The 701 was the first Formula One car from March Engineering, then a new constructor based at Bicester in Oxfordshire. March was formed by Max Moseley (later FIA president), Alan Rees, Graham Coaker and Robin Herd (the designer, who moved from McLaren); the March name came from their initials.

March entered the 1970 F1 championship as a works team but also sold the chassis to Ken Tyrrell’s F1 outfit, which included world champion Jackie Stewart. The 701 was one of the first customer chassis in the sport.

The 701’s performance was variable, but this particular car took Jackie Stewart to second place at both the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix. He won the Spanish race at Jarama during the 1970 season driving the sister 701 chassis. Tyrrell was already designing his own car for 1971, so the relationship with March would last only one year.