Grosser Preis von Österreich 15 Augusti 1971, Österreichring
Ronnie Peterson med sin March 711 gör i Österrikes GP 1971 sin sjuttonde start i Formel 1 sammanhang.
Inför denna tävling är emellertid Ronnies motor "trött", den har körts de båda senaste racen och skulle ha mått bra av en översyn. Men det fanns ingen tid för detta och med en sådan motor är det inte lätt att åstadkomma bra träningstider. Ronnie får endast 11:e bästa kvaltid, emedan Siffert står främst med Stewart för omväxlingens skull som nummer två.
Under själva loppet lider Ronnie av svår understyrning, men lyckas ändock ta sig i mål som åtta. Betydligt bättre går det för Reine Wisell som blir fyra - efter att ha haft startpositionen omedelbart före Ronnie.
Vinner gör Jo Siffert, som leder loppet från start till mål och dessutom med den bästa varvtiden (1.38,47). Fittipaldi i en Lotus blir tvåa och Tim Schenken (Brabham) slutar trea.
Summary in english
With
Jackie Stewart having won five of the first seven races,
the World Championship was almost over by the time the teams arrived at Zeltweg
in mid-August. Stewart had 51 points to Jacky Ickx's
19 and with only four races to go, making any impact was going to be difficult.
There were a few changes down through the order. Peter Gethin
had been released by McLaren to join BRM, where he replaced Pedro Rodriguez, who had been killed in a sportscar
race a few weeks earlier at the Norisring. McLaren
had taken on Jack Oliver to replace him. For the Austrian event March had rented
out a factory car to a new rising star Niki Lauda,
while another Austrian Helmut Marko was running in a fourth BRM.
Qualifying saw something of an upset
Jackie Stewart being outqualified by Jo Siffert's BRM. The Scotsman was second quickest
and his ever-improving Tyrrell team mate Francois Cevert
was third, just ahead of the Clay Regazzoni in the fastest of the Ferraris. Emerson Fittipaldi was on the third row in his Lotus with Ickx 's Ferrari alongside, while the Brabhams of Tim Schenken and Graham Hill
were on the fourth row. The top 10 was completed by Denny Hulme
(McLaren) and Reine Wisell (Lotus).
Siffert took the lead at the start and successfully
held off Stewart's attacks with Regazzoni, Cevert, Ickx and Schenken chasing
after them. Both Ferraris were soon in trouble, however, both dropping out of
the action with engine trouble. This promoted Cevert to third place and Schenken
to fourth. As the race progressed Siffert began to edge away at the front.
Cevert was able to close up on Stewart, who was struggling with the handling of
his car. On lap 23 Cevert was waved through into second place. On lap 36
Stewart's race ended with a broken rear axle. Four laps earlier Ickx had retired
for good and so Stewart was the World Champion as Ronnie Peterson, the only man with a mathematical
chance was running around in ninth place with serious handling problems. He was
not going to win the race.
Cevert's
charge came to an end on lap 43 when his engine failed and so Fittipaldi moved
into second, having overtaken Schenken a few laps earlier. In the final laps
Siffert suffered a deflating tire but he was so far ahead that he was able to
nurse the car to the line, beating Fittipaldi by just over four seconds.
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Aktuell ställning
| Position | Förare | Nation | Poäng |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackie Stewart | GBR | 51 |
| 2 | Jacky Ickx | BEL | 19 |
| 3 | Ronnie Peterson | SWE | 17 |
| 4 | Emerson Fittipaldi | BRA | 16 |
| 5 | Jo Siffert | CH | 13 |
| 6 | Clay Regazzoni | CH | 12 |
| " | François Cevert | FRA | 12 |
| " | Mario Andretti | USA | 12 |
