1973 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jackie Stewart won the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix to equal Jim Clark’s record of 25 championship victories. Emerson Fittipaldi finished just 1.3 seconds behind, with Ronnie Peterson third on a substantially revised street circuit.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Pole time	1:27.5
Fastest lap	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:28.100 on lap 78
First	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Second	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Third	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
31 May 1973	Thursday timed practice	17:00 scheduled; 90 minutes
1 June 1973	Friday timed practice	08:40–10:10 approximately
2 June 1973	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
3 June 1973	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
3 June 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

Emerson Fittipaldi arrived at round 6 leading the 1973 F1 World Championship on 35 points, with Jackie Stewart on 28. Tyrrell – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 36 points.

Race entries

Hunt made his championship debut in Hesketh’s March, and Purley entered another private March. Merzario returned in the second Ferrari. Revson arrived late after Indianapolis, leaving only Saturday’s practice to qualify. The new harbour-front section, swimming-pool complex and extended tunnel changed the circuit considerably, while the relocated pits finally offered more space.

Thursday timed practice

Oil from an earlier support session briefly delayed the start. Stewart adapted immediately and headed Peterson, while the slow new corners and a pronounced bump placed heavy loads on brakes and transmissions. Fittipaldi suffered gear-linkage and clutch problems across his two cars, and Cevert stopped with a broken gearbox. Brake cooling became a major focus throughout the pits.

Friday timed practice

Stewart improved to 1:27.5, with Peterson and Hulme close behind. Ickx damaged his Ferrari against a kerb and briefly tried Merzario’s car. Brabham suffered several mechanical stoppages, Jarier broke a driveshaft and Follmer’s rear wing detached; Shadow found cracks in Oliver’s mountings too. The new circuit was proving a severe test of components as well as drivers.

Saturday final qualifying

A slippery surface after Formula Three running prevented the leading pair from improving. Revson arrived and qualified, while Cevert, Lauda and Ickx advanced. Peterson’s gearbox failed, and driveshaft problems interrupted Beltoise and Ganley. Follmer and Merzario collided near the end, wrecking the Shadow and damaging the Ferrari. Follmer’s withdrawal brought de Adamich into the 25-car field.

Qualifying Classification

Stewart retained pole ahead of Peterson and Hulme. With the revised circuit producing longer lap times, the planned distance was reduced from 80 to 78 laps before the race to keep it within the two-hour limit.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:27.5
2	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:27.7
4	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:27.9
5	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:28.1
6	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:28.5
7	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:28.7
8	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:28.9
9	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:28.9
10	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	1:29.0
11	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:29.0
12	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	1:29.3
13	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:29.4
14	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	1:29.4
15	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:29.4
16	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	1:29.5
17	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	1:29.6
18	27	James Hunt	March	1:29.9
19	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:30.1
20	16	George Follmer	Shadow	1:30.4
21	15	Mike Beuttler	March	1:31.0
22	26	Nanni Galli	Iso-Marlboro	1:31.1
23	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	1:31.2
24	18	David Purley	March	1:31.9
25	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	1:31.9
26	9	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham	1:32.1

Sunday warm-up

Hulme’s engine seemed short of power in the brief warm-up, prompting a gear-ratio change to improve acceleration out of the tight corners. Merzario checked his rebuilt Ferrari, while the leading teams kept spare cars ready in case of a final mechanical problem.

What happened in the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix?

Cevert surged into the lead but struck a kerb and punctured a tyre on the second lap. Peterson moved ahead, while Regazzoni held up Stewart and Fittipaldi until brake trouble sent the BRM down the escape road. Peterson then lost fuel pressure, allowing Stewart and Fittipaldi to pass and pull clear.

Stewart managed the traffic effectively, while Cevert recovered behind him after his stop. Lauda retired with gearbox trouble and Ickx lost a driveshaft. Wilson Fittipaldi ran an excellent third before fuel-pickup problems ended his race, promoting the struggling Peterson back onto the podium.

Fittipaldi closed in the final laps and set fastest lap on the last tour, but Stewart held on by 1.3 seconds. Peterson finished third ahead of Cevert, Revson and Hulme. Hunt was classified ninth despite a late engine failure on his debut. Stewart’s third Monaco victory also brought him level with Clark’s championship win record.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 41 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 37. Tyrrell – Ford led the constructors’ table on 45, with Lotus – Ford on 41.

1973 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 1973 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 3 June 1973.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	78	1:57:44.3	9
2	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	78	+ 1.3	6
3	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	77	+ 1 Lap	4
4	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell	77	+ 1 Lap	3
5	8	Peter Revson	McLaren	76	+ 2 Laps	2
6	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren	76	+ 2 Laps	1
7	9	Andrea de Adamich	Brabham	75	+ 3 Laps	0
8	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	75	+ 3 Laps	0
9	27	James Hunt	March	73	Engine	0
10	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow	72	+ 6 Laps	0
11	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	71	Fuel System	0
Ret	14	Jean-Pierre Jarier	March	67	Gearbox	0
Ret	12	Graham Hill	Shadow	62	Suspension	0
Ret	4	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	58	Oil Pressure	0
Ret	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	46	Gearbox	0
Ret	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	44	Halfshaft	0
Ret	25	Howden Ganley	Iso-Marlboro	41	Halfshaft	0
Ret	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	39	Accident	0
Ret	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees	31	Halfshaft	0
Ret	18	David Purley	March	31	Fuel Leak	0
Ret	26	Nanni Galli	Iso-Marlboro	30	Halfshaft	0
Ret	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	24	Gearbox	0
Ret	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	22	Overheating	0
Ret	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	15	Brakes	0
Ret	15	Mike Beuttler	March	3	Engine	0
DNS	16	George Follmer	Shadow		Practice Accident	0

1973 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	78	1:28.100

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 Monaco Grand Prix.

1973 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	41
2	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	37
3	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	21
4	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	11
5	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	10
6	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	6
7	George Follmer	American	Shadow	5
8	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	5
9	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	4
10	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees / Brabham	3
11	Niki Lauda	Austrian	BRM	2
12	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	2
13	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	BRM	1
14	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	1
15	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
–	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	Graham Hill	British	Shadow	0
–	Jody Scheckter	South African	McLaren	0
–	James Hunt	British	March	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	Shadow	0
–	Luiz Bueno	Brazilian	Surtees	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	March	0
–	Eddie Keizan	South African	Tyrrell	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	David Purley	British	March	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0

1973 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Tyrrell – Ford	45
2	Lotus – Ford	41
3	McLaren – Ford	17
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