Jo Siffert

Jo Siffert
Siffert in 1968
Born	Joseph Siffert (1936-07-07)7 July 1936 Fribourg, Switzerland
Died	24 October 1971(1971-10-24) (aged 35) Brands Hatch, Kent, England
Cause of death	Smoke inhalation after a collision at the 1971 World Championship Victory Race
Children	2
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Swiss
Active years	1962–1971
Teams	Privateer Lotus, Filipinetti, privateer Brabham, Walker, March, BRM
Entries	100 (96 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	6
Career points	68
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	4
First entry	1962 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1968 British Grand Prix
Last win	1971 Austrian Grand Prix
Last entry	1971 United States Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1965–1971
Teams	Maserati, Porsche
Best finish	4th (1966)
Class wins	2 (1966, 1967)

Joseph Siffert (French pronunciation: [ʒo sifɛʁ]; 7 July 1936 – 24 October 1971) was a Swiss racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1962 to 1971. Siffert won two Formula One Grands Prix across 10 seasons.

Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner. He initially made his name in racing on two wheels, winning the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a Formula Junior Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax. He later moved to Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti, and in 1964 joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the non-Championship 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix, both times beating Jim Clark by a very narrow margin. He won two races in Formula One for the Rob Walker Racing Team and BRM. He died at the 1971 World Championship Victory Race, having his car roll over after a crash caused by a mechanical failure and being caught under the burning vehicle. Siffert was married twice and to his second wife Simone during the height of his career in the late 1960s and at the time of his death. They had two children together, Véronique and Philippe.

Siffert was born in 1936 in the town of Fribourg, Switzerland, 35 km (22 mi) from Bern to a poor family. Aged 12, Siffert and his father went to Bern to see the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix at the Bremgarten circuit, and it was at this event where Siffert wanted to be a racing driver.^[1]

In 1968, Siffert drove into the F1 history books by winning the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in Rob Walker Racing Team's Lotus 49B, beating Chris Amon's Ferrari into second place after a race-long battle. This is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer.^[2] In 1971 as a BRM team driver he scored his second Formula One Championship race victory at the Austrian Grand Prix held at the Österreichring.^[3]

While Siffert's status in F1 grew slowly, his fame came as a leading driver for the factory Porsche effort in its quest for the World Sportscar Championship. In 1968, Siffert and Hans Herrmann won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 907, marking the first major outright wins for the company, apart from a few earlier victories on twisty tracks.

Later on, Siffert's driving displays in the Porsche 917 earned him several major wins in Europe. In addition, Siffert was chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development programme, driving a Porsche 917PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite few entries.

In 1970 he teamed up with Brian Redman to drive a Porsche 908/3 to victory at the Targa Florio. That same year, Porsche bankrolled Siffert's seat in a works March Engineering F1 since the German company did not wish to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in F1 was disastrous, so he was pleased to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at BRM the following season.

Siffert was killed in the non-championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch, Kent, England, the scene of his first victory in 1968. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in a lap one incident with Ronnie Peterson, and broke later. This was not admitted by BRM until much later when it was accidentally divulged by a BRM ex-mechanic.^[4] The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.

In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club (the UK organising and regulatory representative of the FIA at the time) investigation, it was discovered that Siffert had only suffered a leg fracture in the initial crash but because three fire extinguishers failed to work properly no rescuers could reach Siffert for five minutes and he died of smoke inhalation.^[5] A fire marshall stated that if the fire extinguishers worked correctly then they could have reached Siffert within 20 seconds.^[6]

This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. On-board fire extinguishers (using BCF—bromochlorodifluoromethane, an aircraft product) became mandatory and also piped air for the drivers, direct into their helmets.

His funeral in Switzerland was attended by 50,000 people and a Gulf-Porsche 917 of Team John Wyer led the hearse and procession through the streets of Fribourg.

In the final round of the 2007–08 A1GP season, at Brands Hatch, the A1 Team Switzerland car carried the message Jo 'Seppi' Siffert - 40th Anniversary - Brands Hatch. This commemorated his 1968 British Grand Prix victory at Brands Hatch.

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1962	Formula One	Ecurie Filipinetti	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1963	Formula One	Siffert Racing Team	9	0	0	0	0	1	14th
1964	Formula One	Siffert Racing Team	8	0	0	0	0	7	10th
		R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	2	0	0	0	1
	Trophées de France	Siffert Racing Team	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1965	Formula One	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	10	0	0	0	0	5	12th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	J.H. Simone	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1966	Formula One	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	8	0	0	0	0	3	14th
	British Formula Two	Joakim Bonnier	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Porsche System Engineering	1	1	0	?	1	N/A	1st
1967	Formula One	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	10	0	0	0	0	6	12th
	European Formula Two	BMW AG München	3	0	0	0	0	0	NC‡
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Porsche System Engineering	1	1	0	?	1	N/A	1st
1968	Formula One	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	12	1	1	3	1	12	7th
	European Formula Two	Bayerische Motoren Werke	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC‡
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Porsche System Engineering	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	24 Hours of Daytona		1	1	?	?	1	N/A	1st
1969	Formula One	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	11	0	0	0	2	15	9th
	Can-Am	Porsche-Audi	8	0	0	0	1	56	4th
	European Formula Two	Bayerische Motoren Werke	3	0	1	0	1	0	NC‡
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Hart Ski Racing	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
	24 Hours of Daytona	Porsche System Engineering	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
1970	Formula One	March Engineering	12	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	European Formula Two	Bayerische Motoren Werke	4	0	0	0	1	0	NC‡
	Can-Am	J.W. Automotive	1	0	0	0	1	15	17th
	24 Hours of Le Mans		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1971	Formula One	Yardley Team BRM	11	1	1	1	2	19	5th
	Can-Am	STP-Jo Siffert	6	0	0	0	3	68	4th
	European Formula Two	Jo Siffert - Chevron Racing Team	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC‡
	24 Hours of Le Mans	J.W. Automotive	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF

^‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Pts
1962	Ecurie Nationale Suisse	Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	NED	MON DNQ												NC	0
	Ecurie Filipinetti					BEL 10			GER 12
		Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8				FRA Ret	GBR		ITA DNQ	USA	RSA
1963	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Ret	BEL Ret	NED 7	FRA 6	GBR Ret	GER 9	ITA Ret	USA Ret	MEX 9	RSA				14th	1
1964	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON 8													10th	7
		Brabham BT11			NED 13	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 11	GER 4	AUT Ret	ITA 7
	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team											USA 3	MEX Ret
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA 7	MON 6	BEL 8	FRA 6	GBR 9	NED 13	GER Ret	ITA Ret	USA 11	MEX 4				12th	5
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P60 2.0 V8	MON Ret													14th	3
		Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12		BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR NC	NED Ret	GER	ITA Ret	USA 4	MEX Ret
1967	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA Ret	MON Ret	NED 10	BEL 7	FRA 4	GBR Ret	GER Ret	CAN DNS	ITA Ret	USA 4	MEX 12			12th	6
1968	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	RSA 7													7th	12
		Lotus 49	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8		ESP Ret	MON Ret	BEL 7	NED Ret	FRA 11
		Lotus 49B								GBR 1	GER Ret	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA 5	MEX 6
1969	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA 4	ESP Ret	MON 3	NED 2	FRA 9	GBR 8	GER 111	ITA 8	CAN Ret	USA Ret	MEX Ret			9th	15
1970	March Engineering	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA 10	ESP DNQ	MON 8	BEL 7	NED Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 8	AUT 9	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA 9	MEX Ret	NC	0
1971	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P153	BRM P142 3.0 V12	RSA Ret													5th	19
		BRM P160			ESP Ret	MON Ret	NED 6	FRA 4	GBR 9	GER DSQ	AUT 1	ITA 9	CAN 9	USA 2
Source:[7]

Notes

• ^1 – Formula Two cars occupied fifth to tenth positions in the 1969 German Grand Prix, however drivers of these cars were not eligible for championship points. The points for fifth and sixth were awarded to the drivers of the eleventh and twelfth placed cars.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
1962	Ecurie Nationale Suisse	Lotus 22	Ford 105E 1.5 L4	CAP	BRX 6	LOM	LAV	GLV
		Lotus 21	Climax FPF 1.5 L4						PAU 7	AIN	INT	NAP	MAL	CLP
	Scuderia Filipinetti														RMS 9			MED 4	DAN	OUL	MEX	RAN	NAT
		Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8													SOL Ret	KAN
1963	Ecurie Filipinetti	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	LOM DNS	GLV	PAU Ret	IMO 2	SYR 1	AIN	INT
	Siffert Racing Team										ROM DNS	SOL Ret	KAN	MED 5	AUT Ret	OUL 11	RAN
1964	Siffert Racing Team	Lotus 24	BRM P56 1.5 V8	DMT	NWT	SYR DNS	AIN	INT 11
		Brabham BT11							SOL 7	MED 1	RAN
1965	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	ROC 6	SYR Ret	SMT Ret	INT	MED 1	RAN 5
1966	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Brabham BT11	BRM P56 1.5 V8	RSA 2
		Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12		SYR Ret
		Cooper T80				INT Ret	OUL
1967	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Cooper T81	Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12	ROC 3	SPC	INT 3	SYR 3	OUL
	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T100	BMW M12 2.0 L4						ESP Ret
1968	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC DNS	INT Ret	OUL
1969	Rob Walker/Jack Durlacher Racing Team	Lotus 49B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ROC 4	INT 11	MAD	OUL
1971	Jo Siffert Automobiles	March 701	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG Ret	ROC
	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P160	BRM P142 3.0 V12			QUE 6		INT Ret	RIN	OUL	VIC 4
		BRM P153					SPR Ret
Source:[7]

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1965	J.H. Simone	Jochen Neerpasch	Maserati Tipo 65	P +5.0	3	DNF	DNF
1966	Porsche System Engineering	Colin Davis	Porsche 906/6L Carrera 6	P 2.0	339	4th	1st
1967	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 907/6L	P 2.0	358	5th	1st
1968	Porsche System Engineering	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 908	P 3.0	59	DNF	DNF
1969	Hart Ski Racing	Brian Redman	Porsche 908/2L	P 3.0	60	DNF	DNF
1970	John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Brian Redman	Porsche 917K	S 5.0	156	DNF	DNF
1971	John Wyer Automotive Engineering Ltd.	Derek Bell	Porsche 917LH	S 5.0		DNF	DNF
Source:[8]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Pos.	Pts
1967	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T100	BMW M11	SNE	SIL Ret	NÜR Ret	HOC	TUL	JAR	ZAN	PER	BRH	VAL 9		NC	0
1968	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T102	BMW M11	HOC	THR	JAR	PAL	TUL	ZAN	PER	HOC Ret	VAL 18			NC	0
1969	Bayerische Motoren Werke	Lola T102	BMW M11	THR Ret	HOC	NÜR 2	JAR	TUL							NC	0‡
		BMW 269							PER Ret	VAL
1970	Bayerische Motoren Werke	BMW 270	BMW M11	THR Ret	HOC	BAR	ROU 1	PER 2	TUL 11	IMO Ret	HOC				NC	0‡
1971	Jo Siffert - Chevron Racing Team	Chevron B18	Cosworth FVA	HOC	THR Ret	NÜR 10	JAR	PAL DNQ	ROU	MAN	TUL	ALB	VAL	VAL	NC	0
Source:[7]

^‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

• Targa Florio: 1st, 1970
• Coppa Cittá di Enna: 1st, 1968
• 12 hours of Sebring: 1st, 1968
• 24 hours of Daytona: 1st, 1968
• 1000 km of Nürburgring: 1st, 1968, 1969
• 1000 km of Spa-Francorchamps: 1st, 1969, 1970
• 1000 km of Zeltweg: 1st, 1968, 1969, 1970
• 1000 km of Monza: 1st, 1969
• 1000 km of Buenos Aires: 1st, 1971
• 6 Hours of Watkins Glen: 1st, 1969
• 1000 km of Brands Hatch: 1st, 1968

• Lareida, Men (director) (2005). Jo Siffert. Live Fast, Die Young (DVD). Hugofilm.

F1 Results include information from the following sources:

• Whitelock, Mark (2006). 1½-litre Grand Prix Racing 1961-1965. Veloce Publishing Ltd. ISBN 184584016X.
• "The Formula One Archives".
• "F2 Register - The Formula 1, Non-Championship Races". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.

• Official Jo Siffert web site (German and French) by Philippe Siffert, Jo's son Archived 27 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
• Jo Siffert fan page authorized by Simone Siffert, Jo's second wife
• Biography at der Blick (German)

Preceded by Jochen Rindt

Formula One fatal accidents 24 October 1971

Succeeded by Roger Williamson