German GP 1970

German GP, 1970

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association refused to race at the Nurburgring because the organizers had failed to do safety work which had been requested and, at the last minute, the German GP was switched to the Hockenheim circuit. This had been upgraded since the death of Jim Clark two years earlier. The entry was similar to that at the British GP although Dan Gurney had left McLaren and returned to the United States and was replaced by Peter Gethin. German racer Hubert Hahne had bought himself a new March but he failed to qualify, along with Brian Redman in the De Tomaso, Andrea de Adamich in the McLaren-Alfa Romeo and Silvio Moser in the Bellasi.

The Ferrari was becoming quicker and quicker and Jacky Ickx took pole position from Jochen Rindt's Lotus. Clay Regazzoni was an impressive third quickest in the second Ferrari, ahead of Jo Siffert's March, Henri Pescarolo's Matra and Chris Amon's March. World Champion Jackie Stewart was back in seventh place in his Tyrrell March.

At the start Ickx went into the lead with Rindt behind him and they were joined by Siffert, Regazzoni and Amon to form the leading slipstreaming group. The five diced for lap after lap, until Siffert dropped away. On the 31st lap Regazzoni's engine gave up and five laps later Amon suffered a similar fate and so it was left as a straight fight between Rindt and Ickx. It was not until two laps from the finish that Rindt was able to make a break but the pair crossed the line separated by only 0.7sec. Hulme was third but he was 80 seconds behind.

It was Rindt's fourth consecutive victory and as the F1 circus headed for his home in Austria, he was 20 points clear in the World Championship.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
1 2 Jochen Rindt Lotus-Cosworth 72C 50 1h42m00.300s  2 
2 10 Jacky Ickx Ferrari 312B 50 1h42m01.000s  1 
3 4 Denny Hulme McLaren-Cosworth M14A 50 1h43m22.100s  16 
4 17 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Cosworth 49C 50 1h43m55.400s  13 
5 21 Rolf Stommelen Brabham-Cosworth BT33 49  11 
6 14 Henri Pescarolo Matra Simca-Matra MS120 49  5 
7 23 Francois Cevert March-Cosworth 701 49  14 
8r 12 Jo Siffert March-Cosworth 701 47 Engine 4 
9r 7 John Surtees Surtees-Cosworth TS7 46 Engine 15 
r 9 Graham Hill Lotus-Cosworth 49C 37 Engine 20 
r 5 Chris Amon March-Cosworth 701 34 Engine 6 
r 15 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 312B 30 Engine 3 
r 16 John Miles Lotus-Cosworth 72C 24 Engine 10 
r 1 Jackie Stewart March-Cosworth 701 20 Engine 7 
r 11 Mario Andretti March-Cosworth 701 15 Gearbox 9 
r 22 Ronnie Peterson March-Cosworth 701 11 Engine 19 
r 6 Pedro Rodriguez BRM P153 7 Ignition 8 
r 18 Jackie Oliver BRM P153 5 Engine 18 
r 3 Jack Brabham Brabham-Cosworth BT33 4 Mechanical 12 
r 8 Jean-Pierre Beltoise Matra Simca-Matra MS120 4 Suspension  21 
r 24 Peter Gethin McLaren-Cosworth M14A 3 Throttle Slides 17 
nq 25 Brian Redman De Tomaso-Cosworth 505   22 
nq 20 Andrea de Adamich McLaren-Alfa Romeo M14D   23 
nq 27 Silvio Moser Bellasi-Cosworth    24 
nq 26 Hubert Hahne March-Cosworth 701   25