1974 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ronnie Peterson brought Lotus back to winning ways in the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix. A spin threatened his afternoon before a determined recovery and Ferrari’s troubles opened the door to victory, ahead of Jody Scheckter and Jean-Pierre Jarier.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Niki Lauda	Ferrari
Pole time	1:26.3
Fastest lap	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:27.900 on lap 57
First	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Second	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell
Third	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
23 May 1974	Thursday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
24 May 1974	Friday timed practice	08:55
25 May 1974	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
26 May 1974	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
26 May 1974	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 6 leading the 1974 F1 World Championship on 22 points, with Niki Lauda on 21. McLaren – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 35 points.

Race entries

Lotus returned to the familiar 72 for Peterson and Ickx, keeping the newer 76 in reserve. Amon brought a revised version of his own car, while Williams concentrated on a single entry for Merzario. Twenty-eight drivers sought 25 grid places, making reliability and avoiding the barriers especially important.

Thursday timed practice

Lauda set the pace but crashed heavily against the harbour-side barriers while running ahead of Beltoise. Ferrari prepared its spare with his settings and summoned another car from Maranello. Mass suffered a rear-upright failure, Hulme broke a gearbox shaft and Redman damaged his Shadow’s suspension. The revised, bevelled kerbs offered another challenge as drivers rediscovered the narrow circuit.

Friday timed practice

Lauda immediately made the spare Ferrari work, setting a 1:26.3 that would ultimately secure pole. Peterson came closest, while Scheckter and Depaillier gave Tyrrell an encouraging morning. Cooler conditions helped the pace, but Stuck lost valuable running to a broken driveshaft. Rain arrived only after the session, leaving the leading times intact.

Saturday final qualifying

Regazzoni went fastest on Saturday to join Lauda on the front row, with Peterson third overall. Mechanical failures caused havoc further back: both Surtees cars suffered serious rear-end trouble, Hunt and Ickx encountered gearbox problems, and Amon’s hub-bearing difficulties persisted. Amon and Mass withdrew, allowing Edwards and Pescarolo onto the grid. Von Opel missed out on pace.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	12	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	1:26.3
2	11	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:26.6
3	1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:26.8
4	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:27.1
5	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell	1:27.1
6	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow	1:27.5
7	24	James Hunt	Hesketh	1:27.8
8	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:27.8
9	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March	1:28.0
10	33	Mike Hailwood	McLaren	1:28.1
11	14	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:28.1
13	5	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren	1:28.2
14	20	Arturo Merzario	Iso-Marlboro	1:28.5
15	10	Vittorio Brambilla	March	1:28.7
16	16	Brian Redman	Shadow	1:28.8
17	19	Jochen Mass	Surtees	1:28.8
18	18	Carlos Pace	Surtees	1:29.1
19	2	Jacky Ickx	Lotus	1:29.4
20	30	Chris Amon	Amon	1:29.8
21	26	Graham Hill	Lola	1:30.0
22	37	François Migault	BRM	1:30.0
23	28	John Watson	Brabham	1:30.0
24	23	Tim Schenken	Trojan	1:30.2
25	22	Vern Schuppan	Ensign	1:30.3
26	27	Guy Edwards	Lola	1:30.4
27	15	Henri Pescarolo	BRM	1:30.7
DNQ	8	Rikky von Opel	Brabham	1:31.1

Sunday warm-up

Sunday’s short untimed session prompted an engine change for Depaillier. Reutemann then needed clutch repairs before the start. Tyrrell’s work was not over: a fuel leak on the formation lap forced Depaillier into the unpractised spare and to the back of the grid.

What happened in the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix?

Regazzoni led Lauda away, while a chain of collisions behind the leaders eliminated several cars. Peterson passed Jarier but then spun at the final hairpin, dropping back; Reutemann struck the Lotus and retired with damaged suspension. Peterson continued and began picking his way towards the front again.

Regazzoni spun out of the lead, leaving Lauda ahead. Peterson passed Scheckter and Jarier and closed on the remaining Ferrari, whose ignition began to fail. Lauda stopped, and Peterson took command. Scheckter moved past Jarier, who had been inadvertently catching his ignition switch while steering.

Peterson completed a commanding victory, with Scheckter second and Jarier third for Shadow. Regazzoni recovered to fourth, ahead of an unwell Fittipaldi and a persistent Watson. Lotus had its first win of the season, while Tyrrell’s young pairing continued to show promise despite Depaillier’s difficult afternoon.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 24 points, followed by Clay Regazzoni on 22. McLaren – Ford led the constructors’ table on 37, with Ferrari on 30.

1974 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 1974 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 26 May 1974, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	78	1:58:03.7	9
2	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell	78	+ 28.8	6
3	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow	78	+ 48.9	4
4	11	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	78	+ 1:03.1	3
5	5	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren	77	+ 1 Lap	2
6	28	John Watson	Brabham	77	+ 1 Lap	1
7	26	Graham Hill	Lola	76	+ 2 Laps	0
8	27	Guy Edwards	Lola	76	+ 3 Laps	0
9	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	75	+ 4 laps	0
Ret	15	Henri Pescarolo	BRM	62	Gearbox	0
Ret	2	Jacky Ickx	Lotus	34	Engine	0
Ret	12	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	32	Ignition	0
Ret	24	James Hunt	Hesketh	28	Halfshaft	0
Ret	33	Mike Hailwood	McLaren	11	Accident	0
Ret	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	5	Suspension	0
Ret	37	François Migault	BRM	5	Accident	0
Ret	22	Vern Schuppan	Ensign	4	Accident	0
Ret	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March	3	Collision	0
Ret	14	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1	Collision	0
Ret	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren	0	Collision	0
Ret	20	Arturo Merzario	Iso-Marlboro	0	Collision	0
Ret	10	Vittorio Brambilla	March	1	Collision	0
Ret	16	Brian Redman	Shadow	0	Collision	0
Ret	18	Carlos Pace	Surtees	0	Collision	0
Ret	23	Tim Schenken	Trojan	0	Collision	0
DNS	19	Jochen Mass	Surtees			0
DNS	30	Chris Amon	Amon		Brakes	0
DNQ	8	Rikky von Opel	Brabham			0

1974 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	57	1:27.900

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1974 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix.

1974 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	McLaren	24
2	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	22
3	Niki Lauda	Austrian	Ferrari	21
4	Jody Scheckter	South African	Tyrrell	12
5	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	11
6	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	10
7	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	10
8	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	9
9	Mike Hailwood	British	McLaren	9
10	Hans-Joachim Stuck	German	March	5
11	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	Shadow	4
12	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Lotus	4
13	Patrick Depailler	French	Tyrrell	4
14	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	Surtees	3
15	John Watson	British	Brabham	1
16	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Iso-Marlboro	1
–	Graham Hill	British	Lola	0
–	Brian Redman	British	Shadow	0
–	Guy Edwards	British	Lola	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	March	0
–	James Hunt	British	March / Hesketh	0
–	Vittorio Brambilla	Italian	March	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	BRM	0
–	Tim Schenken	Australian	Trojan	0
–	Ian Scheckter	South African	Lotus	0
–	Eddie Keizan	South African	Tyrrell	0
–	Gijs van Lennep	Dutch	Iso-Marlboro	0
–	François Migault	French	BRM	0
–	Richard Robarts	British	Brabham	0
–	Vern Schuppan	Australian	Ensign	0
–	Jochen Mass	German	Surtees	0
–	Teddy Pilette	Belgian	Brabham	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	McLaren	0
–	Tom Pryce	British	Token	0
–	Peter Revson	American	Shadow	0
–	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Amon	0
–	Rikky von Opel	Liechtensteiner	Brabham	0
–	Paddy Driver	South African	Lotus	0
–	Gérard Larrousse	French	Brabham	0
–	Tom Belsø	Danish	Iso-Marlboro	0

1974 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren – Ford	37
2	Ferrari	30
3	Tyrrell – Ford	16
4	Lotus – Ford	13
5	Brabham – Ford	10
6	BRM	10
7	March – Ford	5
8	Shadow – Ford	4
9	Surtees – Ford	3
10	Iso-Marlboro – Ford	1
—	Lola – Ford	0
—	Trojan – Ford	0
—	Hesketh – Ford	0
—	Ensign – Ford	0
—	Amon – Ford	0
—	Token – 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.

1974 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1974 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	13 January
2	1974 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo de Interlagos, São Paulo	27 January
3	1974 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	30 March
4	1974 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	28 April
5	1974 Belgian Grand Prix	Nivelles-Baulers, Nivelles	12 May
6	1974 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
7	1974 Swedish Grand Prix	Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp	9 June
8	1974 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	23 June
9	1974 French Grand Prix	Dijon-Prenois, Dijon	7 July
10	1974 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	20 July
11	1974 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	4 August
12	1974 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	18 August
13	1974 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
14	1974 Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport Park, Bowmanville	22 September
15	1974 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	6 October