1973 Dutch Grand Prix

1973 Dutch Grand Prix
Race details
Date	29 July 1973
Official name	XX Grand Prix Zandvoort
Location	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.226 km (2.626 [1] miles)
Distance	72 laps, 304.272 km (189.072 miles)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:19.47
Fastest lap
Driver	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:20.31
Podium
First	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford
Second	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford
Third	James Hunt	March-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on 29 July 1973. It was race 10 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Zandvoort returned to the Formula One calendar following a year's absence for extensive safety upgrades to the race track including new asphalt, new barriers and a new race control tower. Jackie Stewart won the race, this Grand Prix being fourth of five wins for Stewart during the 1973 Formula One season, and he became the most successful Formula One driver of all time with his 26th Grand Prix victory, surpassing Jim Clark's record of 25 victories. Stewart's friend and future world champion James Hunt scored his first podium finish.

Driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race; this was the first of two driver fatalities in the 1973 season. François Cevert, who took the podium in second place at this race, would later perish during practice for the 1973 United States Grand Prix.

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	1:19.47	—
2	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	1:19.97	+0.50
3	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	1:20.12	+0.65
4	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	1:20.31	+0.84
5	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	1:20.59	+1.12
6	8	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	1:20.60	+1.13
7	27	James Hunt	March-Ford	1:20.70	+1.23
8	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	1:21.02	+1.55
9	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:21.14	+1.67
10	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	1:21.23	+1.76
11	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:21.43	+1.96
12	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:21.56	+2.09
13	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	1:21.82	+2.35
14	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign-Ford	1:22.01	+2.54
15	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	1:22.10	+2.63
16	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	1:22.24	+2.77
17	12	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	1:22.50	+3.03
18	14	Roger Williamson	March-Ford	1:22.72	+3.25
19	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	1:22.73	+3.26
20	26	Gijs van Lennep	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	1:22.95	+3.48
21	18	David Purley	March-Ford	1:23.09	+3.62
22	16	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	1:24.14	+3.67
23	15	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	1:24.45	+3.98
24	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	1:32.33	+11.86

Race

Death of Roger Williamson

The burned wreckage of Roger Williamson's March 731.

Williamson's fatal accident.

On the eighth lap of the race through the high speed esses near the Tunnel Oost (East Tunnel) right-hand corner, a suspected tyre failure caused Williamson's car to pitch into the barriers at high speed, and be catapulted 300 yards (275 m) across the track, eventually coming to rest upside down against the barriers on the other side. The petrol tank had ignited whilst being scraped along the track, and the car caught fire. Williamson had not been seriously injured by the impact, but was trapped in the car. The race was not stopped and continued with a local yellow at the scene, a fact which would become significant over the next few minutes.

Fellow driver David Purley, who witnessed Williamson's impact, almost immediately pulled his car over on the opposite side of the track, then ran across the live racetrack to assist him. Williamson was heard shouting to Purley to get him out of the car as Purley tried in vain to turn the car upright. There appeared to have been ample time to right the car and pull Williamson out, but as desperately as he tried, Purley was unable to do it by himself, and the marshals, who were not wearing flame retardant overalls, refrained from assisting him due to the intense heat.

Race control assumed that it was Purley's car that had crashed and that the driver had escaped unharmed. Many drivers who saw Purley waving them down to stop later claimed that they assumed Purley to be trying to put a fire out from his own car, having safely exited it, and thus did not know that a second driver had been involved. As a result, the race continued at full pace while Purley desperately tried to save the life of Williamson, unbeknownst to the marshals and the drivers.

There was only a single fire extinguisher in the area, and it was not enough to put out the fire. With the car still burning upside-down, the situation became hopeless, and the distraught Purley was led away by a marshal. As can be seen in the race footage, some spectators breached the safety fences in order to assist Williamson, but were likewise unable to get close to the upturned car due to the heat.

With the race still on, it took some eight minutes for a fire truck to completely travel around the circuit with the flow of race traffic. ^[2] By the time the car was eventually righted, and the fire extinguished, Williamson had died of asphyxiation. A blanket was thrown over the burnt-out wreck with Williamson still inside, and the race carried on. ^[3]

Purley was awarded the George Medal for his brave actions in trying to save his fellow sportsman. Williamson's remains were later cremated and his ashes transferred to an undisclosed location.

In an otherwise uneventful race, Jackie Stewart won his 26th career Grand Prix and broke Jim Clark's 5-year-old record of the most career Grand Prix victories. The starting grid of this race was set up in 3-2-3-2-3 formation, making this Grand Prix the last race with the starting grid having been formed of more than two columns of cars. ^[4]

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	72	1:39:12.45	2	9
2	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	72	+ 15.83	3	6
3	27	James Hunt	March-Ford	72	+ 1:03.01	7	4
4	8	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	72	+ 1:09.13	6	3
5	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	72	+ 1:13.37	9	2
6	26	Gijs van Lennep	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	70	+ 2 laps	20	1
7	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	69	+ 3 laps	8
8	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	68	+ 4 laps	12
9	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro-Ford	68	+ 4 laps	15
10	16	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	67	+ 5 laps	22
11	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	66	Engine	1
NC	12	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	56	+ 16 laps	17
Ret	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	52	Fuel pump	11
Ret	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	52	Electrical	24
Ret	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	31	Engine	4
Ret	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	27	Accident	13
Ret	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	22	Fuel system	19
Ret	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	9	Tyre	5
Ret	18	David Purley	March-Ford	8	Withdrew	21
Ret	14	Roger Williamson	March-Ford	7	Fatal accident	18
Ret	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	2	Physical	16
Ret	15	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	2	Electrical	23
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	1	Accident	10
DNS	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign-Ford	0	Non starter	14
Source: [5]

Notes

• This was Jackie Stewart's 26th Grand Prix win, thereby breaking the record set by Jim Clark at the 1968 South African Grand Prix. Coincidentally, it was also the 100th Grand Prix win for a British driver.
• This was the 10th Grand Prix start for Italian constructor Iso-Marlboro, entered by Frank Williams.
• This was the 5th win of a Dutch Grand Prix by a Ford-powered car, breaking the old record set by Coventry Climax at the 1965 Dutch Grand Prix.
• This was the 75th consecutive time a Ford-powered car had finished in the top #10. This broke the record of the longest streak of top #10-finishes set by Coventry Climax between the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix and the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jackie Stewart 51 2 Emerson Fittipaldi 41 3 François Cevert 39 4 Ronnie Peterson 25 1 5 Peter Revson 23 Source: [6]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 1 Tyrrell-Ford 62 (66) 1 2 Lotus-Ford 58 (62) 3 McLaren-Ford 38 4 Brabham-Ford 12 5 Ferrari 12 Source: [6]

• 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. "1973 Dutch Grand Prix | Motorsport Database".
2. "Lost in the Dunes: The Death of Roger Williamson". vice.com. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
3. "Roger Williamson fire, Zandvort, 29th July 1973". Formula1-dictionary.net. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
4. "1973 Dutch Grand Prix". StatsF1. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
5. "1973 Dutch Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
6. "Netherlands 1973 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

External links

• Admin. "Formula 1 complete – all access F1 – Williamson, Roger". Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.

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