Jody Scheckter claimed his first championship Grand Prix victory as Tyrrell swept the 1974 Swedish Grand Prix. Patrick Depailler followed his team-mate home after taking pole, while James Hunt finished third in the Hesketh.
Race Guide
Season: 1974 F1 World Championship
Race date: 9 June 1974
Race start time: 13:30 local time (UTC+01:00)
Circuit: Scandinavian Raceway
Laps: 80 laps
Circuit length: 4.018 km
1973 winner: Denny Hulme
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell |
| Pole time | 1:24.758 | |
| Fastest lap | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:27.262 on lap 72 | |
| First | Jody Scheckter | Tyrrell |
| Second | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell |
| Third | James Hunt | Hesketh |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 7 June 1974 | Friday first timed practice | Start time unconfirmed |
| 7 June 1974 | Friday second timed practice | Start time unconfirmed |
| 8 June 1974 | Saturday first timed practice | Start time unconfirmed |
| 8 June 1974 | Saturday final qualifying | Start time unconfirmed |
| 9 June 1974 | Warm-up | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 9 June 1974 | Race | 13:30 |
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 7 leading the 1974 F1 World Championship on 24 points, with Clay Regazzoni on 22. McLaren – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 37 points.
Race entries
Bertil Roos replaced Brian Redman at Shadow, and Reine Wisell stood in for Stuck at March while the German raced in Formula Two. Merzario’s injured finger brought Robarts into the Williams line-up. BRM entered two cars, leaving Migault out, and the organisers accepted 27 drivers to practise for a nominal 25-car grid. Kinnunen sought his first championship start after failing to qualify in Belgium.
Friday first timed practice
Showers interrupted the afternoon, although Lauda found enough dry track to lead Peterson and Scheckter. Merzario briefly tried the Williams before conceding that his injured hand prevented him from driving properly. Regazzoni damaged his Ferrari’s nose early on and tried the spare while repairs began. The circuit’s new slow section also demanded a different approach from the previous year.
Friday second timed practice
Rain prevented a fully dry session, leaving Jarier fastest in conditions that offered little chance of improving the overall order. Robarts took over Merzario’s car. The changing surface made preparation more difficult, with much of the meaningful contest for grid positions still to come on Saturday.
Saturday first timed practice
Morning rain gave way to sunshine, but a timing-system failure briefly stopped the afternoon’s running. Once it resumed, Scheckter put Tyrrell ahead. Ferrari responded by changing fourth- and fifth-gear ratios between sessions, a job that overran the short break. Peterson briefly sampled the Lotus 76 but concentrated his efforts on the older 72.
Saturday final qualifying
Ferrari’s changes could not dislodge Tyrrell. Depailler went faster still, taking his first pole with the only lap below 1:25, and Scheckter secured the other front-row place. Lauda and Peterson formed the second row. The field was closely matched behind the Tyrrells, while Schuppan was left as reserve.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 1:24.758 |
| 2 | 3 | Jody Scheckter | Tyrrell | 1:25.076 |
| 3 | 12 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 1:25.161 |
| 4 | 11 | Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | 1:25.276 |
| 5 | 1 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus | 1:25.390 |
| 6 | 24 | James Hunt | Hesketh | 1:25.556 |
| 7 | 2 | Jacky Ickx | Lotus | 1:25.650 |
| 8 | 17 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Shadow | 1:25.725 |
| 9 | 5 | Emerson Fittipaldi | McLaren | 1:25.938 |
| 10 | 7 | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham | 1:25.962 |
| 11 | 33 | Mike Hailwood | McLaren | 1:26.040 |
| 12 | 6 | Denny Hulme | McLaren | 1:26.480 |
| 13 | 14 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM | 1:26.813 |
| 14 | 28 | John Watson | Brabham | 1:27.100 |
| 15 | 26 | Graham Hill | Lola | 1:27.173 |
| 16 | 9 | Reine Wisell | March | 1:27.382 |
| 17 | 10 | Vittorio Brambilla | March | 1:27.390 |
| 18 | 27 | Guy Edwards | Lola | 1:27.407 |
| 19 | 15 | Henri Pescarolo | BRM | 1:27.503 |
| 20 | 8 | Rikky von Opel | Brabham | 1:27.690 |
| 21 | 21 | Tom Belsø | Iso-Marlboro | 1:27.889 |
| 22 | 19 | Jochen Mass | Surtees | 1:28.119 |
| 23 | 16 | Bertil Roos | Shadow | 1:28.298 |
| 24 | 18 | Carlos Pace | Surtees | 1:28.574 |
| 25 | 20 | Richard Robarts | Iso-Marlboro | 1:28.930 |
| 26 | 23 | Leo Kinnunen | Surtees | 1:29.387 |
| DNQ | 22 | Vern Schuppan | Ensign | 1:29.480 |
| DNQ | 20 | Arturo Merzario | Iso-Marlboro | 1:53.677 |
Schuppan failed to qualify, but took the start of the race illegally.
Sunday warm-up
Belsø crashed after a suspension failure in Sunday’s untimed running. His Williams could not be repaired, so Robarts stood down and Belsø took his car. Fittipaldi also switched to the spare McLaren. Kinnunen gained a starting place, but reserve Schuppan joined the race without an authorised vacancy and was subsequently disqualified.
What happened in the 1974 Swedish Grand Prix?
Scheckter beat Depailler away and the two Tyrrells steadily established control. Peterson’s home hopes ended with driveshaft failure, and Regazzoni retired with gearbox trouble. Lauda remained third, but Hunt was increasingly frustrated behind the Ferrari while the leaders escaped.
Hunt eventually passed Lauda and immediately began reducing the gap, although the Tyrrells retained enough in hand. Lauda’s own afternoon ended with transmission trouble. Jarier recovered from early difficulties to take fourth, with Hill bringing his Lola home sixth behind Fittipaldi.
Scheckter won by just 0.38 seconds from Depailler, sealing a Tyrrell one-two and his first championship victory. Hunt delivered the Hesketh chassis its first championship points. Hill’s sixth place proved to be the final championship point of his career, while Kinnunen became the first Finnish driver to start a World Championship Grand Prix.
After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 27 points, followed by Clay Regazzoni on 22. McLaren – Ford led the constructors’ table on 40, with Ferrari on 30.
1974 Swedish Grand Prix race results
The 1974 Swedish Grand Prix was held on 9 June 1974, with a scheduled start of 13:30 local time.
1974 Swedish Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 72 | 1:27.262 |
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 Swedish Grand Prix.
1974 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
1974 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren – Ford | 40 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 30 |
| 3 | Tyrrell – Ford | 25 |
| 4 | Lotus – Ford | 13 |
| 5 | Brabham – Ford | 10 |
| 6 | BRM | 10 |
| 7 | Shadow – Ford | 6 |
| 8 | March – Ford | 5 |
| 9 | Hesketh – Ford | 4 |
| 10 | Surtees – Ford | 3 |
| 11 | Lola – Ford | 1 |
| 12 | Iso-Marlboro – Ford | 1 |
| — | Trojan – 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
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