1971 South African Grand Prix

Entrants

Mario Andretti starts his first race for Ferrari, alongside Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni. It is also the Formula One debut for New Zealand driver Howden Ganley, who joins Pedro Rodríguez and Jo Siffert at BRM.

Tyrrell contest their first championship race with their own constructor entry — Jackie Stewart and François Cevert in the purpose-built Tyrrell 003 and 002.

Background

Ferrari won four of the last five Grands Prix in 1970 and arrive at the fast, high-altitude Kyalami circuit as favourites. The 12-cylinder cars of Ferrari and BRM are expected to have a power advantage over the Ford-Cosworth V8s. Stewart took pole in the Tyrrell, joining Chris Amon and Regazzoni on the front row. Denny Hulme is working around a new suspension setup he describes as “behaving very strangely.”

Milestones

This is the first championship race for Tyrrell as a constructor. It is also Howden Ganley’s Formula One debut.