The 1973 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on 23 September 1973. It was race 14 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
The 80-lap race was won by Peter Revson, driving a McLaren M23, after starting from second on the grid. This turned out to be Revson's last victory and podium finish in Formula One. , this is the last Grand Prix to be won by a driver born in the USA. Emerson Fittipaldi took second position for Team Lotus, while Jackie Oliver took third in a Shadow, his first podium in five years and his last of all.
This was also the 99th and last race start of triple world champion Jackie Stewart.
Qualifying classification PosNoDriverConstructorTime/Gap 1 2 Ronnie Peterson Lotus–Ford 1:13.697 2 8 Peter Revson McLaren–Ford +1.040 3 0 Jody Scheckter McLaren–Ford +1.061 4 10 Carlos Reutemann Brabham–Ford +1.116 5 1 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus–Ford +1.338 6 6 François Cevert Tyrrell–Ford +1.421 7 7 Denny Hulme McLaren–Ford +1.622 8 21 Niki Lauda BRM +1.703 9 5 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell–Ford +1.944 10 11 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham–Ford +2.415 11 29 Chris Amon Tyrrell–Ford +2.531 12 23 Mike Hailwood Surtees–Ford +2.593 13 16 George Follmer Shadow–Ford +2.661 14 17 Jackie Oliver Shadow–Ford +2.739 15 27 James Hunt March–Ford +2.807 16 20 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM +2.926 17 12 Graham Hill Shadow–Ford +3.043 18 9 Rolf Stommelen Brabham–Ford +3.149 19 24 Carlos Pace Surtees–Ford +3.331 20 4 Arturo Merzario Ferrari +3.653 21 15 Mike Beuttler March–Ford +3.686 22 25 Howden Ganley Williams–Ford +3.882 23 18 Jean-Pierre Jarier March–Ford +4.024 24 26 Tim Schenken Williams–Ford +4.705 25 19 Peter Gethin BRM +4.801 26 28 Rikky von Opel Ensign–Ford +4.985 Source:
Race report This was the first Grand Prix to feature a car with the number 0, the car in question being the McLaren of Jody Scheckter.
The race start was delayed from 2:30pm to 3:00pm and began in very wet conditions, which caused a number of incidents later in the race. François Cevert and Scheckter collided on the 32nd lap, resulting in the deployment of a safety car for the first time in Formula One history (although it would not be until twenty years later, in 1993, when these cars were given an official role). The car in question was a yellow Porsche 914 driven by former F1 privateer Eppie Wietzes. Wietzes stayed in front of Howden Ganley's Iso-Marlboro because of race control's mistake, which allowed several drivers, including eventual winner Peter Revson, to gain a lap on the field.
Pit stops at the time were unusual. Formula One had only recently switched to slick tyres but the drying conditions necessitated stops mid-race. The small pit lane at Mosport became busy, with a number of drivers heading into the pit lane only to have to drive through as there was no room for them to be serviced. Ganley realised the problem and waited until team-mate Tim Schenken had made his stop, making him one of the last to stop. The pit stops caused significant confusion, with some believing the leader to be Ganley and others, including Team Lotus manager Colin Chapman, believing it to be Emerson Fittipaldi. Chapman even went as far as to perform his traditional victory celebration of tossing his cap in the air at the end of what he believed to be the 80th lap, even though Fittipaldi was not shown the checkered flag. After a long pause, the starter waved the flag over a group of cars consisting of Ganley, Mike Hailwood, Peter Revson and James Hunt. Despite seeing the flag first, Ganley did not believe he had won the race, despite lap charts kept by the team showing him leading. The officials then announced Revson as the winner after a long confusion which included protests from Ganley's then girlfriend (later wife) who had been keeping the team's lap chart. Ganley maintains he feels he either won the race or finished third, citing the fact official lap charts have him pitting when he did not.
Race classification Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 8 Peter Revson McLaren-Ford 80 1:59:04.083 2 9 2 1 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 80 +32.734 5 6 3 17 Jackie Oliver Shadow-Ford 80 +34.505 14 4 4 20 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 80 +36.514 16 3 5 5 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 79 +1 lap 9 2 6 25 Howden Ganley Iso-Marlboro-Ford 79 +1 lap 22 1 7 27 James Hunt March-Ford 78 +2 laps 15 8 10 Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 78 +2 laps 4 9 23 Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 78 +2 laps 12 10 29 Chris Amon Tyrrell-Ford 77 +3 laps 11 11 11 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 77 +3 laps 10 12 9 Rolf Stommelen Brabham-Ford 76 +4 laps 18 13 7 Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 75 +5 laps 7 14 26 Tim Schenken Iso-Marlboro-Ford 75 +5 laps 24 15 4 Arturo Merzario Ferrari 75 +5 laps 20 16 12 Graham Hill Shadow-Ford 73 +7 laps 17 17 16 George Follmer Shadow-Ford 73 +7 laps 13 18 24 Carlos Pace Surtees-Ford 72 +8 laps 19 18 Jean-Pierre Jarier March-Ford 71 +9 laps 23 28 Rikky von Opel Ensign-Ford 68 +12 laps 26 21 Niki Lauda BRM 62 Transmission 8 0 Jody Scheckter McLaren-Ford 32 Collision 3 6 François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 32 Collision 6 15 Mike Beuttler March-Ford 20 Engine 21 2 Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 16 Suspension 1 19 Peter Gethin BRM 5 Oil pump 25
Notes
This was the 50th Grand Prix start for British constructor March.
Championship standings after the race
+Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jackie Stewart 71 2 Emerson Fittipaldi 54 3 François Cevert 47 4 Ronnie Peterson 43 5 Peter Revson 36Source:
+Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 1 Lotus-Ford* 83 (87) 1 2 Tyrrell-Ford* 82 (86) 3 McLaren-Ford 55 4 Brabham-Ford 18 5 Ferrari 12Source:
Bold text indicates the 1973 World Drivers' Champion. Competitors in bold and marked with an asterisk still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
References