1973 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Peter Revson claimed his first championship victory in the 1973 British Grand Prix after a major opening-lap accident forced a complete restart. Ronnie Peterson and Denny Hulme finished close behind, with James Hunt an impressive fourth at Silverstone.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Pole time	1:16.3
Fastest lap	James Hunt	March
Fastest-lap time	1:18.600 on lap 63
First	Peter Revson	McLaren
Second	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Third	Denny Hulme	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
10 July 1973	Familiarisation testing	Start time unconfirmed
12 July 1973	Thursday timed practice	11:45–14:15
13 July 1973	Friday final qualifying	13:30–16:00
14 July 1973	Saturday warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
14 July 1973	Race	14:00

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 9 leading the 1973 F1 World Championship on 42 points, with Emerson Fittipaldi on 41. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 52 points.

Race entries

Williamson replaced Jarier in the works March, Watson entered the Hexagon Brabham and Mass joined a three-car Surtees line-up. McRae drove the second Williams, while McLaren retained Scheckter alongside Hulme and Revson. Beuttler returned after injury, Purley reclaimed his March and Tecno brought two different designs for Amon to assess. Ferrari entered only Ickx.

Tuesday unofficial practice

An unofficial practice day preceded the two long official sessions. Silverstone’s fast layout made preparation particularly valuable, with teams seeking stable high-speed handling before the timed contest began on Thursday.

Thursday timed practice

A brief shower cleared before sustained dry running. Hulme headed the times, closely pursued by Peterson, Fittipaldi and Stewart. Scheckter lost time to a fuel-pump repair, Regazzoni’s new BRM engine failed and Hunt suffered both gearbox trouble and a front-suspension failure. Williamson damaged his nose after leaving the road, while Amon’s new Tecno struggled with its oil system.

Friday final qualifying

Peterson produced a dramatic late lap to take pole from Hulme and Revson. Stewart damaged his Tyrrell after running wide at Woodcote but resumed after repairs. Purley crashed at Becketts and could not start, while Amon’s newer Tecno again failed to run properly. Regazzoni returned with another engine, and the three McLarens qualified strongly. The final front row was Peterson, Hulme and Revson.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:16.3
2	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:16.5
3	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:16.5
4	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:16.7
5	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:16.7
6	30	Jody Scheckter	McLaren	1:16.9
7	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:17.3
8	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:17.4
9	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:17.4
10	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:17.5
11	27	James Hunt	March	1:17.6
12	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:18.0
13	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:18.1
14	31	Jochen Mass	Surtees	1:18.3
15	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	1:18.3
16	18	David Purley	March	1:18.4
17	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:18.4
18	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	1:18.6
19	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:18.9
20	9	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham	1:19.1
21	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign	1:19.2
22	14	Roger Williamson	March	1:19.5
23	29	John Watson	Brabham	1:20.1
24	15	Mike Beuttler	March	1:20.1
25	16	George Follmer	Shadow	1:20.3
26	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	1:20.3
27	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	1:20.5
28	26	Graham McRae	Iso-Marlboro	1:20.8
29	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	1:21.0

Saturday warm-up

A further half-hour was available on race morning for final checks. The field then assembled for the scheduled 14:00 start, with 28 cars taking part after Purley’s withdrawal. The original three-by-two grid would become important when the race had to be restarted with empty places left for the eliminated cars.

What happened in the 1973 British Grand Prix?

Stewart took the lead on the opening lap, but behind him Scheckter spun across the track at Woodcote and struck the pit wall. The resulting pile-up eliminated several cars, including all three Surtees entries. De Adamich suffered an ankle injury that ended his Formula One career. The race was stopped while the wreckage was cleared, and Lauda’s BRM and Hill’s Shadow were repaired for the restart.

The new race ran over the full original 67 laps. Peterson led, while Stewart spun out of contention trying to pass him and later needed a pit stop. Fittipaldi followed his team-mate until transmission failure ended his race. Revson then passed Peterson as a light shower added uncertainty, with Hunt and Hulme also close behind.

Revson handled the slippery patches and later oil on the circuit particularly well, building enough of a margin to win. Peterson narrowly resisted Hulme for second, and Hunt finished fourth despite a blistered tyre, also setting fastest lap. Cevert and Reutemann completed the points. The first-lap accident remained a major talking point after an otherwise closely fought race.

After the race, Jackie Stewart headed the drivers’ standings with 42 points, followed by Emerson Fittipaldi on 41. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 58, with Tyrrell – Ford on 53.

1973 British Grand Prix race results

The 1973 British Grand Prix was held on 14 July 1973, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	67	1:29:18.5	9
2	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	67	+ 2.8	6
3	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	67	+ 3.0	4
4	27	James Hunt	March	67	+ 3.4	3
5	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	67	+ 36.6	2
6	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	67	+ 44.7	1
7	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	67	+ 1:11.7	0
8	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	67	+ 1:17.4	0
9	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	66	+1 lap	0
10	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	66	+1 lap	0
11	15	Mike Beuttler	March	65	+2 Laps	0
12	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	63	+4 laps	0
13	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign	61	+6 laps	0
Ret	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	44	Oil leak	0
Ret	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	36	Transmission	0
Ret	29	John Watson	Brabham	36	Fuel system	0
Ret	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	24	Chassis	0
Ret	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	6	Fuel system	0
Ret	30	Jody Scheckter	McLaren	0	Collision	0
Ret	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	0	Collision	0
Ret	31	Jochen Mass	Surtees	0	Collision	0
Ret	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	0	Collision	0
Ret	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	0	Collision	0
Ret	9	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham	0	Collision	0
Ret	14	Roger Williamson	March	0	Collision	0
Ret	16	George Follmer	Shadow	0	Collision	0
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	0	Collision	0
Ret	26	Graham McRae	Iso-Marlboro	0	Throttle	0
DNS	18	David Purley	March	0	Spun Off	0

1973 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	27	James Hunt	March	63	1:18.600

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 British Grand Prix.

1973 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	42
2	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	41
3	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	33
4	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	25
5	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	23
6	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	20
7	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	8
8	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	8
9	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	6
10	George Follmer	American	Shadow	5
11	James Hunt	British	March	4
12	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees / Brabham	3
13	Niki Lauda	Austrian	BRM	2
14	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	2
15	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	BRM	1
16	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	1
17	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Tecno	1
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	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
–	Jackie Oliver	British	Shadow	0
–	Luiz Bueno	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Rikky von Opel	Liechtensteiner	Ensign	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
–	David Purley	British	March	0
–	Reine Wisell	Swedish	March	0
–	Jochen Mass	German	Surtees	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0
–	Roger Williamson	British	March	0
–	Graham McRae	New Zealander	Iso-Marlboro	0

1973 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	58
2	Tyrrell – Ford	53
3	McLaren – Ford	35
4	Brabham – Ford	12
5	Ferrari	12
6	Shadow – Ford	5
7	BRM	5
8	March – Ford	4
9	Tecno	1
—	Iso-Marlboro – Ford	0
—	Surtees – Ford	0
—	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