| 1971 South African Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 TheKyalami Circuit (1967–1985) | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 6 March 1971 | ||
| Official name | Fifth AAGrand Prix of South Africa | ||
| Location | Kyalami,Midrand,Transvaal Province,South Africa | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.104 km (2.550 miles) | ||
| Distance | 79 laps, 324.216 km (201.458 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny, Hot, Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Tyrrell-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:17.8 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Mario Andretti | Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:20.3 on lap 73 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Tyrrell-Ford | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1971 South African Grand Prix, formally theFifth AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans:Vyfde AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix[1]), was aFormula Onemotor race held atKyalami Circuit on 6 March 1971. It was race 1 of 11 in both the1971 World Championship of Drivers and the1971 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was won byMario Andretti who was driving for theFerrari team in what was his first Formula One victory, but would not win another Formula One race until1976.[2]
It was expected the 12-cylinder cars would be dominant over the V8Ford-Cosworths asFerrari had won four out of the last five Grands Prix in1970, and they had a strong line-up consisting ofMario Andretti,Clay Regazzoni andJacky Ickx.
Jackie Stewart took pole in theTyrrell to joinChris Amon and Regazzoni on the front row.Denny Hulme was suffering with a new suspension that he said was behaving very strangely.[citation needed]
At the start, Regazzoni led the field away at the start – both Stewart and Amon suffering slow starts.Emerson Fittipaldi managed to hold off Hulme until lap three when he dived through to chase the Ferraris. On lap 17, he squeezed through under braking and the orangeMcLaren once again led a race.Pedro Rodríguez was forced to retire from fourth place when his bodywork started to melt and the hot air began burning his feet. The heat also took its toll onJo Siffert, whose engine overheated andHowden Ganley who was taken ill with heat exhaustion. On lap 37,John Surtees who had steadily been moving up the field, managed to pass Regazzoni. Surtees however, suffered a gearbox failure on lap 57. Andretti took his first career victory, driving aFerrari; his teammate Regazzoni finished in third place behind Stewart.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 |  Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:17.8 | — |
| 2 | 19 |  Chris Amon | Matra | 1:18.4 | +0.6 |
| 3 | 5 |  Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | 1:18.7 | +0.9 |
| 4 | 6 | Mario Andretti | Ferrari | 1:19.0 | +1.2 |
| 5 | 2 |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford | 1:19.1 | +1.3 |
| 6 | 20 | John Surtees | Surtees-Ford | 1:19.1 | +1.3 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hulme | McLaren-Ford | 1:19.1 | +1.3 |
| 8 | 4 |  Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 1:19.2 | +1.4 |
| 9 | 10 |  François Cevert | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:19.2 | +1.4 |
| 10 | 16 |  Pedro Rodríguez | BRM | 1:19.3 | +1.5 |
| 11 | 12 | Peter Gethin | McLaren-Ford | 1:19.6 | +1.8 |
| 12 | 15 |  Dave Charlton | Brabham-Ford | 1:19.8 | +2.0 |
| 13 | 7 |  Ronnie Peterson | March-Ford | 1:19.9 | +2.1 |
| 14 | 3 | Reine Wisell | Lotus-Ford | 1:19.9 | +2.1 |
| 15 | 21 |  Rolf Stommelen | Surtees-Ford | 1:20.1 | +2.3 |
| 16 | 17 | Jo Siffert | BRM | 1:20.2 | +2.4 |
| 17 | 28 | Brian Redman | Surtees-Ford | 1:20.2 | +2.4 |
| 18 | 22 | Henri Pescarolo | March-Ford | 1:20.2 | +2.4 |
| 19 | 14 | Graham Hill | Brabham-Ford | 1:20.5 | +2.7 |
| 20 | 25 | Jackie Pretorius | Brabham-Ford | 1:21.7 | +3.9 |
| 21 | 24 |  John Love | March-Ford | 1:21.9 | +4.1 |
| 22 | 8 |  Andrea de Adamich | March-Alfa Romeo | 1:22.2 | +4.4 |
| 23 | 23 | Jo Bonnier | McLaren-Ford | 1:22.3 | +4.5 |
| 24 | 27 | Howden Ganley | BRM | 1:23.7 | +5.9 |
| 25 | 26 |  Alex Soler-Roig | March-Ford | 1:25.8 | +8.0 |
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| Previous race: 1970 Mexican Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1971 season | Next race: 1971 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1970 South African Grand Prix | South African Grand Prix | Next race: 1972 South African Grand Prix |
