1974 F1 Racing Season
A Review of the French, British, German and Austrian Formula 1 Races
Peterson Wins in Lotus 72 at French GP
The Dijon-Prenois circuit was a new venue for Formula 1 in 1974, set in rolling French countryside. Niki Lauda learned it quickly and secured pole in his Ferrari. Ronnie Peterson joined him on the front row for Lotus with Tom Pryce in a fine third place for Shadow.
At the start Pryce was slow getting away and Carlos Reutemann’s Brabham struck the Shadow. The incident also caused James Hunt to spin his Hesketh. Lauda maintained the lead in the early stages before Peterson forced his way past and gradually pulled away to score his second victory of the season. Emerson Fittipaldi’s title hopes suffered a setback when the Brazilian retired with an oil leak. Lauda held on for second ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Clay Regazzoni. Jacky Ickx also got his Lotus into the points, in fifth place.
Scheckter First in Brands Hatch F1 Race
Lauda and Peterson set identical qualifying times for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch but the Lotus driver made a poor start. Five laps from the end Lauda picked up a puncture and was forced to pit. There followed a ridiculous situation where a course vehicle sat blocking the pit exit. By the time Lauda emerged he had lost any chance of points. Scheckter won the race from Regazzoni and Ickx while Lauda would eventually receive points for the fifth place he would have occupied if it wasn’t for the pit lane debacle.
Regazzoni Wins German GP but Hailwood Suffers Accident
The 1974 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for the McLaren team. At the start Fittipaldi failed to pull away from the line and was hit from behind by team-mate Denny Hulme, putting both drivers out. Later in the race Mike Hailwood crashed his Yardley McLaren so severely that it ended his motor racing career.
Lauda fared little better, spinning out of the race shortly after the start. Regazzoni took full advantage of his title rival’s woes, claiming his first Grand Prix victory since 1970. The win gave him the lead in the World Championship points table. Scheckter was second for Tyrrell and Reutemann third for Brabham.
Reutemann and Brabham Victorious in Austria
David Hobbs had been chosen to replace Hailwood in the Yardley McLaren by the time of the Austrian Grand Prix in August. The race belonged to Reutemann and Brabham, while Ferrari suffered further reliability issues. Lauda had been running strongly before retiring while Regazzoni suffered a puncture. Carlos Pace, now with Brabham, also had a strong race until his car broke. Hulme drove his McLaren to second while Hunt scored another podium for Hesketh with third. John Watson brought his Hexagon Brabham home in fourth while Regazzoni could only manage fifth.
1974 Grand Prix season review continues here.
Brabham BT44 Formula 1
|
Latest Articles