1970 Mexican Grand Prix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Date October 25, 1970
Official name Mexican Grand Prix
Course Permanent racing facility
1970 Mexican Grand Prix
The Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca
Race details
Date October 25, 1970
Official name Mexican Grand Prix
Location Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City, Mexico
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.000 km (3.107 miles)
Distance 65 laps, 325.000 km (201.946 miles)
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:41.86
Fastest lap
Driver Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari
Time 1:43.11 on lap 46
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1970 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City on October 25, 1970. It was race 13 of 13 in both the 1970 World Championship of Drivers and the 1970 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 65-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx after he started from third position. His teammate Clay Regazzoni finished second and McLaren driver Denny Hulme came in third.

Ickx need to win all three remaining races of the season following Monza (Canada, USA, Mexico) in order to close the points gap to the late Jochen Rindt, but could not because Rindt's team scored an emotional victory at the previous round at Watkins Glen with Emerson Fittipaldi while Ickx finished 4th. As a result, Rindt became the first Austrian Formula One World Champion and the only driver ever to win the championship posthumously.

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap Grid
1 4 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:41.86 1
2 1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 1:41.88 +0.02 2
3 3 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari 1:42.41 +0.55 3
4 15 Australia Jack Brabham Brabham-Ford 1:43.57 +1.71 4
5 12 New Zealand Chris Amon March-Ford 1:43.71 +1.85 5
6 6 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra 1:43.82 +1.96 6
7 19 Mexico Pedro Rodríguez BRM 1:44.01 +2.15 7
8 14 United Kingdom Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 1:44.13 +2.27 8
9 2 France François Cevert March-Ford 1:44.21 +2.35 9
10 9 United Kingdom Peter Gethin McLaren-Ford 1:44.46 +2.60 10
11 7 France Henri Pescarolo Matra 1:44.55 +2.69 11
12 23 Sweden Reine Wisell Lotus-Ford 1:44.59 +2.73 12
13 20 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver BRM 1:44.70 +2.84 13
14 8 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 1:44.95 +3.09 14
15 17 United Kingdom John Surtees Surtees-Ford 1:45.03 +3.17 15
16 11 Switzerland Jo Siffert March-Ford 1:46.15 +4.29 16
17 16 Germany Rolf Stommelen Brabham-Ford 1:46.30 +4.44 17
18 24 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 1:48.13 +6.27 18
Source:[1]

Race report

The race was originally scheduled to start at 2:30pm but the crowd of 200,000 was difficult to control and almost forced the cancellation of the race. They were crammed in front of the guard-rails, sat at the trackside and ran across the track itself. Despite appeals from Jackie Stewart and local hero Pedro Rodríguez they still remained troublesome. It cause the start to be delayed to 4:00pm.

From the start, Jacky Ickx led from Stewart and Clay Regazzoni, but dropped back with steering column trouble. Later, a collision with a dog which had escaped onto the track damaged Stewart's suspension and forced his retirement, leaving the Ferraris dominant in first and second. Jack Brabham retired from third place in his final Grand Prix when the engine blew on lap 53. The Ferraris romped home with Ickx leading Regazzoni and Denny Hulme claiming the third podium spot.

The crowd control issues led to the Mexican Grand Prix being dropped from the 1971 calendar. It returned to the Formula One calendar fifteen years later in 1986.

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 3 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari 65 1:53:28.36 3 9
2 4 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 65 + 24.64 1 6
3 8 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 65 + 45.97 14 4
4 12 New Zealand Chris Amon March-Ford 65 + 47.05 5 3
5 6 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra 65 + 50.11 6 2
6 19 Mexico Pedro Rodriguez BRM 65 + 1:24.76 7 1
7 20 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver BRM 64 + 1 lap 13  
8 17 United Kingdom John Surtees Surtees-Ford 64 + 1 lap 15  
9 7 France Henri Pescarolo Matra 61 + 4 laps 11  
NC 23 Sweden Reine Wisell Lotus-Ford 56 + 9 laps 12  
Ret 15 Australia Jack Brabham Brabham-Ford 52 Engine 4  
Ret 1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 33 Suspension 2  
Ret 9 United Kingdom Peter Gethin McLaren-Ford 27 Engine 10  
Ret 16 Germany Rolf Stommelen Brabham-Ford 15 Fuel system 17  
Ret 2 France François Cevert March-Ford 8 Engine 9  
Ret 14 United Kingdom Graham Hill Lotus-Ford 4 Overheating 8  
Ret 11 Switzerland Jo Siffert March-Ford 3 Engine 16  
Ret 24 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 1 Engine 18  
Source:[2]

Notes

Final championship standings

References

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