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| Scandinavian Raceway | |
 | |
| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Number of times held | 14 |
| First held | 1933 |
| Last held | 1978 |
| Most wins (drivers) |  Jody Scheckter (2)  Niki Lauda (2) |
| Most wins (constructors) |  Tyrrell (2) |
| Circuit length | 4.031 km |
| Race length | 282.170 km |
| Laps | 70 |
| Last race (1978) | |
| Pole position | |
| |
| Podium | |
| |
| Fastest lap | |
| |
TheSwedish Grand Prix (Swedish:Sveriges Grand Prix) was a round of theFormula One World Championship from 1973 to 1978. It took place at theScandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp (Gislaved Municipality), about 65 kilometres (40 mi) fromJönköping, inSmåland,Sweden. The first race to hold the title of Grand Prix in Sweden was theSwedish Winter Grand Prix, an ice race similar to races held inEstonia,Finland andNorway. The firstSwedish Summer Grand Prix was held in1933, but was not repeated until 1949.
The first races with the title Swedish Grand Prix were threesports car races held atRåbelövsbanan starting in 1955. AFormula Two race held in 1967 also carried the title.
While racing in Sweden had a long history it was not until 1931 that a race was first titled Grand Prix. The firstSwedish Winter Grand Prix was held on a mammoth 46 kilometre circuit nearLake Rämen about 2 hours northwest ofStockholm in the snow and freezing cold with a lap time of approximately 35 minutes.[1] In 1933 the first Swedish Summer Grand Prix was held on another huge 30 kilometre circuit made of public roads atNorra Vram, not far north fromMalmö, a race which can be better compared to modern Grands Prix. The opening lap saw a multi-car pile-up which saw several drivers injured, two seriously, and a riding mechanic was killed. One of the crashed cars started a fire which saw a nearby house burned to the ground.[2] The race continued while emergency services attended the scene and the race was eventually won byAntonio Brivio in anAlfa Romeo (forScuderia Ferrari). Major racing came to a halt after that.[3]
The first postwarGrand Prix (a sports car event) was held in August 1955, only a few months after theLe Mans tragedy.[4] 75,000 spectators surrounded the 6.537 km (4.062 mi)-longRåbelövsbanan circuit, located nearKristianstad.[5] It was the debut of theMercedes 300SLR (entered forJuan Manuel Fangio andStirling Moss).[5] Other entrants includedPeter Collins andRoy Salvadori (the worksAston MartinDB3Ss),Eugenio Castellotti (the sole worksFerrari 735 LM), and the worksMaserati 300S ofJean Behra.[5]
Unusually, the race used aLe Mans start.[5] It proved to be "a dull procession",[5] with Moss leading lap one, while Fangio took command on lap two and held the lead for the next 31 laps to the checkered flag.[5] Only Fangio, Moss, Castellotti (who came third), and Behra finished.[5]
After the track was resurfaced and widened, following it being named an event on theWorld Sportscar Championship calendar, in 1956,[5] another event was held. It drew a larger field, including works Ferrari and Maserati teams andEcurie Ecosse's Le Mans-winningD-types, and ran 153 laps.[6]
Collins took an early lead in theFerrari 290 MM, pursued by Moss' 300S andMike Hawthorn'sFerrari 860 Monza. At the firstpit stop, Moss came out first. Behra (sharing Moss' 300S) suffered brake trouble andOlivier Gendebien (in Collins' Ferrari) had an oil leak.[5] The oil led to a wreck involving Gendebien's teammates Collins (taking over forWolfgang von Trips) andPhil Hill (in the car started byMaurice Trintignant).[5] This put the Ferrari shared between Castellotti and Fangio well ahead.[5] Moss took over the Maserati ofLuigi Villoresi andHarry Schell,[7] only for it to have trouble with its brakes, as well.[6] The car Moss started caught fire in a pit stop debacle.[6] Castellotti's engine blew in the lead, giving the Trintignant/Hill 250MM the win, followed home by von Trips/Collins in the second 250MM, and Hawthorne/Alfonso de Portago/Duncan Hamilton in an 860 Monza.[6]
The last sports carGrand Prix at Råbelövsbanan was in 1957, a six-hour World Sportscar Championship race, rather than 1,000 km (620 mi). It was dominated by theMaserati 450S shared by Moss and Behra, which "romped home"[6] in front of theFerrari 335 S of Hill and Collins. In addition, Moss co-drove the 300S ofJo Bonnier/Giorgio Scarlatti/Harry Schell, which came third.[6] Hawthorne andLuigi Musso placed fourth in a 335 S.[6]
In 1967, the name Swedish Grand Prix was, as a one-off name, given to that year'sKanonloppet in Karlskoga. It was run to Formula Two rules and was won byJackie Stewart.[8]
Ronnie Peterson's success withTeam Lotus was the catalyst for a Swedish Grand Prix and the race was held for the first time in 1973 at the grandly-named Scandinavian Raceway, about two hours east ofGothenburg in the middle of southern Sweden- this circuit, much likeWatkins Glen in the easternUnited States, was very isolated and people often either camped out or stayed in local people's homes, which were few and far between in the nearmost town ofAnderstorp, a town with a population of less than 5,000; the larger town of Gislaved not providing much more accommodation. Peterson did not disappoint his fans in qualifying, taking pole in his Lotus. For 70 laps it looked like this was going to be a one-two for Team Lotus with Peterson first and world championEmerson Fittipaldi second. However disaster struck when Fittipaldi retired with gearbox failure. Meanwhile,Denny Hulme was quickly closing the gap on the lead, Peterson having major trouble with tire wear and fighting to stay on the track. On the 79th, penultimate, lap Hulme was able to pass the local hero to snatch victory, the New Zealander's decision to run harder tires on hisMcLaren-Cosworth having paid off. Peterson was second. That was as close as any Swede came to winning on home soil. During the 1973 season, theCosworth DFV powered the winner in every single race in the 15-race season, a performance never repeated.
In 1974, the Swedish Grand Prix was totally dominated by the twoTyrrell 007-Cosworths ofJody Scheckter andPatrick Depailler. It was the Frenchman who took pole, however Scheckter beat him by 0.380 sec in the race. This was the South African's first Grand Prix win.
In 1975, AustrianNiki Lauda's second year with Ferrari, the team provided him with the312T – a car that was technically far superior to any of the competition.[citation needed] He won his first world title that year with 5 wins and a huge margin over second place[who?] in the championship. At Anderstorp he took his third consecutive win of the season after theMonaco andBelgian Grands Prix. Qualifying resulted in pole position forVittorio Brambilla in hisMarch, Lauda qualified fifth fastest and his teammateClay Regazzoni 11th. In the race Brambilla took the lead, but by lap 16 he was overtaken byCarlos Reutemann'sBrabham. Meanwhile, Lauda was steadily progressing through the field and on lap 42 he was second. He put a series of fastest laps, closed on Reutemann and overtook him to win the Grand Prix by 6 seconds. Reutemann finished second with Regazzoni in the second Ferrari 312T third. The 1976 Swedish GP saw the first (and only) win of a 6-wheel car – theTyrrell P34. The theory was that its four tiny front wheels would increase mechanical front-end grip – with more rubber on the road – and thus eliminateundersteer while at the same time improve cornering and braking. When it was revealed it was the instant sensation of the 1976 season. The car was a photo opportunity on wheels – six of them, which was precisely why – and must have givenElf more free publicity in the 1976 pre-season and beyond than it garnered during the whole of 1974 and 1975. Tyrrell'sJody Scheckter took pole, withPatrick Depailler in fourth. In the race the Tyrrells strode imperiously to a crushing one-two. The South African, who when later probed confided that he thought the six-wheeled concept ridiculous, was beaming on the podium. However the Swedish walkover proved to be a fluke, and the P34 never won a race again. At Anderstorp,Jacques Laffite in hisGitanes sponsoredLigier-Matra put in a commanding display, romping to victory in the 1977 Swedish GP.France had been put back on the map: that was the first time that a French car with a French engine, backed by a French company, and driven by a French driver had won a Grand Prix.
The 1978 Swedish GP saw the only appearance in Formula One of theBrabham BT46B. Designed byBrabham'sGordon Murray, who was trying to eclipseColin Chapman's ground effect invention on theLotus 79, the car featured a large fan pulling air from under the bottom of the car to create additional downforce. Its legality was soon protested, but it was allowed to race,Niki Lauda andJohn Watson qualifying 2nd and 3rd behind the Lotus 79 ofMario Andretti. Andretti eventually dropped out due to a broken valve, allowing Lauda into the lead. Once a back-marker dropped oil onto the track, the Brabham was in a race of its own, seemingly unaffected by the slippery surface. Lauda went on to win by 34.6 seconds. The "fan car" was later voluntarily withdrawn by Brabham, and never raced again. The car had, however, been deemed legal, allowing the win to stand, which also costArrows their chance of victory in their debut season.
There has been no Swedish Grand Prix since 1978. The deaths of bothRonnie Peterson andGunnar Nilsson that year contributed to the demise of this round of the world championship, as interest for Formula One in Sweden fell as a result. The race was scheduled for the 1979 season, but was cancelled before being run, due to lack of local sponsorships.
The races before 1956 were formally called the Swedish Summer Grand Prix.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
| Wins | Driver | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jody Scheckter | 1974,1976 |
| Niki Lauda | 1975,1978 | |
| Source:[9] | ||
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
Teams inbold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
| Wins | Constructor | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 2 |  Maserati | 1949,1957 |
| Ferrari | 1956,1975 | |
| Tyrrell | 1974,1976 | |
| Sources:[9][10] | ||
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
Manufacturers inbold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
| Wins | Manufacturer | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 3 |  Ford * | 1973,1974,1976 |
| 2 | Maserati | 1949,1957 |
| Ferrari | 1956,1975 | |
| Alfa Romeo | 1933,1978 | |
| Sources:[9][10] | ||
* Built byCosworth
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
