1975 Argentine Grand Prix

1975 Argentine Grand Prix
Race details
Date	January 12, 1975
Official name	XII Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina
Location	Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.968 km (3.708 miles)
Distance	53 laps, 316.315 km (196.549 miles)
Weather	Hot and sunny
Pole position
Driver	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow-Ford
Time	1:49.21 [1]
Fastest lap
Driver	James Hunt	Hesketh-Ford
Time	1:50.91 [2] on lap 34
Podium
First	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren-Ford
Second	James Hunt	Hesketh-Ford
Third	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford
Lap leaders [3]

The 1975 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 12 January 1975. It was race 1 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the twelfth Argentine Grand Prix and only the second to be held on the lengthened six kilometre version of the race track that runs out towards Curvon Salotto around the lake which lies to the north-east of the circuit.

The race was won for the second time by Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi driving a McLaren M23. He took a six-second victory over James Hunt in his Hesketh 308. Carlos Reutemann scored his best result to that time on his home race finishing third in his Brabham BT44B.

Race summary

The close season had been fairly quiet – Jochen Mass had replaced Denny Hulme at McLaren, John Watson had joined Surtees and Mike Wilds, Rolf Stommelen and Jacques Laffite were confirmed at BRM, Hill and Williams respectively.

March had announced their retirement, but then in a dramatic U-turn confirmed their entry for 1975 with Vittorio Brambilla and Lella Lombardi.

There were contractual wrangles with Ronnie Peterson, reportedly discontent at Lotus and it was uncertain up until the start of practice whether he would be driving for them or Shadow.

Jean-Pierre Jarier proved the Shadow's effectiveness, putting in the fastest ever lap of the circuit, averaging 122 mph to gain his first pole from Carlos Pace and Carlos Reutemann.

However it was all in vain. On the warm-up lap, his crown-wheel-and-pinion stripped, leaving him a non-starter. Local hero Reutemann gratefully accepted the lead from Pace. James Hunt driving the newest Hesketh with new rubber suspension climbed from the 6th row up to third place, duelling with Niki Lauda. Jochen Mass and Jody Scheckter tangled. Meanwhile, John Watson was stranded with a loose fuel-pipe and was disqualified after attempting trackside repairs.

Wilson Fittipaldi crashed on lap 13, his car catching fire and requiring the fire engine to be deployed. By now, Hunt had passed Lauda and was catching the two Brabhams. Pace took the lead on lap 15, but spun on the very next lap. Reutemann having retaken the lead, was understeering badly and on lap 25 was passed by Hunt. There was a ferocious battle with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.	Driver	Constructor	Time/Gap
1	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow–Ford	1:49.21
2	Carlos Pace	Brabham–Ford	+0.43
3	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham–Ford	+0.59
4	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	+0.75
5	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren–Ford	+0.81
6	James Hunt	Hesketh–Ford	+1.05
7	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	+1.50
8	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.59
9	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.61
10	Mario Andretti	Parnelli–Ford	+1.85
11	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus–Ford	+2.23
12	Vittorio Brambilla	March–Ford	+2.56
13	Jochen Mass	McLaren–Ford	+2.61
14	Tom Pryce	Shadow–Ford	+2.71
15	John Watson	Surtees–Ford	+2.92
16	Mark Donohue	Penske–Ford	+3.15
17	Jacques Laffite	Williams–Ford	+3.67
18	Jacky Ickx	Lotus–Ford	+3.69
19	Rolf Stommelen	Lola–Ford	+3.91
20	Arturo Merzario	Williams–Ford	+4.22
21	Graham Hill	Lola–Ford	+4.79
22	Mike Wilds	BRM	+5.27
23	Wilson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi–Ford	+11.01
Source: [4]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren-Ford	G	53	1:39:26.29	5	9
2	24	James Hunt	Hesketh-Ford	G	53	+ 5.91	6	6
3	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	G	53	+ 17.06	3	4
4	11	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	G	53	+ 35.79	7	3
5	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell-Ford	G	53	+ 54.25	8	2
6	12	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	G	53	+ 1:19.65	4	1
7	28	Mark Donohue	Penske-Ford	G	52	+ 1 lap	16
8	6	Jacky Ickx	Lotus-Ford	G	52	+ 1 lap	18
9	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March-Ford	G	52	+ 1 lap	12
10	22	Graham Hill	Lola-Ford	G	52	+ 1 lap	21
11	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell-Ford	G	52	+ 1 lap	9
12	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow-Ford	G	51	Transmission	14
13	23	Rolf Stommelen	Lola-Ford	G	51	+ 2 laps	19
14	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren-Ford	G	50	+ 3 laps	13
Ret	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham-Ford	G	46	Engine	2
NC	20	Arturo Merzario	Williams-Ford	G	44	+ 9 laps	20
Ret	27	Mario Andretti	Parnelli-Ford	F	27	Transmission	10
Ret	14	Mike Wilds	BRM	G	24	Engine	22
Ret	5	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	G	15	Engine	11
Ret	21	Jacques Laffite	Williams-Ford	G	15	Gearbox	17
Ret	30	Wilson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	G	12	Accident	23
DSQ	18	John Watson	Surtees-Ford	G	6	Disqualified	15
DNS	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow-Ford	G	0	Transmission	1
WD	29	Nestor García-Veiga	Berta-Ford	G		Withdrew [5]
Source: [6] [7]

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Argentinian driver Nestor García-Veiga.
• This was the 100th Grand Prix start for McLaren. In those 100 races, McLaren had won 13 Grands Prix, achieved 47 podium finishes, 4 pole positions, 6 fastest laps and won 1 Driver's and 1 Constructor's World Championship.
• This race marked the Formula One World Championship debut for British constructor Frank Williams Racing Cars (as a constructor), Brazilian constructor Fittipaldi and Argentinian constructor Berta. Both Fittipaldi and Berta were the first constructors of their respective nations to participate in Formula One.
• This was the first pole position for American-British constructor Shadow. Shadow became the first American constructor to get a pole position.
• This was the first fastest lap set by a Hesketh.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Emerson Fittipaldi 9 2 James Hunt 6 3 Carlos Reutemann 4 4 Clay Regazzoni 3 5 Patrick Depailler 2 Source: [8]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 McLaren-Ford 9 2 Hesketh-Ford 6 3 Brabham-Ford 4 4 Ferrari 3 5 Tyrrell-Ford 2 Source: [8]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

1. Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 66. ISBN   0-85429-380-9.
2. Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 68. ISBN   0-85429-380-9.
3. "Argentinian Grand Prix 1975". motorsport-stats.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
4. "Formula One 1975 Argentine Grand Prix Classification | Motorsport Stats".
5. "The Grand Prix car Argentina almost had". forix.autosport.com. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
6. "1975 Argentine Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
7. "1975 Argentine Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 12 January 1975. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
8. "Argentina 1975 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.

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