and held off Peterson, while Ganley, Stewart and Wisell completed the points. Tyrrell finished the season with seven victories between its two drivers, and Cevert’s breakthrough confirmed the progress he had made alongside the champion.

After the race, Jackie Stewart headed the drivers’ standings with 62 points, followed by Ronnie Peterson on 33. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 73, with BRM on 36.

1971 United States Grand Prix race results

The 1971 United States Grand Prix was held on 3 October 1971.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	9	François Cevert	Tyrrell	59	1:43:51.991	9
2	14	Jo Siffert	BRM	59	+ 40.062	6
3	25	Ronnie Peterson	March	59	+ 44.070	4
4	16	Howden Ganley	BRM	59	+ 56.749	3
5	8	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	59	+ 1:00.003	2
6	5	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	59	+ 1:16.426	1
7	22	Graham Hill	Brabham	58	+ 1 lap	0
8	12	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	58	+ 1 lap	0
9	15	Peter Gethin	BRM	58	+ 1 lap	0
10	31	David Hobbs	McLaren	58	+ 1 lap	0
11	27	Andrea de Adamich	March	57	+ 2 laps	0
12	11	Chris Amon	Matra	57	+ 2 laps	0
13	17	Helmut Marko	BRM	57	+ 2 laps	0
14	28	John Cannon	BRM	56	+ 3 laps	0
15	20	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	54	Accident	0
16	29	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	54	Out of fuel	0
17	18	John Surtees	Surtees	54	+ 5 laps	0
NC	33	Skip Barber	March	52	+ 7 laps	0
NC	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	49	+ 10 laps	0
NC	30	Pete Lovely	Lotus	49	+ 10 laps	0
Ret	32	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	49	Alternator	0
Ret	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	47	Accident	0
Ret	23	Tim Schenken	Brabham	41	Engine	0
Ret	24	Chris Craft	Brabham	30	Suspension	0
Ret	19	Sam Posey	Surtees	15	Piston	0
Ret	21	Henri Pescarolo	March	23	Engine	0
Ret	26	Nanni Galli	March	11	Wheel	0
Ret	3	Reine Wisell	Lotus	5	Brakes	0
Ret	10	Peter Revson	Tyrrell	1	Clutch	0
DNS	6	Mario Andretti	Ferrari		Non-starter	0
DNS	19	Gijs van Lennep	Surtees		Driven by Posey	0
DNS	31	Mark Donohue	McLaren		Driven by Hobbs	0

1971 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	4	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	43	1:43.474

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 United States Grand Prix.

1971 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	62
2	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March / March	33
3	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	26
4	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	19
5	Jo Siffert	Swiss	BRM	19
6	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus / Lotus	16
7	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	13
8	Mario Andretti	American	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	9
13	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	9
14	Tim Schenken	Australian	Brabham	5
15	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	BRM	5
16	Mark Donohue	American	McLaren	4
17	Henri Pescarolo	French	March	4
18	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	3
19	John Surtees	British	Surtees	3
20	Rolf Stommelen	German	Surtees	3
21	Graham Hill	British	Brabham	2
22	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
–	David Hobbs	British	McLaren	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	March / March	0
–	Helmut Marko	Austrian	BRM	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	March	0
–	Vic Elford	British	BRM	0
–	François Mazet	French	March	0
–	John Cannon	Canadian	BRM	0
–	George Eaton	Canadian	BRM	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
–	Pete Lovely	American	Lotus	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
–	Chris Craft	British	Brabham	0
–	Sam Posey	American	Surtees	0
–	Peter Revson	American	Tyrrell	0

1971 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Tyrrell – Ford	73
2	BRM	36
3	Ferrari	33
4	March – Ford	33
5	Lotus – Ford	21
6	McLaren – Ford	10
7	Matra	9
8	Surtees – Ford	8
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