The 1973 South African Grand Prix, formally titled the Seventh AA Grand Prix of South Africa, was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 3 March 1973. It was race 3 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was won by Jackie Stewart driving a Tyrrell. Denny Hulme's pole position was the only one of his Formula One World Championship career.
This race marked Scuderia Ferrari's 200th start in a World Championship event as a team.Scuderia Ferrari did not participate in the 1950 French Grand Prix; Peter Whitehead's privateer entry in this race does not count towards the team's participation tally.
Accident Mike Hailwood was recognised for bravery when he went to pull Clay Regazzoni from his burning car after the two collided on the third lap of the race. Hailwood's driving suit caught fire, but after being extinguished by a fire marshal he returned to help rescue Regazzoni, an act for which he was awarded the George Medal.
Classification Qualifying PosNoDriverConstructorTime/Gap 1 5 Denny Hulme McLaren–Ford 1:16.28 2 1 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus–Ford +0.13 3 7 Jody Scheckter McLaren–Ford +0.15 4 2 Ronnie Peterson Lotus–Ford +0.16 5 15 Clay Regazzoni BRM +0.19 6 6 Peter Revson McLaren–Ford +0.44 7 16 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM +0.56 8 18 Carlos Reutemann Brabham–Ford +0.66 9 11 Carlos Pace Surtees–Ford +0.78 10 17 Niki Lauda BRM +0.86 11 8 Jacky Ickx Ferrari +0.88 12 10 Mike Hailwood Surtees–Ford +0.89 13 25 Dave Charlton Lotus–Ford +0.90 14 22 Jackie Oliver Shadow–Ford +1.36 15 9 Arturo Merzario Ferrari +1.36 16 3 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell–Ford +1.37 17 19 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham–Ford +1.67 18 14 Jean-Pierre Jarier March–Ford +1.70 19 21 Howden Ganley Williams–Ford +1.79 20 12 Andrea de Adamich Surtees–Ford +2.38 21 23 George Follmer Shadow–Ford +2.54 22 26 Eddie Keizan Tyrrell–Ford +2.64 23 24 Mike Beuttler March–Ford +4.09 24 20 Jackie Pretorius Williams–Ford +4.26 25 4 François Cevert Tyrrell–Ford No time Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 3 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 79 1:43:11.07 16 9 2 6 Peter Revson McLaren-Ford 79 + 24.55 6 6 3 1 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 79 + 25.06 2 4 4 9 Arturo Merzario Ferrari 78 + 1 Lap 15 3 5 5 Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 77 + 2 Laps 1 2 6 23 George Follmer Shadow-Ford 77 + 2 Laps 21 1 7 18 Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 77 + 2 Laps 8 8 12 Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 77 + 2 Laps 20 9 7 Jody Scheckter McLaren-Ford 75 Engine 3 10 21 Howden Ganley Iso-Marlboro-Ford 73 + 6 Laps 19 11 2 Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 73 + 6 Laps 4 11 Carlos Pace Surtees-Ford 69 Accident 9 26 Eddie Keizan Tyrrell-Ford 67 + 12 Laps 22 14 Jean-Pierre Jarier March-Ford 66 + 13 Laps 18 4 François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 66 + 13 Laps 25 24 Mike Beuttler March-Ford 65 + 14 Laps 23 19 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 52 Gearbox 17 20 Jackie Pretorius Iso-Marlboro-Ford 35 Overheating 24 17 Niki Lauda BRM 26 Engine 10 22 Jackie Oliver Shadow-Ford 14 Engine 14 16 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 4 Clutch 7 25 Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford 3 Accident 13 15 Clay Regazzoni BRM 2 Accident 5 8 Jacky Ickx Ferrari 2 Accident 11 10 Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 2 Accident 12
Notes
This was the Formula One World Championship debut for South African driver Eddie Keizan and American driver George Follmer. This was the 200th Formula One Grand Prix start for a Ferrari. In those 200 races, Ferrari had won 49 Grands Prix, achieved 183 podium finishes, 60 pole positions, 57 fastest laps, 18 Grand Slams, and won 6 Driver's and 2 Constructor's World Championships. This was the Formula One World Championship debut for American-British constructor Shadow.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Emerson Fittipaldi 22 2 Jackie Stewart 19 1 3 Denny Hulme 8 6 4 Peter Revson 6 2 5 François Cevert 6Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 22 2 Tyrrell-Ford 21 3 McLaren-Ford 12 4 Ferrari 9 1 5 Brabham-Ford 1Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References