Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, on 7 July 1936. His father was a dairy owner. Aged 12, Siffert attended the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix at the Bremgarten circuit, an event that sparked his desire to become a racing driver. 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, driving a Lotus-Climax. He later moved to the Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti. In 1964, he joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix, which were non-Championship Formula One races, both times beating Jim Clark by a narrow margin.
In 1968, Siffert achieved a significant victory at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, driving Rob Walker Racing Team's Lotus 49B and beating Chris Amon's Ferrari. This win is regarded as the last Grand Prix victory by a genuine privateer.
While Siffert's status in Formula One grew slowly, he gained considerable fame 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.
Siffert's driving displays in the Porsche 917 earned him several major wins in Europe. He was also chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development program, driving a Porsche 917PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite limited entries. In 1970, Siffert 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 Formula One car, as the German company did not want to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in Formula One proved disastrous, leading him to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at BRM the following season.
In 1971, as a BRM team driver, Siffert scored his second Formula One Championship race victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, held at the Österreichring.
Siffert was killed on 24 October 1971, at the non-championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch, Kent, England, the same circuit where he had secured his first Formula One victory in 1968. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in an early lap 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, and Siffert could not free himself from the burning vehicle.
A subsequent investigation by the Royal Automobile Club discovered that Siffert had only suffered a leg fracture in the initial crash. However, because three fire extinguishers failed to work properly, no rescuers could reach Siffert for five minutes, and he died of smoke inhalation. A fire marshal stated that if the fire extinguishers had worked correctly, rescuers could have reached Siffert within 20 seconds.
This accident led to a rapid overhaul of safety measures, both in-car and on circuit. On-board fire extinguishers using BCF (bromochlorodifluoromethane) became mandatory, as did piped air systems for drivers, directed into their helmets.
Siffert's funeral in Switzerland was attended by 50,000 people. 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," commemorating his 1968 British Grand Prix victory.
Siffert won two Formula One World Championship races and achieved numerous victories in sports car racing. His career included participation in Formula One from 1962 to 1971.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | Races | Wins | Podiums | Points | Position | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1962 | Private Entry | Lotus 24 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | | 1963 | Private Entry | Lotus 24 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | | 1964 | Scuderia Filipinetti | Lotus 24 | BRM P56 1.5 V8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | | | Rob Walker Racing Team | Brabham BT3 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | | 1965 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Brabham BT11 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | | 1966 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Brabham BT11 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | | 1967 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Cooper T81 | Maserati 10/F1 3.0 V12 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | | 1968 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lotus 49B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 9 | | 1969 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lotus 49B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | | 1970 | March Engineering | March 701 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 | | 1971 | BRM | BRM P160 | BRM P142 3.0 V12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | Races | Wins | Podiums | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1964 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lotus 25 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | | Lotus 24 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 1965 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Brabham BT11 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | | 1966 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Brabham BT11 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 1967 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Cooper T81 | Maserati 10/F1 3.0 V12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | | 1968 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lotus 49B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | | 1969 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lotus 49B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 1971 | BRM | BRM P160 | BRM P142 3.0 V12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Team | Car | Class | Position | Class Position | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1964 | Scuderia Filipinetti | Lotus 19 | P +3.0 | DNF | - | | 1965 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Cobra Daytona | GT +3.0 | DNF | - | | 1966 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lola T70-Aston Martin | P +3.0 | DNF | - | | 1967 | Rob Walker Racing Team | Lola T70-Aston Martin | P +3.0 | DNF | - | | 1968 | Porsche System Engineering | Porsche 907 | P 2.0 | 4 | 1 | | 1969 | Porsche System Engineering | Porsche 917K | P +5.0 | DNF | - | | 1970 | J.W. Automotive Engineering | Porsche 917K | P +5.0 | DNF | - |
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | Races | Wins | Podiums | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1967 | Private Entry | Lotus 41 | Cosworth FVA 1.6 L4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 1968 | Scuderia Filipinetti | Brabham BT23 | Ford FVA 1.6 L4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 1969 | Private Entry | Lotus 59 | Ford FVA 1.6 L4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Team | Car | Class | Wins | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1968 | Porsche System Engineering | Porsche 907 | P 2.0 | 2 | | 1969 | Porsche System Engineering | Porsche 917K | P +5.0 | 3 | | 1970 | J.W. Automotive Engineering | Porsche 917K | P +5.0 | 2 | | 1971 | J.W. Automotive Engineering | Porsche 917K | P +5.0 | 1 |
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
Gallery · 4 related images
