1973 Austrian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ronnie Peterson won the 1973 Austrian Grand Prix after a late fuel-system failure denied Lotus team-mate Emerson Fittipaldi. Jackie Stewart finished second to strengthen his title position, while Carlos Pace earned his first podium with a spirited drive for Surtees.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Pole time	1:34.98
Fastest lap	Carlos Pace	Surtees
Fastest-lap time	1:37.290 on lap 46
First	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Second	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Third	Carlos Pace	Surtees

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
17 August 1973	Friday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
17 August 1973	Friday second timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
18 August 1973	Saturday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
18 August 1973	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
19 August 1973	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
19 August 1973	Race	15:00

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

Championship background

Jackie Stewart arrived at round 12 leading the 1973 F1 World Championship on 60 points, with François Cevert on 45. Tyrrell – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 71 points.

Race entries

Ferrari returned with a revised 312B3 for Merzario, while Ickx was absent. Lauda’s injured wrist prevented him from contesting his home race after a brief attempt to assess his fitness. Hunt and Hesketh returned, as did Tecno and Ensign. Jarier was back in the works March, and Stommelen continued in the third Brabham.

Friday first timed practice

Hulme led Hunt and Revson, their teams benefiting from earlier testing. Hunt’s revised aerodynamic set-up offered strong speed before his engine failed. Merzario also needed an engine change, Regazzoni’s BRM suffered a major failure and Lauda found his wrist too painful to continue. Tecno again struggled to get its newer design ready.

Friday second timed practice

Peterson moved fastest, although a heavily blistered rear tyre showed the demands being placed on the rubber. Pace lost pressure from a tyre because of a wheel-rim problem. Cevert broke a rear brake disc and switched to Tyrrell’s spare, while Wilson Fittipaldi also changed cars. Hulme and Revson remained close to the leading Lotus.

Saturday first timed practice

Hunt, Regazzoni and Cevert returned with their cars repaired as the weather became hotter. A proposed pace-car procedure was trialled during practice following concerns about accident response at Zandvoort. Teams continued adjusting wings and tyres for the high-speed circuit, but the Tyrrells were less settled than the front-running Lotuses and McLarens.

Saturday final qualifying

Fittipaldi became the first driver below 1:35 and secured pole alongside Peterson. Stewart damaged a soft qualifying tyre while pushing for an improvement. Merzario’s earlier pace gave Ferrari encouragement, but Tecno suffered overheating and engine trouble, Hailwood repeatedly stopped with fuel-system faults and Ganley’s engine failed near the end. Lotus had secured the front row.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:34.98
2	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:35.37
4	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:35.86
5	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:36.01
6	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	1:36.42
7	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:36.44
8	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	1:36.48
9	27	James Hunt	March	1:36.63
10	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:36.77
11	15	Mike Beuttler	March	1:36.83
12	18	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	1:36.93
13	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:37.46
14	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:37.52
15	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:37.60
16	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:37.81
17	9	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	1:37.85
18	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	1:37.97
19	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign	1:38.22
20	16	George Follmer	Shadow	1:38.30
21	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	1:39.38
22	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	1:39.50
23	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	1:40.39
24	26	Gijs van Lennep	Iso-Marlboro	1:41.04

Sunday warm-up

Sunday’s untimed session offered a final opportunity for checks, although Lotus concentrated on detailed preparation rather than extensive running. Regazzoni required another engine change. Amon withdrew after the continuing problems with both Tecno designs, leaving 23 starters for the scheduled 15:00 race.

What happened in the 1973 Austrian Grand Prix?

Peterson led Hulme and Fittipaldi away. Revson’s clutch failed at the start, and Beuttler was eliminated after contact damaged his oil cooler. Hunt soon retired, while Cevert damaged his suspension in contact with Merzario. Hulme then needed repeated stops to restore a loose spark-plug connection.

With the McLaren challenge gone, Peterson let Fittipaldi through to support his team-mate’s championship hopes. The Lotuses ran together ahead of Stewart, while Pace passed Reutemann and began closing on the Tyrrell. Fittipaldi then stopped late in the race when a fuel pipe came adrift, handing the lead back to Peterson.

Peterson won comfortably, and Stewart took second. Pace’s charge was checked by his own fuel-pressure problem, but he held off Reutemann for third and also set fastest lap. Beltoise and Regazzoni completed the points. Fittipaldi’s retirement was a major blow to his title defence, while Stewart gained another valuable six points.

After the race, Jackie Stewart headed the drivers’ standings with 66 points, followed by François Cevert on 45. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 77, with Lotus – Ford on 68.

1973 Austrian Grand Prix race results

The 1973 Austrian Grand Prix was held on 19 August 1973, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	54	1:28:48.78	9
2	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	54	+ 9.01	6
3	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	54	+ 46.64	4
4	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	54	+ 47.91	3
5	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	54	+ 1:21.30	2
6	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	54	+ 1:38.40	1
7	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	53	+ 1 Lap	0
8	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	53	+ 1 Lap	0
9	26	Gijs van Lennep	Iso-Marlboro	52	+ 2 Laps	0
10	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	49	+ 5 Laps	0
Ret	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	48	Fuel System	0
NC	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	44	+ 10 Laps	0
Ret	18	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	37	Engine	0
Ret	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign	34	Fuel System	0
Ret	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	31	Fuel System	0
Ret	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	28	Suspension	0
Ret	16	George Follmer	Shadow	23	Differential	0
Ret	9	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	21	Wheel	0
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	9	Fuel System	0
Ret	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	6	Suspension	0
Ret	27	James Hunt	March	3	Injection	0
Ret	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	0	Clutch	0
Ret	15	Mike Beuttler	March	0	Collision	0
DNS	22	Chris Amon	Tecno			0
DNS	21	Niki Lauda	BRM			0

1973 Austrian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	46	1:37.290

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 Austrian Grand Prix.

1973 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	66
2	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	45
3	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	42
4	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	34
5	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	23
6	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	23
7	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari / McLaren	12
8	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	11
9	James Hunt	British	March	8
10	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	Surtees	7
11	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	6
12	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	6
13	George Follmer	American	Shadow	5
14	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees / Brabham	3
15	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	3
16	Niki Lauda	Austrian	BRM	2
17	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	BRM	2
18	Gijs van Lennep	Dutch	Iso-Marlboro	1
19	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Tecno	1
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Jochen Mass	German	Surtees	0
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	Shadow	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March / Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Graham Hill	British	Shadow	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Jody Scheckter	South African	McLaren	0
–	Rolf Stommelen	German	Brabham	0
–	Luiz Bueno	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Rikky von Opel	Liechtensteiner	Ensign	0
–	David Purley	British	March	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	March	0
–	Eddie Keizan	South African	Tyrrell	0
–	John Watson	British	Brabham	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Roger Williamson	British	March	0
–	Reine Wisell	Swedish	March	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0
–	Graham McRae	New Zealander	Iso-Marlboro	0

1973 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Tyrrell – Ford	77
2	Lotus – Ford	68
3	McLaren – Ford	42
4	Brabham – Ford	17
5	Ferrari	12
6	BRM	9
7	March – Ford	8
8	Surtees – Ford	7
9	Shadow – Ford	5
10	Iso-Marlboro – Ford	1
11	Tecno	1
—	Ensign – 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