1973 Swedish Grand Prix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1973 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at the Scandinavian Raceway on June 17, 1973.

Ronnie Peterson's success with Team Lotus was the catalyst for a Swedish Grand Prix and the race was held for the first time in 1973 at the grandly-named Scandinavian Raceway.

Peterson did not disappoint his fans in qualifying, taking pole in his Lotus.

For 70 laps it looked like this was going to be a one-two for Team Lotus with Peterson first and world champion Emerson Fittipaldi second. However disaster struck when Fittipaldi retired with gearbox failure. Meanwhile, Denny Hulme was quickly closing the gap on the lead, Peterson having major trouble with tire wear and fighting to stay on the track.

On the 79th and penultimate lap Hulme was able to pass the local hero to snatch victory, the New Zealander's decision to run harder tires on his McLaren-Ford having paid off. Peterson was second. That was as close as any Swede came to winning on home soil.

It is worth noting that during the 1973 season, the Cosworth DFV engine powered to victory in every single race in the 15 race season, a performance that has never been repeated.

[edit] Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	80	1:56:46.0	6	9
2	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	80	4.039	1	6
3	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	80	14.667	2	4
4	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	80	18.068	5	3
5	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	80	25.998	3	2
6	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	79	+ 1 Lap	8	1
7	8	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	79	+ 1 Lap	7
8	15	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	78	+ 2 Laps	21
9	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	77	+ 3 Laps	12
10	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	77	+ 3 Laps	16
11	25	Howden Ganley	Iso Marlboro-Ford	77	+ 3 Laps	11
12	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	76	Gearbox	4
13	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	75	+ 5 Laps	15
14	16	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	74	+ 6 Laps	19
Ret	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	57	Engine	9
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	50	Suspension	17
Ret	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	41	Tyre	10
Ret	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March-Ford	38	Throttle	20
Ret	12	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	16	Ignition	18
Ret	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	0	Accident	12
Ret	27	Reine Wisell	March-Ford	0	Suspension	14

[edit] Notes

• Fastest lap: Denny Hulme - 1:26.146

[edit] References

• The Official Formula 1 website. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.

Previous race: 1973 Monaco Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1973 season	Next race: 1973 French Grand Prix
Previous race: None	Swedish Grand Prix	Next race: 1974 Swedish Grand Prix