1971 Argentine Grand Prix
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| 1971 Argentine Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-championship race in the 1971 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 24 January 1971 | ||
| Official name | VIII Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina | ||
| Location | Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.41 km (2.12 miles) | ||
| Distance | 50 x 2 laps, 341.045 km (211.9 miles) | ||
| Weather | Fine, cool | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Surtees-Cosworth | ||
| Time | 1:15.85 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Chris Amon | Matra | |
| Time | 1:15.05 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Matra | ||
| Second | March-Cosworth | ||
| Third | McLaren-Cosworth | ||
The 1971 Argentine Grand Prix was a motor race consisting of a Formula One class and a Formula 5000 class, held at the Buenos Aires circuit in Buenos Aires on 24 January 1971. The Formula One class was not part of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
This event was held because at that time the FIA regulations required a demonstration race to be held as a quality check, before a Grand Prix could be admitted as part of the World Championship. The race was run over two heats of 50 laps each, the final results being an aggregate of the two.
Scuderia Ferrari had entered three cars for this event, but they were withdrawn after the fatal accident suffered by Ignazio Giunti in a sports car race two weeks previously. Jean-Pierre Beltoise was also involved in that accident, and as a consequence had his international license suspended, and was unable to compete.
Note: a blue background indicates a Formula 5000 entrant.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 |  Rolf Stommelen |
Surtees-Cosworth | 1:15.85 | — |
| 2 | 8 | Chris Amon |
Matra | 1:15.88 | +0.03 |
| 3 | 4 |  Reine Wisell |
Lotus-Cosworth | 1:16.03 | +0.18 |
| 4 | 2 |  Emerson Fittipaldi |
Lotus-Cosworth | 1:16.28 | +0.43 |
| 5 | 16 |  Carlos Reutemann |
McLaren-Cosworth | 1:16.49 | +0.64 |
| 6 | 12 |  Jo Siffert |
March-Cosworth | 1:16.61 | +0.76 |
| 7 | 14 |  Henri Pescarolo |
March-Cosworth | 1:16.80 | +0.95 |
| 8 | 10 |  Derek Bell |
March-Cosworth | 1:17.23 | +1.38 |
| 9 | 6 | Wilson Fittipaldi |
Lotus-Cosworth | 1:17.90 | +2.05 |
| 10 | 20 | Silvio Moser |
Bellasi-Cosworth | 1:19.01 | +3.16 |
| 11 | 22 | David Prophet |
McLaren-Chevrolet | 1:20.58 | +4.73 |
| 12 | 26 | Jo Bonnier |
Lola-Chevrolet | 1:21.96 | +6.11 |
| 13 | 24 | Gordon Spice |
McLaren-Chevrolet | 1:23.45 | +7.60 |
| 14 | 30 | Nestor García-Veiga |
Surtees-Chevrolet | 1:26.26 | +10.41 |
| 15 | 28 | Carlos Marincovich |
McLaren-Chevrolet | 2:00.06 | +44.15 |
Heat one
Rolf Stommelen won the first heat, leading from the start, from Jo Siffert in second place. Siffert had held off the rest of the field, with Chris Amon passing Reine Wisell before duelling with Henri Pescarolo for third place. The Frenchman won this battle to take third at the finish, with Amon, Wisell and Carlos Reutemann rounding out the top six. Emerson Fittipaldi lost a nose fin and had to pit for a new one, losing three laps. He eventually finished 10th. The retirements were all F5000 cars, namely Jo Bonnier's Lola, which pulled off with a flat battery, and Marincovich's McLaren and Garcia-Veiga's Surtees, which both suffered mechanical failures. Wisell posted the fastest lap.[3]
