1970 French Grand Prix

The 1970 French Grand Prix was the six race of the season, and was held again at the Charade Circuit near Clermont-Ferrand. With the Rouen circuit retired for safety reasons, and construction of a major highway eliminating Reims, French organizers had to scramble a bit to find a suitable track for the race. This race was originally slated for the airport circuit at Albi, but it was finally decided that Albi was just too short and uninteresting for a Grand Prix.
__TOC__
==Background==
The race returned to the Charade Circuit, on an extinct volcano southeast of Clermont-Ferrand. Since last year's race the circuit had been partially rebuilt, giving a smoother surface, but a large number of volcanic rocks were used as the foundation, and cars straying over the track edge were flinging rocks onto the racing surface.
*: The cars had been fitted with triple rear aerofoils, similar to the design. They also had safety pegs on the tire rims, to prevent them from leaving the rims in case of deflation. This was the cause of Jack Brabham's accident in unofficial practice at Zandvoort.
*: Because of the problems encountered at Zandvoort, the team made multiple revisions to the oil system, and added safety pegs to the rims.
*: After the tragic death of Piers Courage at Zandvoort, the team gave this race a miss.
*: The only changes to the cars were minor alterations to the fuel system. After Clay Regazzoni's debut at Zandvoort, Ignazio Giunti was back in the second car.
*: The 72s arrived with the rear of their monocoques strengthened, and the rear shock absorbers repositioned. Alex Soler-Roig rented the use of the team's spare 49C, but had never seen the track before and failed to qualify, more than 15 seconds slower than Ickx's pole time.
*: Chris Amon spent the first part of practice driving the original 701, mounted with a large number of suspension pick-up points to analyze different settings for the track.
**Jackie Stewart had a new, lighter chassis at this race.
*: For their home race, the Matras had a revised front suspension to reduce understeer, and 15 inch rear wheels.
*: Denny Hulme was returning to driving after four weeks of letting his hands heal, but they were still covered with bandages, and he was a frequent visitor at the medical center for maintenance. Because Peter Gethin had totaled Hulme's usual chassis, he was using the M14D previously used by Andrea de Adamich, and converted back to power. The team had to make a larger custom cockpit cover, to prevent Hulme from banging his hands on the sides. This meant that de Adamich was relegated to the team's spare M7D, with his usual engine installed.
*: John Surtees failed to arrive because of a shortage of engines, and the Cosworth factory was now on their annual holiday.
==Entry list==
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Jackie Stewart 	Tyrrell Racing Organisation 	 	701 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
2 	François Cevert 	Tyrrell Racing Organisation 	 	701 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
3 	Pedro Rodríguez 	Yardley Team BRM 	 	P153 	 	P142 V12 3.0	
4 	George Eaton 	Yardley Team BRM 	 	P153 	 	P142 V12 3.0	
5 	Jackie Oliver 	Yardley Team BRM 	 	P153 	 	P142 V12 3.0	
6 	Jochen Rindt 	Gold Leaf Team Lotus 	 	72C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
7 	John Miles 	Gold Leaf Team Lotus 	 	72B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
8 	Graham Hill 	Brooke Bond Oxo Racing – Rob Walker	 	49C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
9 	Alex Soler-Roig 	World Wide Racing 	 	49C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
10 	Jacky Ickx 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312B 	 	001 F12 3.0 	
11 	Ignazio Giunti 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312B 	 	001 F12 3.0 	
12 	Chris Amon 	March Engineering 	 	701 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
14 	Jo Siffert 	March Engineering 	 	701 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
15 	John Surtees 	Team Surtees 	 	M7C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
16 	Andrea de Adamich 	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing 	 	M7D 	 	T33 V8 3.0 	
17 	Dan Gurney 	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing 	 	M14A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
18 	Ronnie Peterson 	Colin Crabbe Racing 	 	701 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
19 	Denny Hulme 	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing 	 	M14A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
20 	Henri Pescarolo 	Equipe Matra Elf 	 	MS120 	 	MS12 V12 3.0	
21 	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Equipe Matra Elf 	 	MS120 	 	MS12 V12 3.0	
22 	Rolf Stommelen 	Auto Motor und Sport 	 	BT33 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
23 	Jack Brabham 	Motor Racing Developments Ltd. 	 	BT33 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
24 	Silvio Moser 	Silvio Moser Racing Team 	 	F1 70 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
25 	Pete Lovely 	Pete Lovely Volkswagen 	 	49B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
==Practice Overview ==
The weekend featured mostly very warm temperatures. Because of the small paddock and short pit lane, only 20 cars would be allowed to start the race. With 23 entries, three would go home early. Practice consisted of a 2 hour session on Friday afternoon, and hour long sessions on Saturday morning and afternoon. The first surprise came when the transporter failed to show on Friday. The factory was late in sending the truck out, and it arrived at the border between France and Italy after customs for commercial vehicles had shut down on Thursday. And once past the border on Friday morning, the radiator sprang a leak. The team sent to Italy for help, as it was felt that needing French assistance would have been humiliating.Without the Scuderia present, the cars were showing the way. Jackie Stewart was fastest on Friday with a time of 3:00.14, followed by Chris Amon at 3:00.96. Denny Hulme was third with a 3:01.06, and Jean-Pierre Beltoise recorded a 3:01.83 to lead the 12-cylinder cars. Jochen Rindt was having troubles. He had long resisted using full-face helmets, saying they made him ill, and he preferred the cool breeze on his face. He tried one here, and returned with the usual complaint. So, just after heading back out with his customary open-face helmet, one of the volcanic rocks was kicked up by another car and slashed his lip. Around the same time, Moser crunched the Bellasi into the guard rail, basically ending his weekend.Saturday showed a Ferrari team anxious to make up for lost time, and Jacky Ickx promptly did just that, moving to the top of the session with a 3:00.62. Beltoise was just behind at 3:00.65, and Rindt had to work hard to log the third fastest time at 3:00.74. Ignazio Giunti was showing great promise, coming in eighth fastest at 3:04.14, clearly faster than all of the other newer drivers.On Saturday afternoon, a mild cold front went by, bringing a cooler breeze and lower track temperatures. Almost everyone in the field improved their time, led by Ickx, who ran a brilliant lap of 2:58.22. Beltoise was half a second back, with Amon, Stewart, Brabham and Rindt all getting under three minutes. At the other end, Lovely and Soler-Roig were more than 16 seconds off of Ickx's time, with Graham Hill just beating Moser's time for the final spot in the race.
==Qualifying==
===Qualifying Results===
Pos	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Lap 	Gap
1 	10 	Jacky Ickx 	 	2:58.22	—
2 	21 	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	 	2:58.70	+0.48
3 	14 	Chris Amon 	 	2:59.14	+0.92
4 	1 	Jackie Stewart 	 	2:59.24	+1.02
5 	23 	Jack Brabham 	 	2:59.67	+1.45
6 	6 	Jochen Rindt 	 	2:59.74	+1.52
7 	19 	Denny Hulme 	 	3:00.42	+2.20
8 	20 	Henri Pescarolo 	 	3:00.59	+2.37
9 	18 	Ronnie Peterson 	 	3:01.21	+2.99
10 	3 	Pedro Rodríguez 	 	3:01.29	+3.07
11 	11 	Ignazio Giunti 	 	3:01.85	+3.63
12 	5 	Jackie Oliver 	 	3:02.77	+4.55
13 	2 	François Cevert 	 	3:02.87	+4.65
14 	22 	Rolf Stommelen 	 	3:03.41	+5.19
15 	16 	Andrea de Adamich 	 	3:03.48	+5.26
16 	12 	Jo Siffert 	 	3:03.78	+5.56
17 	17 	Dan Gurney 	 	3:04.04	+5.82
18 	7 	John Miles 	 	3:04.16	+5.94
19 	4 	George Eaton 	 	3:04.92	+6.70
20 	8 	Graham Hill 	 	3:07.84	+9.62
DNQ	24 	Silvio Moser 	 	3:08.10	+9.88
DNQ	9 	Alex Soler-Roig 	 	3:14.49	+16.27
DNQ	25 	Pete Lovely 	 	3:15.58	+17.36
===Grid===
==Race==
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1 	6 	Jochen Rindt 	 	38 	1:55:57.00 	6 	9
2 	14 	Chris Amon 	 	38 	+7.61 	3 	6
3 	23 	Jack Brabham 	 	38 	+44.83 	5 	4
4 	19 	Denny Hulme 	 	38 	+45.66 	7 	3
5 	20 	Henri Pescarolo 	 	38 	+1:19.42 	8 	2
6 	17 	Dan Gurney 	 	38 	+1:19.65 	17 	1
7 	22 	Rolf Stommelen 	 	38 	+2:20.16 	14 	 
8 	7 	John Miles 	 	38 	+2:47.17 	18 	 
9 	1 	Jackie Stewart 	 	38 	+3:09.61 	4 	 
10 	8 	Graham Hill 	 	37 	+1 Lap 	20 	 
11 	2 	François Cevert 	 	37 	+1 Lap 	13 	 
12 	4 	George Eaton 	 	36 	+2 Laps 	19 	 
13 	21 	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	 	35 	Out of fuel 	2 	 
14 	11 	Ignazio Giunti 	 	35 	+3 Laps 	11 	 
NC 	16 	Andrea de Adamich 	 	29 	+9 Laps 	18 	 
Ret 	12 	Jo Siffert 	 	23 	Accident 	16 	 
Ret 	27 	Ronnie Peterson 	 	17 	Differential	13 	 
Ret 	10 	Jacky Ickx 	 	16 	Engine 	1 	 
Ret 	3 	Pedro Rodríguez 	 	6 	Gearbox 	10 	 
Ret 	5 	Jackie Oliver 	 	5 	Engine 	12 	 
==Milestones==
. Final points finish for Dan Gurney
.4th win for Jochen Rindt
.Equal highest finish for Chris Amon
==Standings after race==
 
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Jochen Rindt 	27 	1
2 	Jackie Stewart 	19 	1
2 	Jack Brabham 	19 	1
4 	Denny Hulme 	12 	1
4 	Chris Amon 	12 	3
6 	Pedro Rodríguez 	10 	2
7 	Jean-Pierre Beltoise 	9 	1
8 	Henri Pescarolo 	7 	2
9 	Bruce McLaren 	6 	2
9 	Graham Hill 	6 	2
11 	Mario Andretti 	4 	
11 	Jacky Ickx 	4 	
13 	Ignazio Giunti 	3 	
13 	Clay Regazzoni 	3 	
15 	John Miles 	2 	
15 	Johnny Servoz-Gavin 	2 	
15 	Rolf Stommelen 	2 	
18 	John Surtees 	1 	
18 	Dan Gurney 	1 	1
Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers	Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers	Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers	Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	32 	1
2 	 	31 	1
3 	 	21 	
4 	 	20 	1
5 	 	15 	
6 	 	10 	
7 	 	7 	
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1970 Formula One Season
Category:French Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in France
Category:1970 Grands Prix