1969 F1 Season
Jackie Stewart Won Opening Two Grand Prix Races
Everyone hoped that the 1969 Formula 1 season would be less traumatic than the previous one. In 1968 Formula 1 lost four notable drivers. Jim Clark perished in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim. Mike Spence was killed in a Lotus at Indianapolis. Jo Schlesser burned to death in his Honda Formula 1 car at Rouen, and Ludovico Scarfiotti was killed at a hillclimb in Germany.
Graham Hill had a new team-mate at Lotus in the shape of Austrian driver Jochen Rindt. Jacky Ickx had moved from Ferrari to Brabham. The Italian team would concentrate its efforts on a single car for New Zealander Chris Amon. Jackie Stewart and Jean-Pierre Beltoise were entered in Matras run by Ken Tyrrell and powered by the Ford DFV engine.
Stewart Wins South African Grand Prix
Jack Brabham was on pole at Kyalami in his eponymous car, while Rindt made a good start to his Lotus career by qualifying second. Denny Hulme was third in the other Brabham and fourth place was taken by Stewart’s Matra.
Brabham led for the opening lap, but once Stewart got past there was no catching the Scotsman. Brabham eventually retired from the race with a broken rear wing. Hill finished second to Stewart in his Lotus, with Hulme third. Jo Siffert was fourth in a private Lotus 49, followed by Bruce McLaren and Beltoise.
Spanish Grand Prix Won by Stewart
The glorious Montjuich Park circuit was the scene of two spectacular crashes in 1969. Both accidents involved Lotus drivers. Hill‘s rear wing failed, sending his car out of control as it crested a rise at high speed. Incredibly, he emerged from the wrecked Lotus unscathed. His team-mate Rindt, who was leading the Grand Prix, was not so fortunate. He suffered an identical failure at the same point and careered into Hill’s stricken car. The Austrian broke his nose in the crash and received lacerations.
All of this action left Amon’s Ferrari in the lead, pursued by Siffert. The Swiss driver was the first to drop out, when his Ford DFV gave up. Amon suffered his usual terrible luck and retired with a Ferrari engine failure. Stewart was left to cruise home to a comfortable victory. McLaren finished in second place, followed by Stewart’s team-mate Beltoise in third. Hulme was fourth in his McLaren, ahead of 1964 Formula 1 World Champion John Surtees and the Brabham driven by Ickx. Even at this early stage of the season it was clear that Stewart and Matra was a potent combination.
Graham Hill, 1969 Lotus 49B
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