| 1973 Swedish Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 17 June 1973 | ||
| Official name | IVHitachi Grand Prix of Sweden | ||
| Location | Scandinavian Raceway,Anderstorp,Sweden | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.018[1] km (2.497 miles) | ||
| Distance | 80 laps, 321.440[1] km (199.734 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:23.810 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Denny Hulme | McLaren-Ford | |
| Time | 1:26.146 on lap 7 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | Tyrrell-Ford | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1973 Grand Prix of Sweden was aFormula One motor race held at theScandinavian Raceway,Anderstorp on 17 June 1973. It was race 7 of 15 in both the1973 World Championship of Drivers and the1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.[2] The 80-lap race was won byMcLaren driverDenny Hulme after he started from sixth position.Ronnie Peterson finished second for theLotus team andTyrrell driverFrançois Cevert came in third.
Ronnie Peterson's success withJohn Player Team Lotus was the catalyst for a Swedish Grand Prix and the race was held for the first time, at World Championship level, at the grandly-named Scandinavian Raceway in 1973.[3][4]
A total of 29F1 cars were entered for this event, however only 22 arrived for the race. The field was smaller than usual as there was no time for teams to repair damaged cars after theMonaco, as they had to be transported 1,200 miles fromMonaco toAnderstorp.[3][5]
A number of drivers were missing from action;Arturo Merzario (Scuderia Ferrari),Chris Amon (Martini Racing Team Tecno),Andrea de Adamich (Ceramica Pagnossin Brabham).,David Purley (LEC Refrigeration Racing March) andJames Hunt (Hesketh Racing March). Meanwhile,Nanni Galli had decided to retire, soFrank Williams Racing Cars entered Danish driver,Tom Belsø, however it became clear that there was no funding available from his sponsors for the race. Swedish driver,Reine Wisell had rented LEC'sMarch 731.[3][6][7]
Ronnie Peterson did not disappoint his fans in qualifying, taking pole in hisLotus 72E fromTyrrell'sFrançois Cevert. Cevert came close to taking pole, but Peterson took it by just 0.089 of a second. The World Championship contenders shared the second row, withJackie Stewart ahead ofEmerson Fittipaldi, whileCarlos Reutemann andDenny Hulme made the third row.[3][8][9]
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |  Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford | 1:23.810 |
| 2 | 6 |  François Cevert | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:23.899 |
| 3 | 5 |  Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:23.912 |
| 4 | 1 |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford | 1:24.084 |
| 5 | 10 |  Carlos Reutemann | Brabham-Ford | 1:24.489 |
| 6 | 7 | Denny Hulme | McLaren-Ford | 1:24.625 |
| 7 | 8 |  Peter Revson | McLaren-Ford | 1:24.937 |
| 8 | 3 |  Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 1:25.604 |
| 9 | 20 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM | 1:25.738 |
| 10 | 23 | Mike Hailwood | Surtees-Ford | 1:25.776 |
| 11 | 25 | Howden Ganley | Iso-Marlboro-Ford | 1:25.800 |
| 12 | 19 |  Clay Regazzoni | BRM | 1:25.995 |
| 13 | 11 | Wilson Fittipaldi | Brabham-Ford | 1:26.127 |
| 14 | 27 | Reine Wisell | March-Ford | 1:26.187 |
| 15 | 21 |  Niki Lauda | BRM | 1:26.211 |
| 16 | 24 | Carlos Pace | Surtees-Ford | 1:26.255 |
| 17 | 17 | Jackie Oliver | Shadow-Ford | 1:26.305 |
| 18 | 12 | Graham Hill | Shadow-Ford | 1:26.382 |
| 19 | 16 | George Follmer | Shadow-Ford | 1:26.632 |
| 20 | 14 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | March-Ford | 1:26.874 |
| 21 | 15 | Mike Beuttler | March-Ford | 1:28.580 |
| 22 | 26 |  Tom Belsø | Iso-Marlboro-Ford | 1:28.972 |
| Source:[10] | ||||
The race was held over 80 laps of theScandinavian Raceway circuit, in front of a crowd of over 50,000 spectators. There was a delayed start caused by theGrand Prix Drivers' Association complaining about photographers in dangerous places around the circuit.[5][3][9]
Emerson Fittipaldi made the best start and grabbed second behind local hero,Ronnie Peterson. TheTyrrell 006 ofFrançois Cevert was third with teammateJackie Stewart behind him.Carlos Reutemann andDenny Hulme completed the top six, although by lap four, theMcLaren of Hulme had moved ahead of theBrabham. The order remained stable until Stewart passed Cevert and began to chase the two JPS Lotuses. By this time, Cevert was having trouble with his tyres and dropped back and was overtaken by Hulme on lap 62. Hulme then started close in on Stewart.[3]
For 70 laps it looked like this was going to be a one-two forJohn Player Team Lotus with Peterson first and reigning World Champion, Fittipaldi second. However disaster struck when Fittipaldi retired with gearbox failure. With just three laps to go, Hulme overtook Stewart, when the Scot suffered a rear brake failure. Hulme quickly closed the gap on the leader, Peterson having major trouble with tyre wear and fighting to stay on the track.[3][4]
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 tyres on hisMcLaren-Cosworth M23 having paid off. Peterson was powerless to defend and eventually finished four seconds adrift in second place, that was as close as any Swede came to winning on home soil. Hulme expressed sadness to "have taken that away from Ronnie." Cevert was a further 10.6 seconds behind Peterson.[3][4]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Denny Hulme | McLaren-Ford | 80 | 1:56:46.049 | 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 | |
| DNS | 27 | Reine Wisell | March-Ford | Suspension | 14 | ||
| DNS | 26 | Tom Belsø | Iso-Marlboro-Ford | Car Raced by Ganley | 22 | ||
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| Previous race: 1973 Monaco Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1973 season | Next race: 1973 French Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1967 Swedish Grand Prix | Swedish Grand Prix | Next race: 1974 Swedish Grand Prix |
