1973 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jackie Stewart headed a Tyrrell one-two in the 1973 Belgian Grand Prix, with François Cevert recovering from a spin to finish second. Zolder’s first championship race was dominated by concerns over its breaking surface, while Niki Lauda and Tecno earned their first points.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Pole time	1:22.46
Fastest lap	Francois Cevert	Tyrrell
Fastest-lap time	1:25.420 on lap 28
First	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Second	François Cevert	Tyrrell
Third	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
18 May 1973	Friday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
18 May 1973	Friday second timed practice — cancelled	Start time unconfirmed
19 May 1973	Saturday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
19 May 1973	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
20 May 1973	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
20 May 1973	Race	15:30

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

Championship background

Emerson Fittipaldi arrived at round 5 leading the 1973 F1 World Championship on 31 points, with Jackie Stewart on 19. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 31 points.

Race entries

Amon finally brought Tecno into the season, and Jarier returned to the works March after missing Spain. Ferrari again concentrated on Ickx in the new 312B3. The championship moved to Zolder for the first time, but hurried resurfacing left the teams and drivers facing an immediate safety problem rather than a straightforward introduction to the circuit.

Friday first timed practice

The newly laid surface began coming apart under the cars, throwing loose material across the racing line. Drivers could not build confidence in the conditions, and the GPDA raised objections to continuing. Although times were recorded, the state of the road overshadowed the competition for grid positions.

Friday second timed practice — cancelled

The remaining running was abandoned while contractors removed damaged sections and laid replacement material. Drivers discussed cancelling the event or moving it elsewhere. The interruption left little meaningful preparation completed and made Saturday dependent on both the repairs and an agreement over safety monitoring.

Saturday first timed practice

Ickx and Galli began running while further discussions continued. An agreement eventually brought the rest of the field back onto the circuit, with an inspection scheduled between the two sessions. The repaired areas were slippery, while sand and debris elsewhere limited drivers to a narrow usable line and threatened throttle mechanisms and engines.

Saturday final qualifying

Once it became clear that the race would proceed, the contest for grid positions intensified. Peterson secured pole, with Hulme second. Teams were still making late changes as drivers tried to extract speed without straying onto loose material. A subsequent review of the timekeepers’ figures altered the published order before the race, adding another complication to the meeting.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:22.46
2	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:23.00
3	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:23.10
4	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:23.22
5	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:23.25
6	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:23.28
7	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:23.34
8	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	1:23.34
9	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:23.44
10	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:23.52
11	16	George Follmer	Shadow	1:23.86
12	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:23.91
13	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:23.96
14	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:24.51
15	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	1:24.79
16	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	1:24.83
17	26	Nanni Galli	Iso-Marlboro	1:24.89
18	9	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham	1:25.28
19	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:25.57
20	15	Mike Beuttler	March	1:25.77
21	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	1:26.68
22	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	1:28.12
23	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	1:30.45

Sunday warm-up

Sunday included an hour of test running before the supporting race. Preparations remained unsettled: the grid markings had to reflect the agreed two-by-two formation, and revised qualifying times were published in the afternoon. The scheduled 15:30 start ultimately slipped by 13 minutes.

What happened in the 1973 Belgian Grand Prix?

Peterson led initially before Cevert passed and opened a clear advantage. Cevert then spun at the hairpin, dropping to eighth. Fittipaldi inherited the lead, but Stewart passed him into the first corner and steadily pulled away. The deteriorating surface continued to punish small errors across the field.

Cevert recovered strongly as Fittipaldi’s Lotus lost fuel pressure. Once the Tyrrells were first and second, the team instructed them to hold position. Peterson and Revson crashed out, while sand and debris contributed to several other retirements. Pace lost time after a tyre problem damaged his rear-wing mounting.

Stewart and Cevert completed a commanding one-two, with Fittipaldi nursing his car home third. De Adamich took fourth after Lauda needed a late fuel stop; Lauda’s fifth nevertheless brought his first championship points. Amon finished sixth to score Tecno’s only Formula One point, enduring considerable cockpit heat along the way.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 35 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 28. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 36, with Lotus – Ford on 35.

1973 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1973 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 20 May 1973, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	70	1:42:13.43	9
2	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	70	+ 31.84	6
3	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	70	+ 2:02.79	4
4	9	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham	69	+ 1 Lap	3
5	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	69	+ 1 Lap	2
6	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	67	+ 3 Laps	1
7	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	67	+3 Laps	0
8	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	66	+4 Laps	0
9	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	65	+5 Laps	0
10	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	63	Accident	0
11	15	Mike Beuttler	March	63	Accident	0
Ret	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	60	Accident	0
Ret	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	56	Not classified	0
Ret	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	46	Engine	0
Ret	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	42	Accident	0
Ret	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	33	Accident	0
Ret	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	16	Accident	0
Ret	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	14	Engine	0
Ret	16	George Follmer	Shadow	13	Throttle	0
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	11	Accident	0
Ret	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	6	Oil pump	0
Ret	26	Nanni Galli	Iso-Marlboro	6	Engine	0
Ret	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	4	Accident	0

1973 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Francois Cevert	Tyrrell	28	1:25.420

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 Belgian Grand Prix.

1973 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	35
2	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	28
3	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	18
4	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	9
5	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	9
6	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	6
7	George Follmer	American	Shadow	5
8	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	5
9	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees / Brabham	3
10	Niki Lauda	Austrian	BRM	2
11	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	2
12	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	BRM	1
13	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	1
14	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Tecno	1
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	0
–	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Graham Hill	British	Shadow	0
–	Jody Scheckter	South African	McLaren	0
–	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	0
–	Luiz Bueno	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	March	0
–	Eddie Keizan	South African	Tyrrell	0
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	Shadow	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0

1973 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Tyrrell – Ford	36
2	Lotus – Ford	35
3	McLaren – Ford	15
4	Ferrari	9
5	Shadow – Ford	5
6	BRM	5
7	Brabham – Ford	4
8	Tecno	1
—	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