Cevert Triumphs

Watkins Glen — 3 Oct. 1971

Surely there was never a more handsome GP driver than Francois Cevert? The tall Frenchman joined the Tyrrell March team in 1970 but with a driver of Jackie Stewart’s remarkable brilliance as his teammate, Cevert could never hope be anything other than a number two. Yet he knew that one day his time would come and Jackie was there to guide him through his apprenticeship. Francois proved to be a very good pupil. Already, in his first full season as a GP driver, he had followed Jackie across the line to score Tyrrell 1-2s in both the French and German GPs. By the time the F1 circus arrived at Watkins Glen for the finale to the ’71 season, Stewart had wrapped up his second World Championship title.

As the race settled down, the Tyrrell cars held their customary positions in front, only Denny Hulme’s McLaren seeming able to mount a challenge. But then both Stewart and Hulme encountered handling problems and Jackie waved Francois through into the lead. At first it looked like a walk in the park for the young pupil to score his first victory, but soon he came under pressure from a hard charging Jacky Ickx in the Ferrari. Cevert held onto the lead while Ickx’s car broke under the strain and crossed the line 40s ahead of Jo Siffert’s BRM at the checkered flag. A mere two years later at the same venue, Francois was tragically killed when his car smashed into a barrier. The Tyrrell team withdrew from the race, Stewart ended his career with 99 GP starts and a broken heart and the world lost not only a future champion, but the best looking young man who ever sat in a Formula One racing car. Classifications.

From the forthcoming Six Top One-Win Wonders | F1A&G feature collection.