1973 Formula One season

It featured the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series[1] that commenced on 28 January and ended on 7 October.

[1] At the final race of the season, Stewart's teammate Francois Cevert crashed during Saturday practice and was killed instantly.

There were relatively few changes in the top teams, but no less than usual further down the order: The calendar was expanded from 12 to 15 races: Other changes: Like last year, the championship commenced in January in Argentina.

He was attracted by the Marlboro-sponsored British Racing Motors team for "an astronomical fee"[3] and delivered early success: he qualified on pole position, ahead of reigning champion Emerson Fittipaldi in the Lotus and last year's teammate Jacky Ickx.

But on Sunday, it was sixth-starting François Cevert that took his rivals by surprise: he snatched the lead even before the first corner, before being passed by the pole sitter later in the lap.

But then, with his Firestone tyres overheating, Regazzoni fell back to fifth, while Stewart's conservative start allowed him to get up to second place.

Going into the tail end of the race, Fittipaldi overtook Stewart, much to the joy of the South American fans, and set a new lap record in his chase for Cevert.

[15] After an inspired promotional campaign, São Paulo were selected to host the first ever World Championship Brazilian Grand Prix.

[16] Staying on the southern hemisphere but moving almost 7,500 km (4,700 mi) on, Kyalami hosted the South African Grand Prix.

He was unhurt, so his biggest grief came from being unable to defend his time: with the first thirteen drivers separated by less than a second, the Scot was relegated to the sixteenth place on the grid.

Denny Hulme achieved pole position, ahead of Emerson Fittipaldi and local driver Jody Scheckter.

At least three drivers reported Stewart for overtaking under yellow flags and McLaren's team boss filed the official protest.

[17] The Spanish Grand Prix was held on Barcelona's street circuit that combined tight hairpins with high-speed blind corners, resulting in average speeds of over 160 km/h (99 mph).

The track was prepared for the event too late and after an hour of practice, the drivers' union (GPDA) were threatening with a strike action, complaining that the tarmac was breaking up.

After a quick resurfacing job on Friday evening, the track held together during Saturday practice, but now was very slippery, and there was a lot of sand off the racing line.

Ronnie Peterson qualified his Lotus on pole position and held the lead at the start, but was passed by fourth-starting François Cevert (Tyrrell) on the second lap.

Championship rivals Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell) and Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus) had started in sixth and ninth, respectively, but quickly charged through the field.

Clay Regazzoni moved his BRM ahead of Stewart, going up from eighth to third, and this became second when Cevert hit a kerbstone and punctured his tyre.

The pair finished within 1.3 seconds of each other, while they lapped the rest of the field, making abudantly clear that they would be the championship contenders for this year.

[20] The F1 circus arrived at Anderstorp Raceway for the first Swedish Grand Prix and it was local hero Ronnie Peterson who qualified on pole position, ahead of François Cevert.

The McLaren driver was on a real charge and rejoiced in his rivals' troubles: Fittipaldi's brakes were fading before his gearbox packed up all together, Stewart lost drive and Peterson had worn out his tyres.

[21] Circuit Paul Ricard played host to the French Grand Prix, combining two twisty sections with the 1.8 km (1.1 mi) long Mistral Straight.

Going through Woodcote corner for the first time, Scheckter lost the back end of his McLaren, hit the pit wall and came to a halt in the middle of the track.

The race was suspended (only the second time in history that had happened) while marshals extracated Andrea de Adamich from the wreckage with a broken ankle.

During a short rain shower, Peterson lost the lead to Revson and the American managed to win his first Grand Prix.

[23] Scuderia Ferrari had decided to withdraw from the Dutch Grand Prix to focus on upgrading their cars, seeing that they had played no part in the championship so far this year.

Stewart took his fourth victory of the season ahead of Cevert and Hunt, the future champion's claiming his first podium finish.

Future champion Niki Lauda had crashed on the second lap, completely demolishing his BRM and breaking his wrist.

Lotus were not giving up their hunt for the title: Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson qualified 1-2 for the Austrian Grand Prix.

[28] The 1973 season ended on a low-point when François Cevert crashed during practice for the United States Grand Prix and was killed on impact.