The 1970 Grand Prix season nearly came to an end for Jacky Ickx when his Ferrari was struck by Jackie Olivers BRM in the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix, only the second race on the calendar. Though both cars were destroyed, the drivers escaped serious injury. Ickx suffered burns that would cause him irritation for much of the 1970 Formula 1 season.
Two races later, at the Grand Prix of Belgium, Ickx qualified his 312B in fourth place. For the event, Ferrari added special stripes to the Ferraris: yellow for Ickx and green for his teammate, Ignazio Giunti; in the 1971 season Mario Andretti would appear in Monaco with blue stripes on his Ferrari 312B. At the start he maintained his fourth place position and held it for much of the race. A cockpit fuel leak eventually caused him to enter the pits to change his petrol-soaked driving suit! The gasoline on his skin continued to cause irritation, but the gritty Belgian bravely resumed the race to finish in eighth place.
