Considered one of the greatest racing drivers of all time, Siffert rose from humble beginnings to become a beloved and glamorous star on the international racing circuit. He tragically died in a non-championship F1 race at Brands Hatch. His funeral in Fribourg, Switzerland, drew a crowd of 50,000 mourners lining the streets.
| Nationality | Swiss |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Siffert 7 July 1936 Fribourg, Switzerland |
| Died | 24 October 1971 (aged 35) Kent, England |
Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner. Nicknamed “Seppi,” he began racing in 1957 on a 125cc Gilera. Coming from a modest background, he found creative ways to finance his racing, including selling shells back to the Swiss Army for recycling and trading cars.
In 1959, he participated in the Sidecar World Championship with Edgar Strub to earn additional money, winning the Swiss 350cc motorcycle championship before switching to four wheels in a Formula Junior Stanguellini in 1960.
Siffert gained prominence in 1961 driving a Lotus 21, winning races like the Eifelrennen and finishing as joint European Formula Junior champion with Tony Maggs.
He entered F1 as a privateer in 1962 with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax, later driving for Swiss Scuderia Filipinetti. He debuted at Monaco but failed to qualify, making it onto the grid at the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.
In 1963, Siffert ran independently with a Filipinetti Lotus 24-BRM, earning a championship point at Reims and winning the non-championship Syracuse GP and placing second in the Imola GP.
He purchased a Brabham for 1964, winning the 1964 Mediterranean Grand Prix by a tenth of a second over Jim Clark. The following year, he repeated the victory, beating Clark by three-tenths of a second while driving for Rob Walker.
Before joining Rob Walker, Siffert and his team often slept in cheap hotels or outdoors in sleeping bags to save money, contrasting with the glamour of today’s Grand Prix circuit. Walker and his wife, Betty, held Siffert in deep affection, and he continued driving for them through 1969. They struggled over the next couple of seasons, occasionally winning points, with podium finishes only in non-title races.
In 1968, Walker persuaded Colin Chapman to provide a Lotus 49B, which Siffert crashed during testing. After a fire destroyed the car, they borrowed a replacement from the factory. Siffert won the 1968 British Grand Prix, beating Chris Amon in a Ferrari by 4.4 seconds. He was a front-runner for the rest of the season, often quicker than the works car of Graham Hill.
Siffert continued with Rob Walker in 1969, experiencing a disappointing season despite initial promise. He became a star in sports car racing with Porsche, winning five major races that year. In 1968, he won the Daytona 24 Hour and the Sebring 12 Hour races and took class wins at Le Mans in 1966 and 1967, securing pole in 1968. He also helped launch Porsche’s Can-Am development program, finishing fourth in the championship despite limited entries.
Ferrari was keen to sign Siffert for 1970, but Porsche paid for him to join the STP March team, resulting in a difficult Grand Prix season with a seventh place in Belgium as his best result. However, he continued to succeed in sports cars, winning the Targa Florio, Spa 1000 Km, and Osterreichring 1000 Km with Brian Redman in the Gulf Porsche team. He also had strong results in Formula 2 with the works BMW.
In the Porsche team, Pedro Rodriguez was known as the “Mexican Bandit,” while Siffert was affectionately called the “Crazy Swiss.” In 1971, Siffert moved to BRM, partnering with Rodriguez. He purchased a Chevron for F2, a Porsche 917 for Can-Am, and continued racing the works Gulf Porsche.
Tragically, Rodriguez died in a sports car race in Germany before the British Grand Prix. Siffert lifted team spirits with a victory in Austria a few weeks later, holding off Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus-Ford 72 by 4.1 seconds despite a slow puncture. He finished the season second at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Beyond F1, he had numerous podium finishes in other categories and looked forward to 1972 as they arrived at Brands Hatch for the Rothmans Race of Champions.
At Brands Hatch, a suspension failure caused Siffert’s BRM P160 to crash, leading to a fire that trapped him in the wreckage. Despite surviving the initial impact with just a broken leg, he died from asphyxiation due to oxygen starvation and smoke inhalation. The accident spurred rapid safety improvements, including mandatory on-board fire extinguishers and piped air for drivers.
Siffert’s funeral in Switzerland drew 50,000 attendees, and a Gulf-Porsche 917 of Team John Wyer accompanied the hearse. His legacy includes a significant focus on improving vehicle and driver safety in racing.
Jo Siffert Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1962–1971 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Privateer: Lotus and Brabham Constructor: Rob Walker Racing Team, 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 |
Jo Siffert Teammates
| 12 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heini Walter | 1 | 1962 | |
| Heinz Schiller | 1 | 1962 | |
| Hap Sharp | 2 | 1964 | |
| Jo Bonnier | 12 | 1964 | 1965 |
| Chris Amon | 13 | 1970 | |
| Howden Ganley | 11 | 1971 | |
| Pedro Rodriguez | 6 | 1971 | |
| Vic Elford | 1 | 1971 | |
| Helmut Marko | 4 | 1971 | |
| Peter Gethin | 4 | 1971 | |
| George Eaton | 1 | 1971 | |
| John Cannon | 1 | 1971 |
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Ecurie Nationale Suisse Ecurie Filipinetti | Lotus-Climax Lotus-BRM | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1963 | Ecurie Filipinetti | Lotus-BRM | 1 | 14th | Report |
| 1963 | Siffert Racing Team | Lotus-BRM | 1 | 14th | Report |
| 1964 | Siffert Racing Team R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Lotus-BRM Brabham-BRM | 7 | 10th | Report |
| 1965 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Brabham-BRM | 5 | 12th | Report |
| 1966 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Brabham-BRM | 3 | 14th | Report |
| 1966 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Cooper-Maserati | 3 | 14th | Report |
| 1967 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Cooper – Maserati | 6 | 12th | Report |
| 1967 | Bayerische Motoren Werke AG | Lola-BMW * | 6 | 12th | Report |
| 1968 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Cooper-Maserati | 12 | 7th | Report |
| 1968 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 12 | 7th | Report |
| 1969 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 15 | 9th | Report |
| 1970 | March Engineering | March-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1971 | Jo Siffert Automobiles | March-Ford Cosworth | 19 | 5th | Report |
| 1971 | Yardley Team BRM | BRM | 19 | 5th | Report |
Complete Formula One Results
| 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 | |||||||||||
| 1962 | Ecurie Filipinetti | Lotus 21 | Climax FPF 1.5 L4 | BEL 10 | GER 12 | NC | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1962 | Ecurie Filipinetti | Lotus 24 | BRM P56 1.5 V8 | FRA Ret | GBR | ITA DNQ | USA | RSA | NC | 0 | ||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||
| 1964 | Siffert Racing Team | Brabham BT11 | BRM P56 1.5 V8 | NED 13 | BEL Ret | FRA Ret | GBR 11 | GER 4 | AUT Ret | ITA 7 | 10th | 7 | ||||||
| 1964 | Brabham BT11 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | BRM P56 1.5 V8 | USA 3 | MEX Ret | 10th | 7 | |||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||
| 1966 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Cooper T81 | Maserati 9/F1 3.0 V12 | BEL Ret | FRA Ret | GBR NC | NED Ret | GER | ITA Ret | USA 4 | MEX Ret | 14th | 3 | |||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||
| 1968 | Rob Walker /Jack Durlacher Racing Team | Lotus 49 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ESP Ret | MON Ret | BEL 7 | NED Ret | FRA 11 | 7th | 12 | ||||||||
| 1968 | Rob Walker /Jack Durlacher Racing Team | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | Lotus 49B | GBR 1 | GER Ret | ITA Ret | CAN Ret | USA 5 | MEX 6 | 7th | 12 | |||||||
| 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 1 | 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 | ||||||||||||
| 1971 | Yardley Team BRM | BRM P160 | BRM P142 3.0 V12 | ESP Ret | MON Ret | NED 6 | FRA 4 | GBR 9 | GER DSQ | AUT 1 | ITA 9 | CAN 9 | USA 2 | 5th | 19 |
Sources: Wikipedia.com, fandom.com, statsf1.com and historicracing.com
