1974 Spanish Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Spain
Flag Suffix:1945
Grand Prix:Spanish
Date:28 April
Year:1974
Official Name:XX Gran Premio de España[1]
Location:Jarama, Spain
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Km:3.404
Course Mi:2.115
Distance Laps:84
Distance Km:285.936
Distance Mi:177.672
Scheduled Laps:90
Scheduled Km:306.36
Scheduled Mi:190.363
Pole Driver:Niki Lauda
Pole Country:AUT
Pole Team:Ferrari
Pole Time:1:18.44[2]
Fast Driver:Niki Lauda
Fast Team:Ferrari
Fast Time:1:20.83[3]
Fast Lap:47
Fast Country:AUT
First Driver:Niki Lauda
First Country:AUT
First Team:Ferrari
Second Driver:Clay Regazzoni
Second Country:SUI
Second Team:Ferrari
Third Driver:Emerson Fittipaldi
Third Country:BRA
Third Team:McLaren-Ford

The 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 April 1974 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama near Madrid, Spain. It was race 4 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

The 84-lap race was won from pole position by Austrian driver Niki Lauda, driving a Ferrari. It was Lauda's first of 25 Formula One victories. Swiss teammate Clay Regazzoni finished second, with Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi third in a McLaren-Ford.

Race summary

With James Hunt's Hesketh having won the non-championship International Trophy three weeks previously, the 1974 season was turning out to be one of the most open ever, with five drivers from four teams having won the first five races (also including the non-championship Race of Champions), and a driver who had not won at all - Clay Regazzoni - leading the Drivers' Championship.

The Spanish Grand Prix marked the debuts of the Trojan and Amon teams, as well as Liechtensteiner driver Rikky von Opel. Jorge de Bagration, a local driver of Georgian royal descent, was to have taken part in the race, driving a Surtees TS16 with sponsorship from department store El Corte Inglés, but missed out due to a very unusual set of circumstances: the outgoing president of the Spanish Motor Sport Federation cleared his office, taking with him all paper files including the official entry list for the race; a replacement list was hurriedly drawn up that omitted de Bagration, whose sponsorship had just fallen through. Despite this, de Bagration should still have been included on the replacement list, regardless whether or not he would have been able to race.[4]

Niki Lauda took pole from Ronnie Peterson in a qualifying session disrupted by a large accident to Patrick Depailler, but it was Peterson who led from the start as rain began to fall. Jacky Ickx moved into the podium places, taking 3rd place on lap 19.

As the track dried, cars dived into the pits for replacement tyres. Ferrari got Lauda in and out for a total pit stop time of 35 seconds, enabling him to take the lead. The race ended at the two-hour mark, six laps short of the scheduled 90,[5] with Lauda leading Regazzoni home in a Ferrari 1-2 and no other driver on the lead lap. Arturo Merzario lost out on a solid points finish when the hit the wall in 4th. Emerson Fittipaldi held off a strong challenge from Hans-Joachim Stuck, whilst Jody Scheckter claimed his first points.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
112 Niki LaudaFerrari1:18.44 
21 Ronnie PetersonLotus-Ford1:18.47+0.03
311 Clay RegazzoniFerrari1:19.25+0.81
45 Emerson FittipaldiMcLaren-Ford1:19.28+0.84
52 Jacky IckxLotus-Ford1:19.28+0.84
67 Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford1:19.37+0.93
720 Arturo MerzarioIso-Marlboro-Ford1:19.54+1.10
856 Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford1:19.66+1.22
910 Vittorio BrambillaMarch-Ford1:19.81+1.37
103 Jody ScheckterTyrrell-Ford1:19.86+1.42
1124 James HuntHesketh-Ford1:19.87+1.43
1214 Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRM1:20.03+1.59
1317 Jean-Pierre JarierShadow-Ford1:20.20+1.76
149 Hans-Joachim StuckMarch-Ford1:20.46+2.02
1518 Carlos PaceSurtees-Ford1:20.52+2.08
1628 John WatsonBrabham-Ford1:20.52+2.08
174 Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford1:20.65+2.21
1833 Mike HailwoodMcLaren-Ford1:20.65+2.21
1919 Jochen MassSurtees-Ford1:20.80+2.36
2026 Graham HillLola-Ford1:20.99+2.55
2115 Henri PescaroloBRM1:21.32+2.88
2216 Brian RedmanShadow-Ford1:21.35+2.91
2337 François MigaultBRM1:21.43+2.99
2430 Chris AmonAmon-Ford1:21.79+3.35
258 Rikky von OpelBrabham-Ford1:21.85+3.41
2623 Tim SchenkenTrojan-Ford1:21.89+3.45
DNQ27 Guy EdwardsLola-Ford1:21.96+3.52
DNQ21 Tom BelsøIso-Marlboro-Ford1:22.09+3.65

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
112 Niki LaudaFerrari842:00:29.5619
211 Clay RegazzoniFerrari84+ 35.6136
35 Emerson FittipaldiMcLaren-Ford83+ 1 Lap44
49 Hans-Joachim StuckMarch-Ford82+ 2 Laps133
53 Jody ScheckterTyrrell-Ford82+ 2 Laps92
656 Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford82+ 2 Laps81
716 Brian RedmanShadow-Ford81+ 3 Laps21 
84 Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford81+ 3 Laps16 
933 Mike HailwoodMcLaren-Ford81+ 3 Laps17 
1024 James HuntHesketh-Ford81+ 3 Laps10 
1128 John WatsonBrabham-Ford80+ 4 Laps15 
1215 Henri PescaroloBRM80+ 4 Laps20 
1318 Carlos PaceSurtees-Ford78+ 6 Laps14 
1423 Tim SchenkenTrojan-Ford76Spun Off25 
NC17 Jean-Pierre JarierShadow-Ford73+ 11 Laps12 
Ret26 Graham HillLola-Ford43Engine19 
Ret20 Arturo MerzarioIso-Marlboro-Ford37Accident7 
Ret19 Jochen MassSurtees-Ford35Gearbox18 
Ret37 François MigaultBRM27Engine22 
Ret2 Jacky IckxLotus-Ford26Brakes5 
Ret1 Ronnie PetersonLotus-Ford23Engine2 
Ret30 Chris AmonAmon-Ford22Brakes23 
Ret8 Rikky von OpelBrabham-Ford14Oil Leak24 
Ret7 Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford12Spun Off6 
Ret14 Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRM2Engine11 
DNS10 Vittorio BrambillaMarch-Ford Accident 
DNQ27 Guy EdwardsLola-Ford  
DNQ21 Tom BelsøIso-Marlboro-Ford    
WD25 Silvio MoserBrabham-Ford    
WD29 Jorge de BagrationSurtees-Ford    

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Clay Regazzoni16
2 Niki Lauda15
3 Emerson Fittipaldi13
4 Denny Hulme10
5 Carlos Reutemann9
Source:[6]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 McLaren-Ford26
2 Ferrari21
3 Brabham-Ford9
4 BRM8
5 Tyrrell-Ford6
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1974 . The Programme Covers Project . 28 October 2017.
  2. Book: Lang, Mike . Grand Prix! Vol 3 . Haynes Publishing Group . 1983 . 0-85429-380-9 . 25.
  3. Book: Lang, Mike . Grand Prix! Vol 3 . Haynes Publishing Group . 1983 . 0-85429-380-9 . 27.
  4. Web site: Jorge de Bagration - Biography . Formula One Rejects . https://web.archive.org/web/20130321215412/http://f1rejects.com/drivers/debagration/biography.html . 21 March 2013 . 28 October 2017 . dead.
  5. Jenkinson . Denis . Denis Jenkinson . The Spanish Grand Prix: Ferrari Dominates . . June 1974 . 34 . 28 October 2017.
  6. Web site: Spain 1974 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 20 March 2019.