Formula One - Through the Year's
1970's
Danger was still a real concern for Formula One at the start of the 1970's, but until Scot, and World Champion Jackie Stewart retired and began his one-man campaign for safety improvements, death was almost considered an unfortunate but unavoidable part of the sport. To put the actual danger of the sport at this time into perspective, 10 Formula One drivers tragically lost their lives in the first 4 seasons of the 70's!. All the while developments focused on speed and the advancement of aerodynamics was dramatic, changing the look of the cars significantly. The race calendar continued to expand, increasing to between 16 and 17 races, with Brazil and Japan arriving to make Formula One ever-more global.
The 1970 season started well for reigning World Champion Jackie Stewart, as he put the new March on pole at the season opener in South Africa, but he dropped to third in the race itself, as Jack Brabham stormed through to claim victory. Brabham returned to form in Monaco only to see his heroic defence of first place end when he crashed, and allowed Jochen Rindt through to take the win. Soon after, Formula One lost one of its biggest names when Bruce McLaren was tragically killed whilst testing a Can-Am car at Goodwood. Another tragedy occurred the following race at Monza, Italy, when 28-year old Rindt, crashed in a practice session and lost his life, in the race itself, Clay Regazzoni went on and took a hollow victory for Ferrari. As the season progressed Ickx won in Canada, but a retirement in the second-to-last race in the United States ended his title chances, so with his 5 race victories of the season, Jochen Rindt was named Formula One's first posthumous World Champion.
The 1971 season saw Tyrrell go it alone after a promising test for his own car at the end of the previous season and it proved to be a wise decision, as Stewart dominated and the rest of the field failed to produce a consistently strong contender. Stewart won in Britain, France and Germany, twice leading team-mate Francois Cevert home in a 1-2 for the newly-formed Tyrrell team. Jackie Stewart had the season all-wrapped up, as he claimed his second Drivers World Championship in Austria, when Ickx retired from the race, mathematically making Stewart Champion with three races to spare. Tragedy happened on three separate occasions throughout the season, Italian Ignazio Giunti, Mexican Pedro Rodriguez and Swiss racer Jo Shiffert, all lost their lives while racing.
The start of the 1972 season saw Bernie Ecclestone become team manager of Brabham and when Formula One returned to Argentina for the first race, his home driver Carlos Reutermann took pole, though reigning champion Jackie Stewart raced past in the race to take the win for Tyrrell. However, Fittipaldi would soon stamp his authority with victory in four of the following six races; the Brazilian won At Spa, in Belgium, with Stewart sidelined with a stomach ulcer, the consistent Fittipaldi extended his title lead over Jackie by winning in Austria, then he sealed the title with victory at Monza in Italy.
The 1973 season began, and Lotus hoped to dominate when Peterson joined reigning champion Fittipaldi in the 'dream-team', and though McLaren, Brabham and Marchwere all in the mix, it was double World Champion Jackie Stewart in his Tyrrell who led the fight to stop them. Lotus were forever battling, and in the Austrian Grand Prix, they led the pack 1-2, where Peterson waved Fittipaldi through for the sake of the title, only for Fittipaldi to retire from the race with car troubles. The pair then finished 1-2 in Italy, where Fittipaldi gained his second Drivers World Championship crown with two races to spare. Tragedy again reared its ugly-head, first in the Dutch Grand Prix where Roger Williamson lost his life whilst racing, and also for the last Grand Prix of the season in the United States, when Frenchmen Francois Cevert was killed in a practice session, the death of his team-mate vindicated Jackie Stewart's decision to quit the sport.
The start of the 1974 season saw Fittipaldi move from Lotus to McLaren, when the team lured the major Marlboro sponsorship funding away from BRM. It was all change at Ferrari also, with a brand new car, and the re-arrival of Regazzoni and the signing of Austrian Niki Lauda. It was Peterson and Scheckter who took victories in Britain and France, before Regazzoni finally won for Ferrari at the Nurburgring, in Germany. Reutermann won in Austria and Peterson in Italy, however, after finishing first and second in Canada, Regazzoni and Fittipaldi fought for the title in the final race of the season in the United States. They were level on points, going into the race, and trading blows throughout, but a disappointing finish saw Regazzoni drop down the field with handling problems, leaving Fittipaldi to claim the title with a forth-place finish. Tragedy occurred at the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, when Surtees-Ford driver Helmuth Koinigg suffered a suspension failure on his car sending him crashing head-on into the Armco barrier, the actual speed of the accident was not that great, but the fact that the lower part of the Armco barrier was not securely installed, so it bucked as the car stuck it, the top portion of the barrier remained intact, with the car passing underneath, tragically decapitating Koinigg and killing him instantly.
The 1970 season started well for reigning World Champion Jackie Stewart, as he put the new March on pole at the season opener in South Africa, but he dropped to third in the race itself, as Jack Brabham stormed through to claim victory. Brabham returned to form in Monaco only to see his heroic defence of first place end when he crashed, and allowed Jochen Rindt through to take the win. Soon after, Formula One lost one of its biggest names when Bruce McLaren was tragically killed whilst testing a Can-Am car at Goodwood. Another tragedy occurred the following race at Monza, Italy, when 28-year old Rindt, crashed in a practice session and lost his life, in the race itself, Clay Regazzoni went on and took a hollow victory for Ferrari. As the season progressed Ickx won in Canada, but a retirement in the second-to-last race in the United States ended his title chances, so with his 5 race victories of the season, Jochen Rindt was named Formula One's first posthumous World Champion.
The 1971 season saw Tyrrell go it alone after a promising test for his own car at the end of the previous season and it proved to be a wise decision, as Stewart dominated and the rest of the field failed to produce a consistently strong contender. Stewart won in Britain, France and Germany, twice leading team-mate Francois Cevert home in a 1-2 for the newly-formed Tyrrell team. Jackie Stewart had the season all-wrapped up, as he claimed his second Drivers World Championship in Austria, when Ickx retired from the race, mathematically making Stewart Champion with three races to spare. Tragedy happened on three separate occasions throughout the season, Italian Ignazio Giunti, Mexican Pedro Rodriguez and Swiss racer Jo Shiffert, all lost their lives while racing.
The start of the 1972 season saw Bernie Ecclestone become team manager of Brabham and when Formula One returned to Argentina for the first race, his home driver Carlos Reutermann took pole, though reigning champion Jackie Stewart raced past in the race to take the win for Tyrrell. However, Fittipaldi would soon stamp his authority with victory in four of the following six races; the Brazilian won At Spa, in Belgium, with Stewart sidelined with a stomach ulcer, the consistent Fittipaldi extended his title lead over Jackie by winning in Austria, then he sealed the title with victory at Monza in Italy.
The 1973 season began, and Lotus hoped to dominate when Peterson joined reigning champion Fittipaldi in the 'dream-team', and though McLaren, Brabham and Marchwere all in the mix, it was double World Champion Jackie Stewart in his Tyrrell who led the fight to stop them. Lotus were forever battling, and in the Austrian Grand Prix, they led the pack 1-2, where Peterson waved Fittipaldi through for the sake of the title, only for Fittipaldi to retire from the race with car troubles. The pair then finished 1-2 in Italy, where Fittipaldi gained his second Drivers World Championship crown with two races to spare. Tragedy again reared its ugly-head, first in the Dutch Grand Prix where Roger Williamson lost his life whilst racing, and also for the last Grand Prix of the season in the United States, when Frenchmen Francois Cevert was killed in a practice session, the death of his team-mate vindicated Jackie Stewart's decision to quit the sport.
The start of the 1974 season saw Fittipaldi move from Lotus to McLaren, when the team lured the major Marlboro sponsorship funding away from BRM. It was all change at Ferrari also, with a brand new car, and the re-arrival of Regazzoni and the signing of Austrian Niki Lauda. It was Peterson and Scheckter who took victories in Britain and France, before Regazzoni finally won for Ferrari at the Nurburgring, in Germany. Reutermann won in Austria and Peterson in Italy, however, after finishing first and second in Canada, Regazzoni and Fittipaldi fought for the title in the final race of the season in the United States. They were level on points, going into the race, and trading blows throughout, but a disappointing finish saw Regazzoni drop down the field with handling problems, leaving Fittipaldi to claim the title with a forth-place finish. Tragedy occurred at the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, when Surtees-Ford driver Helmuth Koinigg suffered a suspension failure on his car sending him crashing head-on into the Armco barrier, the actual speed of the accident was not that great, but the fact that the lower part of the Armco barrier was not securely installed, so it bucked as the car stuck it, the top portion of the barrier remained intact, with the car passing underneath, tragically decapitating Koinigg and killing him instantly.
After several years of success for the British teams, in 1975 Ferrari introduced the new longitudinal gearboxed 312T and was ready for a return to form. Lauda grew into a very-fine team-leader, but a season to savour for the Italian giants, was marred with yet more fatalities!, making it a sad year for everyone involved in Formula One. During a practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix, American driver Mark Donohue lost control of his March after a tire-failure sending him careering into the safety fencing, a track marshal was unfortunately killed by the debris from the accident, at first Donohue didn't appear to be significantly injured. However, a resulting headache worsened, and after going to the hospital the next day, Donahue lapsed into a coma from a brain haemorrhage and tragically died. Also after the season ended, in late November, an Embassy Hill airplane crashed in England, killing all 6 passengers on board, including team owner Graham Hill and driver Tony Brise. Niki Lauda ended the season as Champion, gaining the first of his Drivers World Championships in fine fashion collecting five victories along the way, and finishing the season head and shoulders above the rest.
In 1976, Ferrari's champion Niki Lauda faced a tough challenge from Cunny-Brit James Hunt, after he replaced Fittipaldi at McLaren. Finally Hunt and Lauda, great rivals, were going into a Formula One season on a level playing-field. Hunt started strongly, putting his McLaren on pole in Argentina and South Africa, but both times he lost out to Lauda in the race, after some close wheel-to-wheel racing. The duo sparred throughout the season, and with Lauda on course for the title, he had an horrendous crash at the Nurburgring in Germany and suffered severe burns. With Lauda recovering in hospital, Hunt capitalised, winning in Canada and the United States, the championship was wide open between the pair going into the last Grand Prix of the season in Japan, but after a torrential downpour, Lauda pulled out on safety grounds, Hunt raced on and claimed the third place he needed to take the World Championship title.
In 1977 Ferrari and Lauda put together consistent season that saw eight different winners from the 17 races. However, the year was again tainted by driver and spectator deaths!. A horrific accident in South Africa killed Tom Pryce and a track marshal. Then, tragically Jose Carlos Pace died in a plane crash before the next race. Lauda went on to win for Ferrari in Germany and Holland. Lauda had finished third or better In all but one of the races he had finished, and he secured the Drivers Championship with a forth place finish in the United States Grand Prix, a race that was won by James Hunt.
For the 1978 season Ferrari introduced the new 312T3 in a bid to retain their supremacy, but Lotus took a huge step forward with the revolutionary Lotus 79, and soon began to dominate the season. Their success however, was soured by the tragic death of Ronnie Peterson. A double retirement from Lotus at the British Grand Prix enabled Ferrari to Cruze to victory, but then Lotus won in Germany, Austria and Holland. Only Peterson could beat Andretti to the title, but a tragic crash on the start/finish straight that engulfed the car in flames, and saw Peterson suffer terrible burns, and despite being quickly dragged from the fiery-wreckage by Hunt, Regazzoni and Depaillier, he died the following day. Andretti was crowned champion, even though it was the Ferrari's of Reutermann and Gilles Villeneuve that went on to win the final two races.
The 1979 season started with victories for Laffitte's Ligier in Argentina and Brazil, but Ferrari introduced their new car for the third race in South Africa, were Villeneuve led to a 1-2 finish for the team. Then it was Scheckter's turn, he raced home to victory for the Italian giants for his maiden win in Belgium, which he followed up with victory in Monaco. And it was Scheckter who took what would be Ferrari's last title for 21 years when he came through to win at Monza in Italy, finishing just 0.46 seconds ahead of team-mate Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari 1-2 where team tactics came into play.
In 1976, Ferrari's champion Niki Lauda faced a tough challenge from Cunny-Brit James Hunt, after he replaced Fittipaldi at McLaren. Finally Hunt and Lauda, great rivals, were going into a Formula One season on a level playing-field. Hunt started strongly, putting his McLaren on pole in Argentina and South Africa, but both times he lost out to Lauda in the race, after some close wheel-to-wheel racing. The duo sparred throughout the season, and with Lauda on course for the title, he had an horrendous crash at the Nurburgring in Germany and suffered severe burns. With Lauda recovering in hospital, Hunt capitalised, winning in Canada and the United States, the championship was wide open between the pair going into the last Grand Prix of the season in Japan, but after a torrential downpour, Lauda pulled out on safety grounds, Hunt raced on and claimed the third place he needed to take the World Championship title.
In 1977 Ferrari and Lauda put together consistent season that saw eight different winners from the 17 races. However, the year was again tainted by driver and spectator deaths!. A horrific accident in South Africa killed Tom Pryce and a track marshal. Then, tragically Jose Carlos Pace died in a plane crash before the next race. Lauda went on to win for Ferrari in Germany and Holland. Lauda had finished third or better In all but one of the races he had finished, and he secured the Drivers Championship with a forth place finish in the United States Grand Prix, a race that was won by James Hunt.
For the 1978 season Ferrari introduced the new 312T3 in a bid to retain their supremacy, but Lotus took a huge step forward with the revolutionary Lotus 79, and soon began to dominate the season. Their success however, was soured by the tragic death of Ronnie Peterson. A double retirement from Lotus at the British Grand Prix enabled Ferrari to Cruze to victory, but then Lotus won in Germany, Austria and Holland. Only Peterson could beat Andretti to the title, but a tragic crash on the start/finish straight that engulfed the car in flames, and saw Peterson suffer terrible burns, and despite being quickly dragged from the fiery-wreckage by Hunt, Regazzoni and Depaillier, he died the following day. Andretti was crowned champion, even though it was the Ferrari's of Reutermann and Gilles Villeneuve that went on to win the final two races.
The 1979 season started with victories for Laffitte's Ligier in Argentina and Brazil, but Ferrari introduced their new car for the third race in South Africa, were Villeneuve led to a 1-2 finish for the team. Then it was Scheckter's turn, he raced home to victory for the Italian giants for his maiden win in Belgium, which he followed up with victory in Monaco. And it was Scheckter who took what would be Ferrari's last title for 21 years when he came through to win at Monza in Italy, finishing just 0.46 seconds ahead of team-mate Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari 1-2 where team tactics came into play.
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