| 1975 Austrian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 17 August 1975 | ||
| Official name | XIIIMemphisGroßer Preis von Österreich | ||
| Location | Spielberg,Austria | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.911 km (3.673 miles) | ||
| Distance | 29 laps, 171.419 km (106.517 miles) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 54 laps, 319.914 km (198.342 miles) | ||
| Weather | Heavy rain | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:34.85[1] | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Vittorio Brambilla | March-Ford | |
| Time | 1:53.90[2] | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | March-Ford | ||
| Second | Hesketh-Ford | ||
| Third | Shadow-Ford | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1975 Austrian Grand Prix was aFormula Onemotor race held atÖsterreichring on 17 August 1975. It was race 12 of 14 in both the1975 World Championship of Drivers and the1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.[4] It was the eighthAustrian Grand Prix and the sixth to be held at the Österreichring. It was held over 29 of the scheduled 54 laps of the six kilometre circuit for a race distance of 171 kilometres. The race was shortened by heavy rain, meaning that only half points were awarded. The weekend itself was marred by the deaths ofMark Donohue and a track marshal in a practice crash.
Mastering the wet weather, the race was won by Italian driverVittorio Brambilla driving aMarch 751. It was Brambilla's only Formula One win in his seven-year Grand Prix career. He took a 27-second win over British driverJames Hunt in hisHesketh 308. Eight seconds further back was theShadow DN5 of British driverTom Pryce in the first of just two podiums in his abbreviated career.
Niki Lauda delighted his home crowd by claiming his seventh pole position of the year.Rolf Stommelen returned after his crash in Spain but could only muster 26th position for qualifying.Chris Amon had returned forEnsign but only being able to qualify in 24th.Brett Lunger qualified well in his début forHesketh to start 17th.
Practice was marred by a series of accidents,Brian Henton crashing hisLotus when he hit an oil patch andWilson Fittipaldi breaking two bones in his hand. During the warm-up on Sunday morning,Mark Donohue had a tyre failure and crashed at Vöest-Hügel, the flat-out right hander after the pits. The car went through catch fencing and advertising billboards lining the track.[5] Onetrack marshal was killed and another marshal was injured. Donohue was injured but suffered abrain hemorrhage after the accident and died two days later.[5][6]
As the grid formed up, there were reports of rain at the far side of the track. Thunderclouds were forming ominously and the cars were returned to the pits to change to wet tyres.
After 45 minutes, the grid reformed. Lauda led off the start fromJames Hunt andPatrick Depailler who had shot up from the fourth row.Mario Andretti spun off, whilstBob Evans retired the BRM.
Vittorio Brambilla had shot through the spray to gain a third place, withRonnie Peterson leaping from tenth to fourth.
By lap 12, it was obvious that Lauda's car was not set up fully to cope with wet conditions and by lap 15 Hunt stormed by to lead for the fifth time this season. However, this was to be short-lived. The Hesketh's engine was running on only seven cylinders and Brambilla was clambering all over the back of the car. Ahead of them Lunger was driving carefully in his first wet race and could not see the leaders approaching him. Brambilla seized the lead and it took a further two laps for Hunt to finally pass his teammate. Peterson had to pit to replace a faulty visor, whilst theBrabham drivers found they had been racing with one of their own rear tyres and one of their teammates'.Jochen Mass spun out of third place, and soon there was frantic activity between theGrand Prix Drivers' Association and the race officials as to whether the race should continue – it was brought to a halt on lap 29.
As Brambilla took the flag, he crashed into the barriers and theMarch team celebrated a historic victory. However, behind the scenes, there was confusion. Some teams were preparing for a restart, but as the race had already been stopped with the chequered flag, it could not happen anymore. The race results would stand, but with only half points awarded. Brambilla, the oldest man in the field at 37, had won his first and only Grand Prix.
This was the first of only two races whereShadow used aMatra engine instead of theCosworth DFV inJean-Pierre Jarier'sShadow DN7.[7]
With neitherCarlos Reutemann norEmerson Fittipaldi featuring in the points,Niki Lauda's sixth position actually allowed him to expand his points lead to 17.5 points. If Lauda scored any points at all at theItalian Grand Prix the Austrian driver could claim the championship.
*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous race: 1975 German Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1975 season | Next race: 1975 Italian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1974 Austrian Grand Prix | Austrian Grand Prix | Next race: 1976 Austrian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1974 German Grand Prix | European Grand Prix (Designated European Grand Prix) | Next race: 1976 Dutch Grand Prix |
