| 1971 Italian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The close finish of the race, with five drivers crossing the finish line within a second | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 5 September 1971 | ||
| Official name | 42º Gran Premio d'Italia[1] | ||
| Location |
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Monza, Lombardy, Italy | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.750 km (3.573 miles) | ||
| Distance | 55 laps, 316.25 km (196.515 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Matra | ||
| Time | 1:22.4 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Henri Pescarolo | March-Ford | |
| Time | 1:23.8 on lap 9 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | BRM | ||
| Second | March-Ford | ||
| Third | Tyrrell-Ford | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 1971 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 5 September 1971. It was race 9 of 11 in both the 1971 World Championship of Drivers and the 1971 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.[2]
This race featured the closest finish in Formula One history, as Peter Gethin beat Ronnie Peterson by 0.01 seconds.[3] The top five were covered by just 0.61 seconds, with François Cevert finishing third, Mike Hailwood fourth and Howden Ganley fifth. With an average speed of 242.615 km/h (150.754 mph), this race stood as the fastest-ever Formula One race for 32 years, until the 2003 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.[4]
- ^ "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1971". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ "1971 Italian Grand Prix Entry list".
- ^ All-Time F1 Records Times in this race were only measured to the nearest hundredth of a second (0.01 seconds), so the finish may or may not have been closer than that of the 2002 United States Grand Prix, where Rubens Barrichello beat Michael Schumacher by 0.011 seconds.
- ^ Schaefer, Michael; Diepraam, Mattijs (14 September 2003). "Fastest races and laps ever". Autosport. Retrieved 9 January 2016.