1970 Mexican Grand Prix

1970 Mexican Grand Prix
The Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca
Race details
Date	October 25, 1970
Official name	Mexican Grand Prix
Location	Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City, Mexico
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.000 km (3.107 mi)
Distance	65 laps, 325.000 km (201.946 mi)
Pole position
Driver	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
Time	1:41.86
Fastest lap
Driver	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Time	1:43.11
Podium
First	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Second	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
Third	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford

The 1970 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City on October 25, 1970. It was race 13 of 13 in both the 1970 World Championship of Drivers and the 1970 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 65-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx after he started from third position. His teammate Clay Regazzoni finished second and McLaren driver Denny Hulme came in third.

Ickx wasn't able to close the points gap to the late Jochen Rindt in the final races of the season, and as result the latter was awarded the championship posthumously, becoming the only driver to ever win the title after death.

Race report

The immense crowd of 200,000 proved almost uncontrollable and almost forced the cancellation of the race. They were crammed in front of the guard-rails, sat at the trackside and ran across the track itself. Despite impassioned appeals from Jackie Stewart and local hero Pedro Rodríguez they still remained troublesome.

From the start, Jacky Ickx led from Stewart and Clay Regazzoni, but dropped back with steering column trouble. Later, a collision with a dog which had escaped onto the track damaged Stewart's suspension and forced his retirement, leaving the Ferraris dominant in first and second. Jack Brabham retired from third place in his final Grand Prix when the engine blew on lap 53. The Ferraris romped home with Ickx leading Regazzoni and Denny Hulme claiming the third podium spot. The Italian cars had proved they were now good enough to compete with the Ford-engined cars, but the crowd's antics meant that for safety reasons the Mexican Grand Prix would be dropped from the 1971 calendar. However, it returned to the Formula One calendar fifteen years later in 1986.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	65	1:53:28.36	3	9
2	4	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	65	+24.64	1	6
3	8	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	65	+45.97	14	4
4	12	Chris Amon	March-Ford	65	+47.05	5	3
5	6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	65	+50.11	6	2
6	19	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	65	+1:24.76	7	1
7	20	Jackie Oliver	BRM	64	+1 Lap	13
8	17	John Surtees	Surtees-Ford	64	+1 Lap	15
9	7	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	61	+4 Laps	11
NC	23	Reine Wisell	Lotus-Ford	56	Not Classified	12
Ret	15	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Ford	52	Engine	4
Ret	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	33	Suspension	2
Ret	9	Peter Gethin	McLaren-Ford	27	Engine	10
Ret	16	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham-Ford	15	Fuel System	17
Ret	2	François Cevert	March-Ford	8	Engine	9
Ret	14	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford	4	Overheating	8
Ret	11	Jo Siffert	March-Ford	3	Engine	16
Ret	24	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	1	Engine	18
Source:[1]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jochen Rindt 45 2 Jacky Ickx 40 3 Clay Regazzoni 33 2 4 Denny Hulme 27 1 5 Jackie Stewart 25

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 59 2 Ferrari 52 (55) 3 March-Ford 48 4 Brabham-Ford 35 5 McLaren-Ford 35

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 6 results from the first 7 rounds and the best 5 results from the last 6 rounds counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References