1973 French Grand Prix

1973 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date	1 July 1973
Location	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.809 km (3.610 miles)
Distance	54 laps, 313.686 km (194.915 miles)
Weather	Sunny and warm
Pole position
Driver	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford
Time	1:48.37
Fastest lap
Driver	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford
Time	1:50.99 on lap 52
Podium
First	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford
Second	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford
Third	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1973 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Paul Ricard Circuit on 1 July 1973. It was race 8 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the first victory for two-time World Championship runner-up Ronnie Peterson.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos.	Driver	Constructor	Time	No
1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	1:48.37	1
2	Jody Scheckter	McLaren-Ford	1:49.18	2
3	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	1:49.36	3
4	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	1:49.39	4
5	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	1:49.45	5
6	Denis Hulme	McLaren-Ford	1:49.68	6
7	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March-Ford	1:50.69	7
8	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	1:50.75	8
9	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:50.99	9
10	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	1:51.17	10
11	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	1:51.17	11
12	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:51.44	12
13	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham-Ford	1:51.53	13
14	James Hunt	March-Ford	1:51.63	14
15	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:51.67	15
16	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	1:51.70	16
17	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:51.78	17
18	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	1:51.88	18
19	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	1:52.07	19
20	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	1:52.30	20
21	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	1:52.94	21
22	Reine Wisell	March-Ford	1:53.20	22
23	Henri Pescarolo	Iso-Ford	1:53.56	23
24	Howden Ganley	Iso-Ford	1:53.87	24
25	Rikky von Opel	Ensign-Ford	1:55.55	25

Race

Controversy

This race was notable for a collision involving Jody Scheckter and Emerson Fittipaldi. Scheckter, who was given an opportunity to drive a factory McLaren for this event was leading from the start in just his third Formula One race. On lap 41, Fittipaldi had closed and attempted to pass the South African, but Scheckter closed the door and they made heavy contact, forcing Emerson into retirement. Scheckter continued but retired shortly afterwards with suspension damage. Fittipaldi ran to the McLaren pits, eventually resulting in fierce words between the two drivers. Scheckter claimed years later that Fittipaldi had called him a 'young hooligan' for his role in the incident. Many drivers wanted him banned from the sport, but McLaren instead decided to put him on the sidelines for a number of races.

Results

Meanwhile, after so many promising races turned to nothing, Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson finally celebrated victory for the first time in his career, driving a Lotus. Tyrrell driver François Cevert finished in second place, whilst Carlos Reutemann finished in third place, driving a Brabham, followed by Jackie Stewart's Tyrrell in fourth, Jacky Ickx fifth for Ferrari, and James Hunt scoring his first point of his F1 career driving a Hesketh-owned March.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	54	1:41:36.52	5	9
2	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	54	+ 40.92	4	6
3	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	54	+ 46.48	8	4
4	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	54	+ 46.93	1	3
5	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	54	+ 48.90	12	2
6	27	James Hunt	March-Ford	54	+ 1:22.54	14	1
7	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	54	+ 1:29.19	10
8	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	54	+ 1:29.53	6
9	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	54	+ 1:45.76	17
10	12	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	53	+ 1 Lap	16
11	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	53	+ 1 Lap	15
12	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	53	+ 1 Lap	9
13	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	51	+ 3 Laps	18
14	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	51	+ 3 Laps	24
15	29	Rikky von Opel	Ensign-Ford	51	+ 3 Laps	25
16	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	50	+ 4 Laps	19
Ret	8	Jody Scheckter	McLaren-Ford	43	Collision damage	2
Ret	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	41	Collision	3
Ret	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	29	Oil Leak	11
Ret	9	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham-Ford	28	Halfshaft	13
Ret	15	Reine Wisell	March-Ford	20	Overheating	22
Ret	16	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	16	Fuel system	20
Ret	26	Henri Pescarolo	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	16	Overheating	23
Ret	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March-Ford	7	Halfshaft	7
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	0	Clutch	21
Source:

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Liechtensteiner driver Rikky von Opel. He was the first driver to drive for the microstate.
• This was the 5th fastest lap set by McLaren.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
1	1	Jackie Stewart	42
1	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	41
	3	François Cevert	31
2	4	Ronnie Peterson	19
1	5	Denny Hulme	19
Source:

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
1	1	Lotus-Ford	52 (56)
1	2	Tyrrell-Ford	51 (55)
	3	McLaren-Ford	26
	4	Ferrari	12
	5	Brabham-Ford	11
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 7 results from the first 8 races and the best 6 results from the last 7 races counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.