Brabham used the BT33 in the 1971 South African Grand Prix. The BT34 made its debut at Spain, and Hill retired with steering issues. The Englishman crashed at the Monaco Grand Prix. Hill finished tenth at Holland and retired at the French Grand Prix with a broken oil pipe. The start of Britain was a shambles, with a bungled flag drop causing a crash between Hill and Jackie Oliver (McLaren), for which Oliver was fined £50. Hill finished ninth at the German Grand Prix. Hill finished fifth at Austria and retired at the Italian Grand Prix with a broken gearbox. Hill crashed at a wet race in Canada. The Englishman finished seventh at the United States Grand Prix.