The 1973 French Grand Prix was a
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor race held at the
Paul Ricard Circuit
The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, Le Castellet, Var (department), Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of buil ...
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
Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Superswede", Peterson twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in an ...
.
Qualifying
Qualifying classification
Race
Controversy
This race was notable for a collision involving
Jody Scheckter
Jody David Scheckter (; born 29 January 1950) is a South African former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Scheckter won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and remains the only Afric ...
and
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fittipaldi won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Team ...
. 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
Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Superswede", Peterson twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in an ...
finally celebrated victory for the first time in his career, driving a
Lotus.
Tyrrell driver
François Cevert
Albert François Cevert (; 25 February 1944 – 6 October 1973) was a French racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Cevert won the 1971 United States Grand Prix with Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell.
Cevert competed in Formula One for Tec ...
finished in second place, whilst
Carlos Reutemann
Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver and politician, who competed in Formula One from to and served as the Governor of Santa Fe from 1999 to 2003. Reutemann was runner-up in the Form ...
finished in third place, driving a
Brabham
Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
, followed by
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...
's Tyrrell in fourth,
Jacky Ickx
Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henri "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ickx twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in and , and won eig ...
fifth for Ferrari, and
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) was a British racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Shunt", Hunt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and wo ...
scoring his first point of his F1 career driving a Hesketh-owned March.
Classification
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
A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates ...
.
* This was the 5th fastest lap set by
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
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.
References
{{F1GP 70-79
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix (), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest ...
1973 in French motorsport
1973 controversies
July 1973 sports events in Europe
French Grand Prix