Special Sub-Topic: Formula One: 1970s Click Here To Play: Formula One: 1970s

Which British construtor made their debut at the 1970 South African Grand Prix?

March. March would enter Formula One in 1970, building cars for Jackie Stewart, who put the car on pole position in South Africa and won in Spain, Chris Amon, Mario Andretti, Johnny Servoz-Gavin, Ronnie Peterson, Jo Siffert and Francois Cevert. Tyrrell would not make thier debut until the Canadian GP while Surtees deubted in Britain. Matra is a French constructor, who had won the 1969 World Championship with Jackie Stewart.

Who entered a car for Graham Hill in 1970?

Rob Walker. Rob Walker, the last privateer team owner, entered a car for Graham Hill in 1970. Graham scored 7 points but the accident he suffered in 1969, in which he broke both his legs, stunted his driving ability.

Who won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix?

Peter Gethin. The fastest ever win (150.755mph) and the closest ever finish (0.010 seconds). It would be Gethins only win, just holding off Peterson, Cevert, Hailwood and Howden Ganley. The first 5 were covered by only 0.61 seconds.

Who took B.R.M's final Grand Prix victory at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix?

Jean-Pierre Beltoise & Beltoise & J-P Beltoise & Jean Pierre Beltoise. In tricky wet conditions, Beltoise was the master of the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, holding off wet weather expert Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari. It would be Beltoise first and only Grand Prix win and his only points scoring position for the year 1972. B.R.M would fold in 1977.

Which driver put a 100 pound bet on himself to win the 1973 British Grand Prix?

Pete Revson. The race is mostly remembered for the spectacular Woodcote pile-up, triggered by the spun McLaren of Jody Scheckter. Revson chose his tyres to perfection to hold off the faster Lotus of Peterson to take his first Grand Prix victory. Revson would also win in Canada.

Who drove a Shadow-Ford to third place in the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix?

George Follmer. Follmer had entered Formula One with next to no experience in the sport, except for CanAm racing in America. He drove well all season, and scored a sixth in South Africa along with his third in Spain.

Which former World Champion retired at the end of 1974?

Denny Hulme. Denny Hulme retired from McLaren after winning his final race in Argentina. It had been a long and distinguished career for the New Zealander, winning the 1967 World Championship and taking 8 victories. Stewart had retired in 1973, Surtees in 1972 and Graham Hill in 1975.

Who did James Hunt win his first Grand Prix with?

Hesketh. Hunt and Hesketh would win the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, holding off Niki Lauda to the flag. Hesketh had been looked down upon when they had first entered the sport in 1973, but included a talented bunch of people, including the talented Harvery Postlethwaite. But Hesketh disbanded when Hunt left for McLaren.

Which two races only awarded half points in 1975?

Spain and Austria. The Spanish GP had been shortened due to accidents which had resulted in the fatality of spectators around the Montjuich Park circuit. The winner had been Jochen Mass. Austria awared half points due to the race being shortened due to the atrocious wet conditions. The winner had been Vittorio Brambilla, who infamously spun his car after the flag!

Who is the only woman to have scored points in Grand Prix run during the 20th century?

Lella Lombardi. Lella Lombardi holds this record by scoring half a point for 6th place at the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix. She would also finish 7th at the German Grand Prix.

Ronnie Peterson was one of the brightest stars of the decade with his brilliant handling skills and furious pace. How many races did he win from 1970 to 1979?

10. Ronnie would win 10 races (1973: France, Austria, Italy and America, 1974: Monaco, France, Italy, 1976: Italy, 1978: South Africa and Austria). 9 would be for Team Lotus, and one for March. Sadly, Ronnie was killed at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix when he was involved in an accident at the start, robbing Formula One of one of its brightest talents. Team-mate Andretti would win the title, but admitted that it held no value now that good mate Peterson could not be there to celebrate with him.

Sweden produced one other great driver during the decade, Gunnar Nilsson, who drove for Lotus from in 1976 and 1977. He would win one race, which one?

1977 Belgian GP. It was a deserved victory, out-classing Lauda and the rest. What people did not know is that Nilsson was to soon suffer from cancer, which would cause his retirement at the end of 1977 and subsequent death in 1978. Along with Peterson, Sweden had lost its two best talents.

Which technical evolution, which would change the face of Formula One in the 1980s, was introduced at the 1977 British Grand Prix?

Turbocharging. Renault would introduce the 1.5 litre turbocharged engine in 1977, though no-one would take it seriously until it won the 1979 French GP.

Which engine manufacturer returned to Grand Prix racing with Brabham in 1976?

Alfa Romeo. Alfa Romeo would return to racing officially in 1976 after an absent of 25 years (although they had entered semi-works engines for Andrea de Adamich and McLaren in 1970 and March in 1971). That first season would be difficult, with problems with the engine. But they would soon become competitive.

Who would win the only Grand Prix for Shadow at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix?

Alan Jones & Jones. In what would be Shadow's best season, Jones proved to be a revelation after a difficult start to his F1 career.

How many races did Gilles Villenueve win in 1979?

3. Gilles Villeneuve would make his debut for Ferrari in late 1977 and win his first Grand Prix in 1978 (in Canada). But it was in 1979 that he came to the attention of the world. He won in South Africa, and both American races at Long Beach and Watkins Glen but it was his refusal to overtake team-mate Scheckter in Italy, thereby allowing Scheckter to become World Champion, which made him a favourite of the tifosi. Villeneuve has since become an even bigger legend since his untimely death in 1982.

Williams would finally reach the big time in 1979. Who won their first Grand Prix?

Clay Regazzoni. Although Alan Jones was looking likely to win thier first Grand Prix, it was Clay Regazzoni who took it at the British Grand Prix. Alan Jones would go on to win four more races.

Ligier reverted to Ford power in 1979 after using which engine manufacturer since thier debut in 1976?

Matra. Ligier had entered Grand Prix racing in 1976, with Laffite winning the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix but results had been hard to come by. However, with change to Ford power in 1979, Ligier stormed to two victories in Argentina and Brazil, thanks to Laffite, at the beginning of 1979 while Depailler won in Spain. Ligier would finish third in the Constructors Championship that year.

Who had been the most successful constructor, concerning victories, during the period 1970 to 1979?

Ferrari. Ferrari were the most successful constructor during the 1970s, but only just over Lotus. Ferrari won 36 races to Lotus' 34. Tyrrell won 21 (of thier 23) while McLaren won only 19.

Who was the most successful driver regarding victories during the period 1970 to 1979?

Niki Lauda. Niki Lauda was the most successful during the 1970s, winning 17 races in 4 years at Ferrari and 2 at Brabham. Jackie Stewart won 16 in only 3 years at Tyrrell while Emerson won 14 at Lotus and McLaren. 3 drivers won 10 races during the 1970s - Hunt, Jody Scheckter and Ronnie Peterson.