Racing | Formula 1 | 1971 Italian Grand Prix — Gethin Wins by 0.01 Seconds at Monza

On 5 September 1971, Formula 1 reached the finish line at Monza as a five-car contest. Peter Gethin had started eleventh in the No. 18 BRM P160, but the circuit’s long straights and fast curves allowed a tightly packed slipstream battle to continue through the final lap.

Clay Regazzoni surged from the fourth row to lead at the start. Ronnie Peterson, Jackie Stewart and Regazzoni then traded the front as the pack repeatedly reorganized itself in the tow. Stewart and Jacky Ickx retired with engine failures on lap 16, and Regazzoni followed two laps later. Chris Amon briefly looked capable of escaping, but after losing his visor and encountering overheating trouble he fell away from the leading group. Gethin, Peterson, François Cevert, Mike Hailwood and Howden Ganley remained together for the decisive sprint.

After 55 laps, Gethin crossed the line in 1:18:12.600. Peterson’s March-Ford followed 0.010 seconds later, Cevert’s Tyrrell-Ford was 0.090 behind, Hailwood’s Surtees-Ford 0.180 behind, and Gethin’s BRM teammate Ganley 0.610 behind. The published final classification records no penalty changing that order. Henri Pescarolo set the fastest lap in another March-Ford: 1:23.800 on lap 9.

The result gave Gethin his first Formula 1 World Championship victory. Its significance came from more than the winning margin: five drivers representing four constructors arrived within little more than half a second after 316.25 kilometres of racing.

This memory is pinned to Autodromo Nazionale Monza’s officially published coordinates. The 1971 Grand Prix used the 5.750-kilometre road circuit, not the high-speed banking. It was also the last Italian Grand Prix on that unbroken road layout before two chicanes were introduced in 1972 to reduce approach speeds at Curva Grande and Ascari.

Sources: Formula 1 official race result and fastest-lap classification; Autodromo Nazionale Monza’s official circuit history and track page; GrandPrix.com’s independent race report and classification.

Image: “Monza 1957” circuit diagram by Jiří Žemlička, depicting the Grand Prix layout used in 1957–1959 and 1962–1971. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.