1969 British Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:United Kingdom
Grand Prix:British
Date:19 July
Year:1969
Official Name:XXII RAC British Grand Prix
Location:Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:2.927
Course Km:4.711
Distance Laps:84
Distance Mi:245.891
Distance Km:395.724
Weather:Overcast, dry
Pole Driver:Jochen Rindt
Pole Team:Lotus-Ford
Pole Time:1:20.8
Pole Country:Austria
Fast Driver:Jackie Stewart
Fast Team:Matra-Ford
Fast Time:1:21.3
Fast Lap:57
Fast Country:United Kingdom
First Driver:Jackie Stewart
First Team:Matra-Ford
First Country:United Kingdom
Second Driver:Jacky Ickx
Second Team:Brabham-Ford
Second Country:Belgium
Third Driver:Bruce McLaren
Third Team:McLaren-Ford
Third Country:New Zealand

The 1969 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit on 19 July 1969. It was race 6 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Jackie Stewart was victorious, as he lapped the entire field and took his fifth win in six races.

The race developed as a contest between Stewart and Jochen Rindt who constantly overtook each other by slipstreaming. It was on one of these occasions towards the end when Stewart signalled to Rindt as he drew alongside[1] that the end plate of his rear wing had come loose and was fouling the left-rear tyre each time Rindt flung his Lotus through a fast right-hander. Rindt was able to confirm this in his mirror and was forced to pit. However, his team failed to put enough fuel into the car to enable him to finish the race and consequently he was obliged to make a further stop.[2] The race was also notable for being the only race that Cosworth entered. Their car was withdrawn weeks before the race weekend.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
12 Jochen RindtLotus-Ford1:20.8
23 Jackie StewartMatra-Ford1:21.2+0.4
35 Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford1:21.5+0.7
47 Jacky IckxBrabham-Ford1:21.6+0.8
511 Chris AmonFerrari1:21.9+1.1
614 John SurteesBRM1:22.1+1.3
76 Bruce McLarenMcLaren-Ford1:22.6+1.8
812 Pedro RodríguezFerrari1:22.6+1.8
910 Jo SiffertLotus-Ford1:22.7+1.9
1016 Piers CourageBrabham-Ford1:22.9+2.1
1119 Vic ElfordMcLaren-Ford1:23.3+2.5
121 Graham HillLotus-Ford1:23.6+2.8
1315 Jackie OliverBRM1:23.7+2.9
149 John MilesLotus-Ford1:25.1+4.3
1520 Derek BellMcLaren-Ford1:26.1+5.3
1618 Jo BonnierLotus-Ford1:28.2+7.4
174 Jean-Pierre BeltoiseMatra-Ford1:31.2+10.4
Source:[3] [4]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
13 Jackie StewartMatra-Ford841:55:55.629
27 Jacky IckxBrabham-Ford83+ 1 Lap46
36 Bruce McLarenMcLaren-Ford83+ 1 Lap74
42 Jochen RindtLotus-Ford83+ 1 Lap13
516 Piers CourageBrabham-Ford83+ 1 Lap102
619 Vic ElfordMcLaren-Ford82+ 2 Laps111
71 Graham HillLotus-Ford82+ 2 Laps12 
810 Jo SiffertLotus-Ford81+ 3 Laps9 
94 Jean-Pierre BeltoiseMatra-Ford78+ 6 Laps17 
109 John MilesLotus-Ford75+ 9 Laps14 
Ret12 Pedro RodríguezFerrari61Engine8 
Ret11 Chris AmonFerrari45Gearbox5 
Ret5 Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford27Ignition3 
Ret15 Jackie OliverBRM19Transmission13 
Ret18 Jo BonnierLotus-Ford6Engine16 
Ret20 Derek BellMcLaren-Ford5Suspension15 
Ret14 John SurteesBRM1Suspension6 

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Jackie Stewart45
22 Bruce McLaren17
13 Graham Hill16
14 Jo Siffert13
25 Jacky Ickx13
Source: [5]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 Matra-Ford45
2 Lotus-Ford25
3 McLaren-Ford20 (22)
4 Brabham-Ford19
5 Ferrari4
Source:

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Stewart in TalkSport radio interview 02/07/15
  2. Web site: 1969: The greatest British Grand Prix? . Hamilton . Maurice . ESPN . 2 July 2014 . 5 July 2015.
  3. Web site: 1969 British GP Qualification. www.chicanef1.com. 4 September 2020.
  4. Web site: 1969 British Grand Prix . Motor Sport Magazine. 4 September 2020.
  5. Web site: Britain 1969 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 13 March 2019.