1973 Canadian Grand Prix

1973 Canadian Grand Prix
Race details
Date	23 September 1973
Official name	XIII Labatt's Canadian Grand Prix
Location	Mosport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	3.957 km (2.459 miles)
Distance	80 laps, 316.56 km (196.72 miles)
Weather	Mild with temperatures approaching 22.2 °C (72.0 °F); wind speeds up to 11.8 kilometres per hour (7.3 mph) [1]
Pole position
Driver	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:13.697
Fastest lap
Driver	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:15.496
Podium
First	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford
Second	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford
Third	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1973 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on 23 September 1973. It was race 14 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. ^[2]

The 80-lap race was won by Peter Revson, driving a McLaren M23, after starting from second on the grid. This turned out to be Revson's last victory and podium finish in Formula One. As of the conclusion of the 2024 Formula One World Championship ^[update] , this is the last Grand Prix to be won by a driver born in the USA. Emerson Fittipaldi took second position for Team Lotus, while Jackie Oliver took third in a Shadow, his first podium in five years and his last of all.

This was also the 99th and last race start of triple world champion Jackie Stewart.

Qualifying classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus–Ford	1:13.697
2	8	Peter Revson	McLaren–Ford	+1.040
3	0	Jody Scheckter	McLaren–Ford	+1.061
4	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham–Ford	+1.116
5	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus–Ford	+1.338
6	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.421
7	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren–Ford	+1.622
8	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	+1.703
9	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.944
10	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham–Ford	+2.415
11	29	Chris Amon	Tyrrell–Ford	+2.531
12	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees–Ford	+2.593
13	16	George Follmer	Shadow–Ford	+2.661
14	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow–Ford	+2.739
15	27	James Hunt	March–Ford	+2.807
16	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	+2.926
17	12	Graham Hill	Shadow–Ford	+3.043
18	9	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham–Ford	+3.149
19	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees–Ford	+3.331
20	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	+3.653
21	15	Mike Beuttler	March–Ford	+3.686
22	25	Howden Ganley	Williams–Ford	+3.882
23	18	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March–Ford	+4.024
24	26	Tim Schenken	Williams–Ford	+4.705
25	19	Peter Gethin	BRM	+4.801
26	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign–Ford	+4.985
Source: [3]

Race report

This was the first Grand Prix to feature a car with the number 0, the car in question being the McLaren of Jody Scheckter. ^[4]

The race start was delayed from 2:30pm to 3:00pm and began in very wet conditions, which caused a number of incidents later in the race. François Cevert and Scheckter collided on the 32nd lap, resulting in the deployment of a safety car for the first time in Formula One history ^[5] (although it would not be until twenty years later, in 1993, when these cars were given an official role). The car in question was a yellow Porsche 914 ^[6] driven by former F1 privateer Eppie Wietzes. Wietzes stayed in front of Howden Ganley's Iso-Marlboro because of race control's mistake, which allowed several drivers, including eventual winner Peter Revson, to gain a lap on the field. ^{[7] [6]}

Pit stops at the time were unusual. Formula One had only recently switched to slick tyres but the drying conditions necessitated stops mid-race. The small pit lane at Mosport became busy, with a number of drivers heading into the pit lane only to have to drive through as there was no room for them to be serviced. ^[8] Ganley realised the problem and waited until team-mate Tim Schenken had made his stop, making him one of the last to stop. ^[8] The pit stops caused significant confusion, with some believing the leader to be Ganley and others, including Team Lotus manager Colin Chapman, believing it to be Emerson Fittipaldi. Chapman even went as far as to perform his traditional victory celebration of tossing his cap in the air at the end of what he believed to be the 80th lap, even though Fittipaldi was not shown the checkered flag. After a long pause, the starter waved the flag over a group of cars consisting of Ganley, Mike Hailwood, Peter Revson and James Hunt. Despite seeing the flag first, Ganley did not believe he had won the race, despite lap charts kept by the team showing him leading. ^[8] The officials then announced Revson as the winner after a long confusion which included protests from Ganley's then girlfriend (later wife) who had been keeping the team's lap chart. Ganley maintains he feels he either won the race or finished third, citing the fact official lap charts have him pitting when he did not. ^[8]

Race classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	80	1:59:04.083	2	9
2	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	80	+32.734	5	6
3	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	80	+34.505	14	4
4	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	80	+36.514	16	3
5	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	79	+1 lap	9	2
6	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	79	+1 lap	22	1
7	27	James Hunt	March-Ford	78	+2 laps	15
8	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	78	+2 laps	4
9	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	78	+2 laps	12
10	29	Chris Amon	Tyrrell-Ford	77	+3 laps	11
11	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	77	+3 laps	10
12	9	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham-Ford	76	+4 laps	18
13	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	75	+5 laps	7
14	26	Tim Schenken	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	75	+5 laps	24
15	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	75	+5 laps	20
16	12	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	73	+7 laps	17
17	16	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	73	+7 laps	13
18	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	72	+8 laps	19
NC	18	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March-Ford	71	+9 laps	23
NC	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign-Ford	68	+12 laps	26
Ret	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	62	Transmission	8
Ret	0	Jody Scheckter	McLaren-Ford	32	Collision	3
Ret	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	32	Collision	6
Ret	15	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	20	Engine	21
Ret	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	16	Suspension	1
Ret	19	Peter Gethin	BRM	5	Oil pump	25
Source: [9]

Notes

• This was the 50th Grand Prix start for British constructor March.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jackie Stewart 71 2 Emerson Fittipaldi 54 3 François Cevert 47 4 Ronnie Peterson 43 5 Peter Revson 36 Source: [10]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 1 Lotus-Ford 83 (87) 1 2 Tyrrell-Ford 82 (86) 3 McLaren-Ford 55 4 Brabham-Ford 18 5 Ferrari 12 Source: [10]

• 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

1. "Weather information for the "1973 Canadian Grand Prix"". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
2. "1973 Canadian Grand Prix Entry list".
3. "Formula One 1973 Canadian Grand Prix Classification | Motorsport Stats".
4. "Car 0". ChicaneF1.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
5. Lang, Mike (1982). Grand Prix! Vol 2. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 244. ISBN   0-85429-321-3.
6. Singh, Ashish (7 February 2012). "First ever Safety Car in Formula 1 : Rewind to 1973". aaFormula1.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
7. "Eppie Wietzes biography". F1 Rejects. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012.
8. Jones, Iwan (May 2015). "The Great Grand Prix Robbery". Velocity Magazine (Issue 8). pp. 34–41. Archived from the original on 18 May 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
9. "1973 Canadian Grand Prix". Formula One. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
10. "Canada 1973 – Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 14 March 2019.

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