1974 United States Grand Prix

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1974 United States Grand Prix
Watkins Glen International Track Map-1970-1980.svg
Race details
DateOctober 6, 1974
Official name XVII United States Grand Prix
Location Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course
Watkins Glen, New York
Course Permanent road course
Course length 5.435 km (3.377 miles)
Distance 59 laps, 320.67 km (199.24 miles)
Weather Clear, warm
Pole position
Driver Brabham-Ford
Time 1:38.978
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace Brabham-Ford
Time 1:40.608 on lap 54
Podium
First Brabham-Ford
Second Brabham-Ford
Third Hesketh-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1974 United States Grand Prix

The 1974 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 6, 1974, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 15 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. [1]

Contents

Carlos Reutemann won from the pole, ahead of Brabham teammate Carlos Pace, while Emerson Fittipaldi's fourth place clinched his second World Championship in three years and the first for Team McLaren. American Mario Andretti, after qualifying in an excellent third position, was disqualified when the engine in his Parnelli stalled on the grid and his crew push started him.

This was the last race for the 1967 world champion Denny Hulme, who scored 8 wins and 33 podiums in 112 starts. The race also saw the death of Austrian driver Helmut Koinigg, who was driving in only his second Grand Prix.

The weekend was infamous for the burning of a Greyhound bus in an area known as "the bog," which led to the closing of the notorious party area in years to come. [2]

Race summary

Fittipaldi of McLaren and Ferrari's Clay Regazzoni came to the final race of the season even in the Driver's Championship standings with 52 points; Tyrrell's Jody Scheckter, with 45 points, also held an outside chance of overtaking them both. Knowing that tactics could play an important role in the race, McLaren had the two-way radios from their USAC team fitted in the F1 cars at Watkins Glen.

Early in the year, Peter Revson, one of only five American drivers to win a Grand Prix, had died in a testing crash, but the American crowd had countrymen Mario Andretti and Mark Donohue at The Glen to carry the star-spangled banner, and they were both driving American-built cars for American teams.

Andretti gave the home crowd a charge when he was fastest on Friday in the British-designed, California-built Vel's Parnelli Jones car, just two weeks after its Canadian debut. His time of 1:39.209 still had him on the provisional pole halfway through Saturday's session, when a rear brake failure put him off and damaged the nose and steering. By the time Andretti returned to the track, with ten minutes left in the session, Reutemann and James Hunt had pipped him and he would start third.

Donohue, in the second race for the Penske First National City Travelers Checks Special, made less of a splash, as his lack of experience with the car made setup difficult. He and Penske were both pleased, however, with his 14th position in final qualifying.

Scheckter was the top qualifying championship contender, in sixth, with Fittipaldi directly behind him in eighth and Regazzoni in ninth. Sunday was a glorious day, clear and warm. On the parade lap, Andretti developed an ignition fault, and the start was delayed 25 minutes while the crew scrambled to solve the problem. Finally, Mario took his place on the grid, but when starter Tex Hopkins dropped the green flag, the Parnelli car sat still, and the field had to scramble to avoid him. His crew eventually got the car push started two laps late, but Andretti was black-flagged for getting assistance on the course.

Race start through lap 9

From the start, Reutemann led Hunt, Pace, Niki Lauda, Scheckter, Fittipaldi and Regazzoni. Gradually, the gap between Reutemann and Hunt widened, and by the end of the third lap, it was clear that all was not right with Regazzoni, as a train was forming behind the Ferrari. Lauda, in fourth and just ahead of Scheckter and Fittipaldi, began to do his part in the Championship battle by holding them up for his teammate, the struggling Regazzoni, whose front end was heaving and wallowing with a defective damper.

Lap 10 fatal accident

On lap 10, the Surtees of Austrian Helmut Koinigg, in just his second Grand Prix, went off in the hairpin turn 7 where Regazzoni, Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Andretti had crashed in practice. Koinigg's car suffered a suspension failure pitching it head-on into the Armco barrier, as in François Cevert's fatal crash at The Glen one year earlier. The speed at which Koinigg crashed was relatively minor, and he ought to have escaped the scene uninjured. However, as with a number of other circuits at that time, the Armco was insecurely installed and the bottom portion of it buckled as the vehicle struck it. The car passed underneath the top portion, which remained intact, leaving the young driver with no chance as it decapitated Koinigg, killing him instantly.

Lap 15 through finish

On lap 15, Regazzoni pitted in desperation, but a tire change didn't improve his car. The Ferrari pit now told Lauda to go on, and he quickly pulled 2.5 seconds clear of Scheckter. Fittipaldi made half-hearted attempts to outbrake the Tyrrell, but, with Regazzoni out of the picture, he knew that if he could stay close, the Championship would be his.

Beginning on lap 24, a faulty shock absorber slowed Lauda, and he was caught by the group of cars he had left behind. Regazzoni pitted again, as the crew adjusted the rear anti-roll bar, but the Ferrari challenge was crumbling. When Lauda came in on lap 38, the crew discovered the offending shock absorber; when the Austrian also learned of his countryman's death, he gave up the chase.

Insistent on fighting to the end, Scheckter continued to hold fourth, ahead of Fittipaldi, throwing the Tyrrell around in opposite lock slides, as the McLaren clung to his gearbox. On the 44th lap, Scheckter's engine suddenly lost fuel pressure when a feed pipe broke. He coasted to a stop as Fittipaldi slashed by, knowing that a second World Championship in three years was his.

After the race, Scheckter admitted that he knew he was holding Fittipaldi up. "But I didn't think he should pass, although he was being pushed from behind by Arturo Merzario. He tried three times to outbrake me, but I wouldn't let him get away with it." With Scheckter out, McLaren also clinched its first Constructors' Championship, ten years after Bruce McLaren and Teddy Mayer had founded the team.

At the front, Reutemann was in no trouble. Hunt, however, was struggling with fading brakes, and Pace, in third with the second works Brabham, was ready to pounce. When he saw his opportunity, he set the race's fastest lap just five laps from the finish, and on the next lap, he took second place from the ailing Hesketh of Hunt, completing a 1–2 for Brabham.

The red and white uniforms of the McLaren crew mobbed the circuit to honor their World Champion, the Brabham team celebrated their victors, and the crowd – especially the Brazilians among them – poured over the fences and jammed the pit area. The win was the 78th for the Cosworth Ford engine in Formula One, but for the second year in a row at the Glen, it was tragically flawed by the death of a promising young driver. It was also the last US driving appearance of two-time World Champion and three-time USGP winner Graham Hill, who finished eighth in his own Embassy Hill Lola.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGapGrid
17 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 1:38.9781
224 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt Hesketh-Ford 1:38.995+0.0172
355 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Parnelli-Ford 1:39.209+0.2313
48 Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace Brabham-Ford 1:39.284+0.3064
512 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Ferrari 1:39.327+0.3495
63 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 1:39.478+0.5006
728 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Brabham-Ford 1:39.527+0.5497
85 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford 1:39.538+0.5608
911 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:39.600+0.6229
1017 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford 1:40.317+1.33910
1121 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Iso-Marlboro-Ford 1:40.597+1.61911
1215 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon BRM 1:40.700+1.72212
134 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 1:40.700+1.72213
1466 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Donohue Penske-Ford 1:40.834+1.85614
1520 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Iso-Marlboro-Ford 1:40.854+1.87615
162 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jacky Ickx Lotus-Ford 1:40.876+1.89816
176 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 1:41.027+2.04917
1816 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford 1:41.188+2.21018
191 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 1:41.195+2.21719
2033 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford 1:41.300+2.39220
2127 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen Lola-Ford 1:41.370+2.39221
2222 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Wilds Ensign-Ford 1:41.500+2.52222
2319 Flag of Austria.svg Helmut Koinigg Surtees-Ford 1:41.763+2.78523
2426 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Lola-Ford 1:41.901+2.92324
2510 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 1:42.031+3.05325
2618 Flag of France.svg José Dolhem Surtees-Ford 1:42.031+3.05326 1
2731 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Schenken Lotus-Ford 1:42.243+4.26527 2
289 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford 1:43.606+4.628
2942 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ian Ashley Brabham-Ford 1:43.801+4.823
3014 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM

*Positions with a pink background indicate drivers that failed to qualify

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
17 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 591:40:21.43919
28 Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace Brabham-Ford 59+ 10.73546
324 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt Hesketh-Ford 59+ 1:10.38424
45 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford 59+ 1:17.75383
528 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Brabham-Ford 59+ 1:25.80472
64 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 59+ 1:27.506131
733 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford 59+ 1:30.01220 
826 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Graham Hill Lola-Ford 58+ 1 Lap24 
915 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon BRM 57+ 2 Laps12 
1017 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford 57+ 2 Laps10 
1111 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 55+ 4 Laps9 
1227 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen Lola-Ford 54+ 5 Laps21 
Ret1 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 52Fuel System19 
NC22 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Wilds Ensign-Ford 50+ 9 Laps22 
NC16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford 47+ 12 Laps18 
Ret3 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 44Fuel System6 
Ret20 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Iso-Marlboro-Ford 43Electrical15 
Ret12 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Ferrari 38Suspension5 
Ret21 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Iso-Marlboro-Ford 31Engine11 
Ret66 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Donohue Penske-Ford 27Suspension14 
WD18 Flag of France.svg José Dolhem Surtees-Ford 25Withdrew26 
Ret10 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 21Fuel System25 
Ret19 Flag of Austria.svg Helmut Koinigg Surtees-Ford 9Fatal Accident23 
Ret2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jacky Ickx Lotus-Ford 7Suspension16 
DSQ31 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Schenken Lotus-Ford 6Entered Race Illegally27 
DSQ55 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Parnelli-Ford 4Push Start3 
Ret6 Flag of New Zealand.svg Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 4Engine17 
DNQ9 Flag of Germany.svg Hans Joachim Stuck March-Ford   
DNQ42 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ian Ashley Brabham-Ford   
DNQ14 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM  Practice Accident  
Source: [3]

Championship standings after the race

References

  1. "1974 United States Grand Prix Entry list".
  2. Lohnes, Brian (November 19, 2019). "Bedlam: The Insane Story Of The Bog At The 1974 US Grand Prix". bangshift.com. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  3. "1974 United States Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "United States 1974 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved March 21, 2019.

Further reading

Previous race:
1974 Canadian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1974 season
Next race:
1975 Argentine Grand Prix
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1973 United States Grand Prix
United States Grand Prix Next race:
1975 United States Grand Prix