| 1975 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Race details | |||
| Date | 6 July 1975 | ||
| Official name | 61ème Grand Prix de France[1] | ||
| Location | Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, Var, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.809 km (3.610 miles) | ||
| Distance | 54 laps, 313.686 km (194.915 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry and sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:47.82[2] | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Jochen Mass | McLaren-Ford | |
| Time | 1:50.60[3] on lap 38 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Hesketh-Ford | ||
| Third | McLaren-Ford | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1975 French Grand Prix was aFormula Onemotor race held atPaul Ricard on 6 July 1975. It was race 9 of 14 in both the1975 World Championship of Drivers and the1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 53rdFrench Grand Prix and the third to be held at Paul Ricard. The race was held over 54 laps of the 5.8-kilometre (3.6 mi) circuit for a race distance of 313 kilometres (194 mi).
The race was won frompole position by Austrian driverNiki Lauda, driving aFerrari. Lauda led every lap and survived late charges from British driverJames Hunt in theHesketh-Ford and West German driverJochen Mass in theMcLaren-Ford, who finished 1.6 and 2.3 seconds behind respectively. It was Lauda's fourth win of the season, enabling him to extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 22 points overBrabham driverCarlos Reutemann.
Despite suffering from flu,Niki Lauda still tookpole position.Jean-Pierre Jarier brought a smile to French faces by setting Friday's quickest time.Jody Scheckter driving the new lightweightTyrrell 007 set a record through the speed trap of 190 mph.
On the start line,Tom Pryce was left without a clutch and retired shortly afterwards. Lauda led from Scheckter,James Hunt andJochen Mass.Clay Regazzoni had moved up to second before his engine exploded, Scheckter taking over the position before Hunt passed him on lap eight. Lauda and Hunt maintained first and second whilst Scheckter, struggling with handling issues, had to concede to Mass andEmerson Fittipaldi.
Jarier made a superb pass on him and made a brave bid to catch Fittipaldi, but rev-limiter problems caused him to fall back with erratic power.Mario Andretti andPatrick Depailler were performing brilliantly, advancing from eleventh to fifth and 19th to sixth respectively.
Alan Jones was duelling withRonnie Peterson andCarlos Reutemann when he spun into the catch fencing. Reutemann suffered from tyre problems and lost a lap, whilstJohn Watson suffered excess power and took to the escape road.Vittorio Brambilla retired with a damper problem,Wilson Fittipaldi blew his engine, andJacky Ickx,Mark Donohue andCarlos Pace all broke their driveshafts. Mass was in rapid pursuit of Hunt and Lauda – by the last lap he was only 2.4 seconds behind them. However, a superb lapping manoeuvre gave Hunt the space he needed. On the last corner, Lauda slid offline, but held on to win by 1.6 seconds.
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| Previous race: 1975 Dutch Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1975 season | Next race: 1975 British Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1974 French Grand Prix | French Grand Prix | Next race: 1976 French Grand Prix |
