The 1969 Formula One season was the 23rd season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 20th World Championship of Drivers, the 12th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and four non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over eleven races between 1 March and 19 October 1969.
British driver Jackie Stewart, driving a Matra-Ford Cosworth, won more than half of the races and claimed his first Drivers' Championship. The Matra works team did not compete in this season, but the privateer Matra International team, led by Ken Tyrrell, helped Matra win the Manufacturers' Cup. Both titles were the first titles won by a French constructor, and still remain the only titles won by a car built in FranceJackie Stewart´s Matra MS80 was built in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France. Fernando Alonso's Renault R25 and Renault R26 were built in Enstone, UK. as well as by a car entered by a privateer team.
Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1969 World Championship.
Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre Driver Rounds Gold Leaf Team Lotus Lotus-Ford 49B63 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Graham Hill 1–10 Jochen Rindt 1–2, 4–11 Mario Andretti 1, 7, 10 Richard Attwood 3 John Miles 5–6, 8–9, 11 Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team Lotus-Ford 49B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Jo Siffert All Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren-Ford M7AM7BM7CM9A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Denny Hulme All Bruce McLaren All Derek Bell 6 Matra International Matra-Ford MS10MS80MS84 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Jackie Stewart All Jean-Pierre Beltoise All Johnny Servoz-Gavin 9–11 MS7 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Johnny Servoz-Gavin 7 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC North American Racing Team Ferrari 312/68312/69 Ferrari 255C 3.0 V12 Chris Amon 1–6 Pedro Rodríguez 6, 8–11 Tino Brambilla 8 Owen Racing Organisation BRM P138P133P139 BRM P101 3.0 V12BRM P142 3.0 V12 John Surtees 1–4, 6–11 Jackie Oliver 1–4, 6–11 Bill Brack 9 George Eaton 10–11 Reg Parnell Racing BRM P126 BRM P101 3.0 V12 Pedro Rodríguez 1–3 Motor Racing Developments Ltd Brabham-Ford BT26A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Jack Brabham 1–4, 8–11 Jacky Ickx All Team Gunston Lotus-Ford 49 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 John Love 1 Brabham-Repco BT24 Repco 740 3.0 V8 Sam Tingle 1 Team Lawson McLaren-Ford M7A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Basil van Rooyen 1 Jack Holme Brabham-Repco BT20 Repco 620 3.0 V8 Peter de Klerk 1 Frank Williams Racing Cars Brabham-Ford BT26A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Piers Courage 2–11 BT30 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Richard Attwood 7 Antique Automobiles Cooper-Maserati T86 Maserati 10/F1 3.0 V12 Vic Elford 3 McLaren-Ford M7B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 4–7 Silvio Moser Racing Team Brabham-Ford BT24A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Silvio Moser 3–5, 8–11 Ecurie Bonnier Lotus-Ford 6349B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Jo Bonnier 6–7 Ahrens Racing Team Brabham-Ford BT30 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Kurt Ahrens Jr. 7 Roy Winkelmann Racing Lotus-Ford 59B Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Hans Herrmann 7 Rolf Stommelen 7 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG BMW 269 BMW M12/1 1.6 L4 Hubert Hahne 7 Gerhard Mitter 7 Dieter Quester 7 Matra Sports Matra-Ford MS7 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Henri Pescarolo 7 Tecno Racing Team Tecno-Ford TF69 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 François Cevert 7 Squadra Tartaruga Brabham-Ford BT23C Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Xavier Perrot 7 Felday Engineering Ltd Brabham-Ford BT30 Ford Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 Peter Westbury 7 Pete Lovely Volkswagen Inc. Lotus-Ford 49B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Pete Lovely 9–11 Paul Seitz Brabham-Climax BT23B Climax FPF 2.8 L4 John Cordts 9 John Maryon Eagle-Climax T1F Climax FPF 2.8 L4 Al Pease 9
Pink background denotes F2 entrants to the German Grand Prix.
Team and driver changes Matra did not operate a works team this year, instead focusing on their collaboration with Ken Tyrrell. The Tyrrell team (entered under Matra International) kept Jackie Stewart but replaced Johnny Servoz-Gavin with works driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise. Brabham switched from Repco-Brabham RB860 to Ford-Cosworth DFVs, when the Australian company withdrew their support. Lotus signed Austrian driver Jochen Rindt instead of Jackie Oliver. The Brit found a new home at BRM. There, John Surtees completed a new driver duo. He had driven for Honda, but the manufacturer had withdrawn from the sport and thus for the first time since season not to feature Honda brand entirely in the sport. The same was true for Cooper and Eagle. Both manufacturers were seen back just once in the 1969 season, being driven by privateer teams. Jacky Ickx moved to Brabham to take Rindt's place and his old team, Scuderia Ferrari, reduced their operations to one car for Chris Amon. This season marked the debut of legendary team owner Frank Williams. He bought a Brabham BT26A and promoted his Formula Two driver Piers Courage.
Mid-season changes Going into the second half of the season, Chris Amon left Ferrari. The Italian team signed Mexican driver Pedro Rodríguez from BRM.
Calendar Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 South African Grand Prix Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand 1 March 2 Spanish Grand Prix Montjuïc Circuit, Barcelona 4 May 3 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 18 May 4 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Park Zandvoort, Zandvoort 21 June 5 French Grand Prix Circuit de Charade, Clermont-Ferrand 6 July 6 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 19 July 7 German Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 3 August 8 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 7 September 9 Canadian Grand Prix Mosport Park, Bowmanville 20 September 10 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen International, New York 5 October 11 Mexican Grand Prix Autódromo Magdalena Mixhuca, Mexico City 19 October
Calendar changes The South African Grand Prix remained the season opener, but was moved back from January to March. The Spanish Grand Prix was moved from Circuito Permanente del Jarama to Montjuïc Circuit, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. Likewise, the British Grand Prix was moved from Brands Hatch to Silverstone and the Canadian Grand Prix was moved from Circuit Mont-Tremblant to Mosport Park. The French Grand Prix was moved from Rouen-Les-Essarts to Circuit de Charade due to safety concerns that were made apparent by Jo Schlesser's fatal accident in the 1968 French Grand Prix. After the 1968 Mexican Grand Prix had been held in November to avoid a clash with the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the Mexican Grand Prix was back at its usual date in October.
Cancelled rounds The Belgian Grand Prix was originally to be held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on 8 June, but Jackie Stewart, a strong advocate for safety in Formula One, had inspected the track and demanded multiple changes to the circuit. The track owners did not grant his wishes and the drivers boycotted the Grand Prix.David Hayhoe, Formula 1: The Knowledge records and trivia since 1950 – 2nd Edition, 2021, page 35.
Regulation changes Aerodynamics had been the talk of the town since last season and most teams chose to implement front and rear wings, besides the front nose spoilers which had been around a little longer. Lotus had pioneered movable wings, operated by a fourth pedal at the driver's feet, and their rivals had used the winter stop to implement a system of their own. McLaren, for example, gave their drivers a lever next to their left hand to flatten the rear wing, giving more speed on the straight, and connected the brake pedal to the wing to automatically put the wing back to its original position and add downforce for the corner. Tyrrell Matra came up with an electrically operated rear wing, automatically flattening the rear wing when fifth gear was selected.
At the beginning of the season, the wings were positioned as high as possible to generate the most downforce and secured on the car's suspension to push the tyres into the ground. But when the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix featured several dramatic crashes, the FIA (then known as the Commission Sportive Internationale or CSI) banned all use of wings. Only the aerofoils on the nose were still allowed. This was suddenly decided after the first practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix.
From the next race on, wings would be allowed again, but only if there no movable parts, if they were rigidly attached to sprung parts of the bodywork (so not to the suspension) and fell within a certain maximum height and width. These rules were introduced for the Dutch Grand Prix and strictly enforced from the French Grand Prix on.
Championship report Rounds 1 to 4
During practice for the South African Grand Prix, reigning champion Graham Hill broke the pedal operating the wings, while the wings themselves broke on the cars of his Lotus teammates Jochen Rindt and Mario Andretti. The American driver had noticed that, when going through a fast corner, the wing leant sideways so far that it touched the rear tyre and twisted the struts. Three-time World Champion Jack Brabham qualified on pole position in the car bearing his name, ahead of Rindt and champion Denny Hulme. With Matra driver Jackie Stewart and Ferrari driver Chris Amon starting behind them, five different teams occupied the first two rows. At the start, Stewart got up to second behind Brabham, overtook the Australian before the end of the first lap, and then broke the lap record while still heavy on fuel. Brabham's rear wing collapsed on lap 5 and had both wings cut off in the pits. This allowed him to reach on the straight but made the car very unstable in the corners, and he decided to retire. Andretti inherited second place, but then retired with a gearbox failure, and Rindt suffered from a failing fuel pump. Stewart took an unchallenged victory, ahead of Hill and Hulme.
For the first time, the Spanish Grand Prix was run at Montjuïc circuit (although the street circuit had existed since 1933). During practice, Rindt hit a stray dog and damaged his suspension but still managed to qualify on pole, ahead of Amon and Hill. Stewart and Brabham qualified on the second row. Only twelve drivers managed to start the race and Hill crashed out after just six laps, but Rindt led away without trouble. On lap 20, however, his rear wing collapsed while travelling and he crashed into the Armco barrier. He hit the wreckage of Hill's car and then overturned. He was taken into hospital and would miss the next race. Amon inherited the lead with almost 40 seconds over Stewart, until his engine blew on lap 56. While Jacky Ickx was in second place, his wing collapsed, necessating a pit stop, and later, his Brabham's rear wishbone broke, making retirement unavoidable. Once again, Stewart was unchallenged, two full laps ahead of Bruce McLaren and teammate Jean-Pierre Beltoise.
Going into the Monaco Grand Prix, one could have expected unified actions to control the high and fragile wings, but it took the CSI (FIA) until after the first practice was already run. In the meantime, Matra had added even more aerodynamic pieces to their cars' noses and Ferrari had implemented an hydraulically-controlled wing. Stewart set a lap time that looked unbeatable, but when all aerofoils and wings were banned, the FIA also scrapped all times from Thursday practice. After this reset, Stewart was again fastest and qualified on pole, ahead of Ferrari driver Amon and Matra teammate Beltoise, but all three of them retired within six laps of each other. With Brabham and Ickx failing to finish as well, Hill took an easy win, a record fifth victory in Monaco, ahead of Piers Courage, driving a Brabham for Frank Williams Racing Cars, and Jo Siffert, driving a Lotus for Rob Walker Racing Team.