1973 Argentine Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Emerson Fittipaldi began his title defence with victory in the 1973 Argentine Grand Prix after overcoming both Tyrrells in a gripping race. François Cevert finished second and Jackie Stewart third, while Clay Regazzoni’s early challenge faded as his tyres deteriorated.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Clay Regazzoni	BRM
Pole time	1:10.54
Fastest lap	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:11.220 on lap 79
First	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Second	François Cevert	Tyrrell
Third	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
25 January 1973	Familiarisation testing	Start time unconfirmed
26 January 1973	Friday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
26 January 1973	Friday second timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
27 January 1973	Saturday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
27 January 1973	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
28 January 1973	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
28 January 1973	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Fittipaldi began the season as reigning champion, now joined at Lotus by Peterson. Stewart and Cevert remained together at Tyrrell, setting up an intriguing contest between two established front-running teams. New machinery was still being prepared across the field, so several entrants began with developed versions of their previous cars.

Race entries

Peterson moved from March to Lotus, while Regazzoni and Lauda joined Beltoise at BRM. Merzario partnered Ickx at Ferrari, and Pace moved to Surtees alongside Hailwood. Williams fielded Ganley and Galli under Iso-Marlboro sponsorship. Jarier took the works March, and Shadow delayed its planned debut to continue testing. Nineteen cars assembled for the opener.

Thursday familiarisation

Thursday’s additional familiarisation gave drivers an opportunity to learn the circuit before timed practice. Hailwood, Beuttler and Lauda were among those benefiting from extra laps on the compact, twisting layout.

Friday first timed practice

Regazzoni immediately demonstrated BRM’s improved pace, beating the previous year’s benchmarks. Peterson lost much of Friday to a gearbox-bearing problem, while Cevert struggled with a tired engine. McLaren and Brabham were still adapting their cars to the larger Goodyear tyres, making handling work as important as chasing a quick lap.

Friday second timed practice

Regazzoni suffered a wheel failure, interrupting his challenge, and Fittipaldi moved into provisional pole. Surtees discovered that incorrectly treated suspension springs were contributing to poor handling. Williams also faced a succession of mechanical problems, including fuel-tank and structural faults, leaving both new drivers short of settled running.

Saturday first timed practice

Higher temperatures made improvements difficult. Stewart went fastest in the session but could not displace Fittipaldi’s earlier time. Cevert benefited from a replacement engine, while Reutemann’s preparation was hampered by gearbox trouble. Merzario also lost track time as Ferrari prioritised Ickx’s choice of chassis.

Saturday final qualifying

Most drivers improved late in the session, and Regazzoni produced a 1:10.54 to take pole for BRM. Fittipaldi remained second, ahead of Ickx and Stewart, with Peterson fifth. Revson missed the decisive period because of a seized fuel pump, and Pace was sidelined by engine trouble. Regazzoni’s front-row performance promised a genuine challenge to Lotus and Tyrrell.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	32	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:10.54
2	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:10.84
3	18	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:11.01
4	6	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:11.03
5	4	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:11.06
6	8	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:11.46
7	30	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:11.48
8	14	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:11.70
9	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:12.08
10	26	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:12.13
11	16	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:12.22
12	12	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:12.31
13	34	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:12.39
14	20	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	1:12.54
15	28	Carlos Pace	Surtees	1:12.80
16	36	Nanni Galli	Williams	1:13.97
17	24	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	1:14.27
18	22	Mike Beuttler	March	1:15.15
19	38	Howden Ganley	Williams	1:15.29

Sunday warm-up

Reutemann found a much better balance in Sunday’s untimed session, raising hopes among the home supporters after a difficult qualifying weekend. The improvement gave him renewed confidence, although the race would expose another mechanical weakness in the Brabham.

What happened in the 1973 Argentine Grand Prix?

Cevert briefly led at the start before Regazzoni reclaimed first place. Fittipaldi and Peterson followed closely, while Stewart recovered from a poor opening corner. As the BRM’s tyres overheated, Cevert took control and Stewart moved into second, creating a close Tyrrell–Lotus contest at the front.

Stewart’s blistered tyre reduced his pace, but he kept Fittipaldi behind while Cevert built a small advantage. Peterson retired with engine trouble. Fittipaldi finally passed Stewart, chased down Cevert and took the lead with ten laps remaining after a determined move into the final tight corner.

Fittipaldi won by less than five seconds, with Cevert second after an impressive drive. Stewart nursed his tyres to third, ahead of Ickx, Hulme and Wilson Fittipaldi, who earned his first championship point. Regazzoni finished seventh after a tyre stop, while Reutemann’s home challenge ended with transmission failure.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 9 points, followed by François Cevert on 6. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 9, with Tyrrell – Ford on 6.

1973 Argentine Grand Prix race results

The 1973 Argentine Grand Prix was held on 28 January 1973.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	96	1:56:18.22	9
2	8	François Cevert	Tyrrell	96	+ 4.69	6
3	6	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	96	+ 33.19	4
4	18	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	96	+ 42.57	3
5	14	Denny Hulme	McLaren	95	+ 1 lap	2
6	12	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	95	+ 1 lap	1
7	32	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	93	+ 3 laps	0
8	16	Peter Revson	McLaren	92	+ 4 laps	0
9	20	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	92	+ 4 laps	0
10	22	Mike Beuttler	March	90	Suspension	0
Ret	24	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	84	Radiator	0
Ret	30	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	79	Engine	0
NC	38	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	79	+ 17 laps	0
Ret	4	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	66	Oil pressure	0
Ret	34	Niki Lauda	BRM	66	Oil pressure	0
Ret	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	16	Gearbox	0
Ret	26	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	10	Halfshaft	0
Ret	28	Carlos Pace	Surtees	10	Suspension	0
Ret	36	Nanni Galli	Iso-Marlboro	0	Engine	0

1973 Argentine Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	79	1:11.220

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1973 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1973 Argentine Grand Prix.

1973 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	9
2	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	6
3	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	4
4	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	3
5	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	2
6	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	1
–	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	BRM	0
–	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	0
–	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	March	0
–	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	0
–	Niki Lauda	Austrian	BRM	0
–	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	0
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	0
–	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Iso-Marlboro	0

1973 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	9
2	Tyrrell – Ford	6
3	Ferrari	3
4	McLaren – Ford	2
5	Brabham – Ford	1
—	BRM	0
—	March – Ford	0
—	Iso-Marlboro – Ford	0
—	Surtees – Ford	0

Drivers counted their best 7 results from rounds 1–8 and their best 6 from rounds 9–15. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.

1973 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1973 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	28 January
2	1973 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo de Interlagos, São Paulo	11 February
3	1973 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	3 March
4	1973 Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc, Barcelona	29 April
5	1973 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder	20 May
6	1973 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	3 June
7	1973 Swedish Grand Prix	Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp	17 June
8	1973 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	1 July
9	1973 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	14 July
10	1973 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	29 July
11	1973 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	5 August
12	1973 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	19 August
13	1973 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	1973 Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport Park, Bowmanville	23 September
15	1973 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	7 October