Jackie Stewart and François Cevert delivered another Tyrrell one-two in the 1973 German Grand Prix. Jacky Ickx finished third in a one-off McLaren appearance, while Stewart’s 27th championship victory proved to be the last of his career.
Race Guide
Season: 1973 F1 World Championship
Race date: 5 August 1973
Race start time: 13:00 local time (UTC+01:00)
Circuit: Nürburgring
Laps: 14 laps
Circuit length: 22.835 km
1972 winner: Jacky Ickx
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell |
| Pole time | 7:07.8 | |
| Fastest lap | Carlos Pace | Surtees |
| Fastest-lap time | 7:11.400 on lap 13 | |
| First | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell |
| Second | François Cevert | Tyrrell |
| Third | Jacky Ickx | McLaren |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 3 August 1973 | Friday timed practice | Start time unconfirmed |
| 4 August 1973 | Saturday final qualifying | Start time unconfirmed |
| 5 August 1973 | Warm-up | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 5 August 1973 | Race | 13:00 |
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 11 leading the 1973 F1 World Championship on 51 points, with Emerson Fittipaldi on 41. Tyrrell – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 62 points.
Race entries
Ferrari remained absent but released Ickx to drive McLaren’s third M23. Stommelen replaced the injured de Adamich in a third Brabham, and Mass returned for Surtees. The works March team did not attend after Williamson’s death; Hesketh, Ensign and Tecno were also absent. Fittipaldi was still recovering from his Zandvoort ankle injuries, and German advertising restrictions required tobacco branding to be covered.
Friday timed practice
A light shower cleared before meaningful running began. Ickx quickly adapted to the McLaren and set a competitive lap before its engine failed, prompting a recovery break. Stewart, Peterson, Cevert and Lauda then improved, with Stewart narrowly outside the previous best Nürburgring time. Hailwood suffered a wheel failure, Follmer lost part of his rear wing and Ganley crashed heavily enough to end his weekend.
Saturday final qualifying
Intermittent showers made a clean, fast lap difficult and encouraged repeated short-loop checks near the pits. Ickx was fastest on the day but could not improve his Friday position. Stewart tried wet tyres in Tyrrell’s spare, while Peterson stopped after a front-suspension joint failed. Stewart retained pole ahead of Peterson, Ickx and Cevert. Fittipaldi’s injuries continued to limit his pace.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell | 7:07.8 |
| 2 | 2 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus | 7:08.3 |
| 3 | 6 | François Cevert | Tyrrell | 7:09.3 |
| 4 | 30 | Jacky Ickx | McLaren | 7:09.7 |
| 5 | 21 | Niki Lauda | BRM | 7:09.9 |
| 6 | 10 | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham | 7:15.1 |
| 7 | 8 | Peter Revson | McLaren | 7:15.9 |
| 9 | 20 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM | 7:18.1 |
| 10 | 19 | Clay Regazzoni | BRM | 7:18.2 |
| 11 | 24 | Carlos Pace | Surtees | 7:18.8 |
| 12 | 26 | Henri Pescarolo | Iso-Marlboro | 7:18.8 |
| 13 | 11 | Wilson Fittipaldi | Brabham | 7:19.1 |
| 14 | 1 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus | 7:19.7 |
| 15 | 31 | Jochen Mass | Surtees | 7:20.4 |
| 16 | 9 | Rolf Stommelen | Brabham | 7:22.2 |
| 17 | 17 | Jackie Oliver | Shadow | 7:22.3 |
| 18 | 23 | Mike Hailwood | Surtees | 7:22.3 |
| 19 | 25 | Howden Ganley | Iso-Marlboro | 7:25.1 |
| 20 | 15 | Mike Beuttler | March | 7:26.6 |
| 21 | 12 | Graham Hill | Shadow | 7:27.1 |
| 22 | 16 | George Follmer | Shadow | 7:28.3 |
| 23 | 18 | David Purley | March | 7:54.2 |
Sunday warm-up
A short Sunday test session preceded the race. Peterson requested a late engine change, a decision that would prove frustrating when his replacement installation developed an electrical fault on the opening lap. The field used a two-by-two grid for the scheduled 13:00 start.
What happened in the 1973 German Grand Prix?
Stewart and Cevert took the first two places at the start and quickly established control. Peterson retired on the opening lap, leaving Ickx third. Lauda crashed on the second lap and injured his wrist, ruling him out of his home race in Austria. Revson also damaged a wheel after an excursion but continued.
Reutemann held up a closely matched group before his engine failed. Pace then pulled clear in fourth and repeatedly improved the lap record, although the Tyrrells and Ickx were too far ahead to catch. The Fittipaldi brothers raced together, with Wilson eventually finishing in front of the injured Emerson.
Stewart led Cevert home for Tyrrell’s second consecutive one-two. Ickx’s third place rewarded his temporary move to McLaren, while Pace combined fourth with fastest lap. Wilson Fittipaldi and Emerson Fittipaldi completed the points. Stewart’s championship advantage grew substantially after another weekend of excellent Tyrrell reliability.
After the race, Jackie Stewart headed the drivers’ standings with 60 points, followed by François Cevert on 45. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 71, with Lotus – Ford on 59.
1973 German Grand Prix race results
The 1973 German Grand Prix was held on 5 August 1973, with a scheduled start of 13:00 local time.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell | 14 | 1:42:03.0 | 9 |
| 2 | 6 | François Cevert | Tyrrell | 14 | + 1.6 | 6 |
| 3 | 30 | Jacky Ickx | McLaren | 14 | + 41.2 | 4 |
| 4 | 24 | Carlos Pace | Surtees | 14 | + 53.8 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Wilson Fittipaldi | Brabham | 14 | + 1:19.9 | 2 |
| 6 | 1 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus | 14 | + 1:24.3 | 1 |
| 7 | 31 | Jochen Mass | Surtees | 14 | + 1:25.2 | 0 |
| 8 | 17 | Jackie Oliver | Shadow | 14 | + 1:25.7 | 0 |
| 9 | 8 | Peter Revson | McLaren | 14 | + 2:11.8 | 0 |
| 10 | 26 | Henri Pescarolo | Iso-Marlboro | 14 | + 2:22.5 | 0 |
| 11 | 9 | Rolf Stommelen | Brabham | 14 | + 3:27.3 | 0 |
| 12 | 7 | Denny Hulme | McLaren | 14 | + 3:38.7 | 0 |
| 13 | 12 | Graham Hill | Shadow | 14 | + 3:49.0 | 0 |
| 14 | 23 | Mike Hailwood | Surtees | 13 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| 15 | 18 | David Purley | March | 13 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| 16 | 15 | Mike Beuttler | March | 13 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| Ret | 10 | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham | 7 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 19 | Clay Regazzoni | BRM | 7 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 16 | George Follmer | Shadow | 5 | Accident | 0 |
| Ret | 20 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM | 4 | Gearbox | 0 |
| Ret | 21 | Niki Lauda | BRM | 1 | Accident | 0 |
| Ret | 2 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus | 0 | Ignition | 0 |
| DNS | 25 | Howden Ganley | Iso-Marlboro | Accident in qualifying | 0 |
1973 German Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Carlos Pace | Surtees | 13 | 7:11.400 |
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 German Grand Prix.
1973 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
1973 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyrrell – Ford | 71 |
| 2 | Lotus – Ford | 59 |
| 3 | McLaren – Ford | 42 |
| 4 | Brabham – Ford | 14 |
| 5 | Ferrari | 12 |
| 6 | March – Ford | 8 |
| 7 | BRM | 7 |
| 8 | Shadow – Ford | 5 |
| 9 | Surtees – Ford | 3 |
| 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
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