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Jo Siffert enjoyed a successful career in F1, before tragically losing his life in the sport he loved.
Jo Siffert racing his BRM to second place at Watkins Glen. Tragically this would be his final podium before his death (Image Credit:@Stuart_Dent on Twitter)The Beginning
Jo Siffert wanted to be a racing driver since he was 12, after watching the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix with his father. That particular race was won by Carlo Felice Trossi driving an Alfa Romeo.
He started his racing career in 1960 competing in the World Cup Trophy Italian against the likes of future F1 champions Denny Hulme and Jim Clark, as well as Grand Prix winners such as Lorenzo Bandini and Ludovico Scarfiotti.
The following year he raced in Formula Junior. Finishing third in the standings behind future F1 drivers John Love and Tony Maggs. Among these races was at Monaco, competing alongside future F1 head Bernie Ecclestone and Alejandro de Tomaso (founder of eponymous car company de Tomaso). He also finished fifth behind Peter Arundell, Love, Maggs and Mike McKee.
F1 Debut
Siffert was set to make his F1 debut after these performances in 1962, in Monaco. He would need to qualify as he was driving a privateer entry. Out of the eleven cars in this category, only the top six would qualify. Siffert missed out by four-tenths of a second. In. front was Roy Salvadori, future F1 champion John Surtees, Innes Ireland, Maurice Trintignant, F1 multiple champion Jack Brabham and Willy Mairesse.
The Swiss would go on to make his proper debut in Belgium, where he qualified 17th and finished 10th, three laps down from winner Jim Clark in the new Lotus 25. Siffert competed in the now obsolete Lotus 21, the only car in the field to do so. He drove for Scuderia Filipinetti, which was founded to support Siffert in his initial career. This would be his best finish that season, partaking in a further three races, qualifying for two of them in France and Germany.
Team Owner
Siffert left Filipinetti to start his own team, named Siffert Racing Team. In 1963 he would be driving the Lotus 24, which was the predecessor of the legendary Lotus 25. The Lotus 24 was being used full-time by Siffert and American Jim Hall, with most only driving one or two rounds with the 24. Siffert was consistent, finishing in the top ten in every race he finished, scoring his first point in France with a sixth place.
He finished seventh in the Netherlands and ninth in Germany and Mexico, finishing P15 in the standings. He tied with Trevor Taylor, who drove the 25 for every round barring Monza. Despite this, he only scored one point compared to teammate Jim Clark who became World Champion.
Siffert drove a Lotus 24 at round one but switched to the BT11 which was designed by Ron Tauranac for Jack Brabham. He scored fourth at the German Grand Prix behind Bandini, Graham Hill and John Surtees.
Switching to Rob Walker
Siffert decided to give up on running his own team and signed for Rob Walker. Arguably the “King of Privateers”, he won F1 races with Stirling Moss and Trintignant from 1958-1961.
On debut for Walker, Siffert finished third in America, his first of six podiums in Formula One. Finishing behind Surtees and winner Hill. Siffert had greatly improved on the previous season scoring seven points and finishing 10th in the driver’s championship. The BT11 remained with Siffert in 1965 and he finished tied 11th in the championship with Denny Hulme’s Brabham, with Siffert finishing fourth in Mexico and sixth in France and Monaco.
At this stage, Siffert was seen as a consistent midfield runner, similar to pre-2021 Sergio Perez, or currently Lando Norris. 1966 was a worse year for him, scoring only once with a fourth in the USA at Watkins Glen, which was a happy hunting ground. At this stage, Walker had switched its car to a Cooper T81 with a Maserati 3l V12 in the back. This caused several retirements for Siffert.
He only finished the US Grand Prix in the end but was often qualifying well, with an average start of 12th. The next season was a slight improvement, with double the points, but only finished three races in Belgium, France, and yet again the USA. He finished 12th in the standings that season compared to 14th in the previous year.
1968 and British Grand Prix
Jo Siffert racing at the 1968 British Grand Prix for Rob Walker (Image Credit: @LienhardRacing on Twitter)Siffert remained with Walker for 1968 but it looked like the previous two seasons. This was despite a switch to the best car of the era, the Lotus 49 after the South African Grand Prix, which was the first race of the season.
Siffert had an average qualifying position of ninth heading into the British Grand Prix. Siffert had his second-best start of the season, qualifying fourth behind Lotus’ Graham Hill and Jackie Oliver, and Ferrari’s Chris Amon, who would become notorious for never winning a race despite so many successes.
The first four remained the same, with Siffert passing Amon for third and Oliver and Hill duelling for the lead. Hill retired on lap 26 with a halfshaft problem, meaning Siffert was now fighting for his maiden win. Oliver retired 17 laps later, with 46% of the race remaining. Siffert and Amon pushed each other to the edge, lapping everyone else by the end of the race. This included Jacky Ickx, Hulme, Surtees, Jackie Stewart and Bruce McLaren. This was Formula One at its best. Siffert would win his first race by 4.4 seconds from Amon.
By season’s end, Siffert was seventh in the driver’s standings, with 12 points. With two points in the USA and one point in Mexico, where he took his first pole position, 1969 was Siffert’s best season in Formula One. He scored podiums in Monaco and Netherlands with a third and second-place finish respectively.
He also finished fourth in South Africa and was classified 11th in Germany. You may be thinking, but why did I mention 11th in Germany? Well, F2 cars were allowed to race in the same race as F1 cars, but they wouldn’t be eligible for points. What happened was only four F1 cars finished the race, with six F2 cars also finishing. This meant Siffert, who retired on lap 12 and was classified as eleventh, was given two points.
March and BRM
Jo Siffert races in his March Ford at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix (Image Credit: @ClassicFormula1 on Twitter)Siffert was replaced by Graham Hill at Rob Walker Racing Team and so he moved to March. This was the biggest mistake in his racing career. He didn’t score a single point as he never adapted to the March. By contrast, Amon, Stewart and Mario Andretti all scored podiums, with Stewart winning the Spanish Grand Prix.
After only a season with March, Siffert decided to jump ship to BRM, who were slowly declining like Cooper. The P160 BRM was a fast car. Teammate Pedro Rodriguez finished second in the Netherlands, and Siffert finished sixth in the same race. By the Austrian Grand Prix, he had an average starting position of roughly sixth, yet he was eleventh in the standings with three points.
1971 Austrian Grand Prix
Siffert took his final pole position by 2 tenths of a second. The Österreichring suited the V12 BRM, similar to that of Spa. Siffert led from Jackie Stewart for the opening 22 laps. Stewart started getting mechanical issues, meaning Stewart’s teammate Francois Cevert moved up to second.
He kept Siffert honest until he too retired from the race. The struggling Emerson Fittipaldi, in the worst Lotus since 1960, moved up to second place.
Siffert then got a puncture in the final laps. He managed to hang on to win by four seconds by Fittipaldi. This win was historic for many reasons, it was the last win for Siffert, the only time a BRM took a Grand Chelem. Siffert had led every lap, won the race, took pole and had the fastest lap.
It was also the last time they won from pole, as they took one more pole in 1973 with Clay Regazzoni in Argentina. Finishing seventh they won in Monza in 1971 starting from 11th with Peter Gethin and in Monaco in 1972 with Jean-Pierre Beltoise from fourth on the grid.
Siffert’s Passing
Siffert was racing in a time of great danger. In the previous decade, 25 F1 drivers lost their lives while racing, including Wolfgang von Trips, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Piers Courage, Bruce McLaren and Lorenzo Bandini. Pedro Rodriguez, who was Siffert’s teammate in 1971 died in a sportscar race at the Norisring. Siffert would tragically meet the same fate.
Siffert was driving his BRM in a non-championship race at Brands Hatch, taking pole ahead of the likes of Jackie Stewart and Ronnie Peterson, who were first and second in the standings that season. He was fourth by lap 15 when the crash happened.
Like with Ayrton Senna’s death in 1994, the impact was not the cause of death. The report from the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) revealed that Siffert had died of smoke inhalation, prompting the governing bodies to make on-board fire extinguishers mandatory, and several other safety measures.
In death, Siffert helped save several lives, but they should have made these changes before such accidents happen. Siffert was very adept in sportscars, winning his class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice in 1966 and 1967 and winning the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours both with Porsche. He had two children with his second wife. Both were only little when he passed away.
Feature Image Credit: Motorsport Magazine