Joseph Siffert
Quick Facts
Biography
Joseph Siffert (7 July 1936 – 24 October 1971) was a Swiss racing driver.
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.
Life and career
Formula One
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.
Sports cars
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.
Death
Siffert won the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, and was later 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. The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.
This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety, both in-car and on circuit. In the subsequent Royal Automobile Club (the UK organising and regulatory representative of the FIA at the time) investigation, it was discovered that the crash itself caused non-fatal injuries but Siffert had rather been killed by smoke inhalation. None of the trackside fire extinguishers worked, and it was found to be impossible to reach the car and extract Siffert because of the intense fire. 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. Benoit was a period Formula 1 sports reporter and knew Siffert well. He was also present at Siffert's tragic last Brands Hatch race in 1971. The night before the race, Benoit took pictures of Siffert, his wife Simone and his mother Maria as well as a friend Jean Tinguely at an evening victory celebration. He then also took the very last picture of Siffert alive as he sat waiting in his BRM in the pole position on the starting line five minutes before the start of the race.
Legacy
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.
Racing record
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(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 11 | 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: |
- 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.
Complete Formula One Non-Championship results
(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: |
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
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: |
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(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 | ROU | MAN | TUL | ALB | VAL | VAL | NC | 0 |
Source: |
Graded drivers not eligible forEuropean Formula Two Championship points
Sources
- 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 2007-10-11.