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The 1974 French Grand Prix, otherwise known as the LX Grand Prix de France, was the ninth round of the 1974 FIA Formula One World Championship, and the first Grand Prix to be staged at the Dijon-Prenois circuit.[1] The race, held on the 7th July, would not be remembered as a classic despite a closely fought qualifying battle.[1]

Pole, once again, went to Austria's rising star Niki Lauda, whose Ferrari ran faultlessly throughout qualifying to beat Ronnie Peterson in the ageing Lotus 72E.[1] Tom Pryce stole the show for Shadow, snatching third on the grid by edging out the second Ferrari of Clay Regazzoni by 0.02 seconds.[1]

There would be a chaotic start to the race, as Pryce was caught out looking at his gauges and so missed the waving of the starter's flag.[1] With a certain inevitability an unsighted Carlos Reutemann speared into the back of the Brit, punting the Shadow straight into the path of James Hunt and eliminated all three before the first corner.[1]

Fortunately the rest of the field could squeezed past the scene without incident, with the circuit cleared completely by the time the leaders screamed past a little over a minute later.[1] Leading the charge was Lauda, who sprinted ahead of Peterson into turn one, with Regazzoni, Mike Hailwood and Jody Scheckter slotting in behind.[1] Elsewhere, Jacky Ickx had used the chaos to make ground, while Emerson Fittipaldi had to stage a comeback after a getting caught out by the accident.[1]

The Fittipaldi recovery came to dominate the race, although his escapades were briefly overshadowed when Peterson elbowed Lauda out of the way on lap seventeen.[1] By that stage, Fittipaldi was tagged onto the back of third placed Regazzoni, but before the McLaren was sent slithering past the Ferrari, the Brazilian had to stop with a ruined engine.[1]

That proved to be the last major change to the order, with Peterson cruising home to a shock victory for Lotus.[1] Lauda was an unchallenged second, the Austrian denied the chance to comeback against Peterson with a worsening vibration.[1] Regazzoni fended off a late charge from Scheckter to claim third, while Ickx and Denny Hulme completed the points.[1]

Background[]

Another season, and another new host of the French Grand Prix, as Dijon-Prenois joined the ever growing list of circuits to host one of the oldest races in motorsport.[2] Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois was the result of a consultancy project between private investors and several French Grand Prix racers, although at a little over two miles the circuit was incredibly short.[3] Indeed a bumper 30 driver entry list had been submitted, but limited facilities and the short track length prompted F.O.C.A. leader Bernie Ecclestone push for a limited 22 car grid, much to the irritation of the small one-car efforts populating the lower end of the field.[3]

The French tricolour would be flying strong at several teams in Dijon, highlighted by the all French driver line-up at British squad BRM.[2] Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo spearheaded their effort, the latter getting an expanded cockpit for his P201.[2] The third, and oldest, car would be piloted by François Migault once again, although his hopes of making the cut were very limited.[2]

Tyrrell were also flying the flag for France by fielding Patrick Depailler as usual, with South African racer Jody Scheckter partnering him as usual.[2] Shadow had their lead Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier in action, partnering impressive rookie Tom Pryce who was hoping to complete more than one lap in his second appearance.[2] Frank Williams hired Jean-Pierre Jabouille to partner Arturo Merzario in his pair of Iso-Marlboro-Ford Cosworths.[2] The French compliment was further added to by Jacques Laffite and Gérard Larrousse at Token and Scuderia Finotto respectively, although the former's effort failed to materialise.[2]

The Surtees effort was back up to two drivers, John Surtees drafting in local racer José Dolhem to partner Jochen Mass, after Carlos Pace was officially fired from the team in Holland.[2] Indeed, the Surtees situation surrounding the highly rated Carlos Pace had taken another turn in France, with the Brazilian securing a seat with Brabham, hoping to outdo his former employer.[2] Unfortunately for him, the drive was in the second of the privately run Hexagon of Highgate BT42s, partnering another future prospect John Watson who was enjoying a strong season despite using an outdated car.[2]

Elsewhere, Lotus were still paying the price for fielding the new Lotus 76 too soon, with Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx still limited to the ageing 72Es if they wanted to be competitive.[2] Yet, Colin Chapman was reluctant to let the 76 slip, bringing a pair for his drivers to experiment with in Dijon, while also fielding some updates for the old 72E's front suspension.[2] Title sponsor John Player were sticking by the team, realising they had been the ones to push an underdeveloped car into action too soon, although rumours were abound that Chapman's next creation had to succeed to keep the partnership alive.[2]

McLaren were back with their quintet cars for their three drivers, Denny Hulme and Emerson Fittipaldi sharing a spare, while Mike Hailwood had a pair of cars to himself as usual.[2] Brabham had Argentine star Carlos Reutemann leading the line with Rikky von Opel in the second car, although Eccelstone was thought to be on the verge of sacking the Liechtensteiner despite his sponsor money.[2] The other full season efforts of March and Lola were unchanged, the former fielding Hans-Joachim Stuck and Vittorio Brambilla, while Graham Hill and protege Guy Edwards raced for the latter.[2]

Into the single car efforts, and James Hunt had both of the Heskeths at his disposal, both getting complete rebuilds after his escapades in Zandvoort.[2] Vern Schuppan filled the Ensign seat once again, while Finnish racer Leo Kinnunen brought his self-funded Surtees TS16 along for a drive.[2] Frenchmen Laffite and Larrousse would also run without teammates, the latter also running in memory of fallen Swiss racer Silvio Moser in his old car.[2]

A second win for Lauda in the Netherlands had not enough for the Austrian to hit the top of the World Championship standings, meaning he would enter the second half of the season in second. Fittipaldi still led the way, albeit with only a single point in hand, while Regazzoni remained a threat in third. Scheckter remained in fourth, and arguably the dark horse for the title, while Hailwood climbed into the top five.

The International Cup for Manufacturers' standings saw McLaren-Ford Cosworth head into the second part of the campaign in the lead, despite being the only team with a dropped score. Their advantage over Ferrari sat at three points, down from ten at the start of the weekend, with both pulling away from third placed Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth. Lotus-Ford Cosworth were still a distant fourth ahead of BRM and Brabham-Ford Cosworth, while Iso-Marlboro-Ford Cosworth and Lola-Ford Cosworth rounded out the table.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1974 French Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Sweden Ronnie Peterson United Kingdom John Player Team Lotus Lotus 72E Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
2 Belgium Jacky Ickx United Kingdom John Player Team Lotus Lotus 72E Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
3 South Africa Jody Scheckter United Kingdom Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 007 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
4 France Patrick Depailler United Kingdom Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 006 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
5 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United Kingdom Marlboro Team Texaco McLaren M23 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
6 New Zealand Denny Hulme United Kingdom Marlboro Team Texaco McLaren M23 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
7 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT44 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
8 Liechtenstein Rikky von Opel United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT44 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
9 West Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck United Kingdom March Engineering March 741 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
10 Italy Vittorio Brambilla United Kingdom March Engineering March 741 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
11 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B3-74 Ferrari 001/11 3.0 F12 G
12 Austria Niki Lauda Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B3-74 Ferrari 001/11 3.0 F12 G
14 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise United Kingdom Team Motul BRM BRM P201 BRM P200 3.0 V12 F
15 France Henri Pescarolo United Kingdom Team Motul BRM BRM P201 BRM P200 3.0 V12 F
16 United Kingdom Tom Pryce United States UOP Shadow Racing Team Shadow DN3 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
17 France Jean-Pierre Jarier United States UOP Shadow Racing Team Shadow DN3 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
18 France José Dolhem United Kingdom Bang & Olufsen Team Surtees Surtees TS16 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
19 West Germany Jochen Mass United Kingdom Bang & Olufsen Team Surtees Surtees TS16 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
20 Italy Arturo Merzario United Kingdom Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso-Marlboro FW Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
21 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille United Kingdom Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso-Marlboro FW Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
22 Australia Vern Schuppan United Kingdom Team Ensign Ensign N174 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
23 Finland Leo Kinnunen Finland AAW Racing Team Surtees TS16 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
24 United Kingdom James Hunt United Kingdom Hesketh Racing Hesketh 308 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
26 United Kingdom Graham Hill United Kingdom Embassy Racing with Graham Hill Lola T370 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
27 United Kingdom Guy Edwards United Kingdom Embassy Racing with Graham Hill Lola T370 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
28 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom John Goldie Racing with Hexagon Brabham BT42 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
33 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M23 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
34 Brazil Carlos Pace United Kingdom John Goldie Racing with Hexagon Brabham BT42 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
37 France François Migault United Kingdom Team Motul BRM BRM P160E BRM P142 3.0 V12 F
42 France Jacques Laffite United Kingdom Token Racing Token RJ02 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
43 France Gérard Larrousse Italy Scuderia Finotto Brabham BT42 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 F
Source:[4]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Four sessions of practice/qualifying were scheduled at Dijon, allowing drivers and teams to familiarise themselves with a circuit that only had experience of hosting small sportscar races.[2] Regardless, there would be two days of dry running across Friday and Saturday, although the former would be bright and warm while the latter remained dull and cool.[2] As for a target time there was little for the teams to land their sights on, although several drivers refused to rule out a sub-1:00.00 lap.[2]

Report[]

It was immediately clear that those who thought the 1:00.00 mark was an ambitious target for the field were being pessimistic, as the majority of the field got within sight of the sixty second barrier.[2] The first of those to breech that figure would be Emerson Fittipaldi, who went on to complete a late run in 0:59.20 to end the session fastest, the Brazilian enjoying a trouble free morning in the McLaren.[2] Indeed, the short, and rather technically unchallenging lap saw most of the field within three seconds of one another, with the promise that that gap would come down later in the weekend.[2]

The first run of the weekend was not without drama, however, with Patrick Depailler one of a number to get his car sliding through the middle sector.[2] Unfortunately for him his sliding Tyrrell suddenly found some rear end grip, and as the Frenchman was already on full opposite lock there was little Depailler could do to prevent the car from spearing into the barrier.[2] The Armcos did their job and absorbed the energy of the impact, although Depailler was forced to use Tyrrell's spare for the rest of the weekend.[2]

After the strong times set in the morning, most of the leading team bosses set their sights on a lap in the 0:55.00s.[2] However, while the overall pace improved, Fittipaldi and Depailler, the only two in the sub-minute bracket, came no nearer to the revised target.[2] Indeed, Depailler, using a car deemed fit as a museum piece failed to get back under the minute mark, while Fittipaldi decided to experiment with a prototype rear aerofoil without much joy.[2] Others with struggles were Hans-Joachim Stuck, out of action early on with a gearbox failure, while Henri Pescarolo only completed two laps as he had to wait for his BRM to be completed at the back of the paddock.[2]

Elsewhere, the two Ferraris were up to speed, Clay Regazzoni and Niki Lauda both breaking into the sub-minute section.[2] Lauda himself stole the show, claiming provisional pole overnight with a 0:58.91, while Regazzoni found himself behind Fittipaldi.[2] Others to break a minute were Ronnie Peterson, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Carlos Reutemann and James Hunt, while several others were in sight of the mark.[2]

Cooler temperatures on Saturday morning would mean more engine power, although the expected increase in pace would have to wait for some early session dramas an experiments.[2] Arturo Merzario was the first, his strong practice pace ruined by an engine failure, joining temporary teammate Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the pits waiting for a new Ford Cosworth.[2] Vern Schuppan and Leo Kinnunen had to protest their right to continue practising, having been removed from the entry list overnight, while Vittorio Brambilla went for a bounce when a wheel failed on his March, sending the car skidding into the Armco.[2]

Away from the dramas, and Lauda was flying, finding another couple of tenths to end the morning with a 0:58.79, remaining the only man in the sub-0:59.00s.[2] Tom Pryce was another driver stealing the attentions of the press, claiming second overall with an excellent lap in the Shadow, despite it being only his second race with the team.[2] More drivers also slipped under the original one minute target too, with Mike Hailwood, Jody Scheckter, Denny Hulme and Pryce's teammate Jean-Pierre Jarier up among the elite.[2]

A brief, but very light shower denied some practice time on Saturday afternoon, with everyone outside the provisional top ten seeking a sub one minute time to guarantee their spot on the grid.[2] Those fighting to get in were further hampered when Regazzoni spun his Ferrari into the catch fencing once the circuit dried, although the Swiss racer had done very little damaged and could continue late in the session.[2] Ultimately, it would be François Migault who snuck into the top twenty-two late on, leaving Schuppan, Kinnunen, Carlos Pace, Stuck, José Dolhem, Rikky von Opel and Gérard Larrousse on the sidelines.[2] There would also be one late change to the front of the field, as Peterson put in a strong final attempt to oust Pryce from the front row, although the Swede was still a third of a second slower than pole sitter Lauda.[2]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1974 French Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
P1 P2 P3 P4
1 12 Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari 1:00.00 0:58.91 0:58.71 0:59.10
2 1 Sweden Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:00.61 0:59.28 0:59.27 0:58.08 +0.29s
3 16 United Kingdom Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford Cosworth 1:00.65 1:00.58 0:59.11 0:59.91 +0.32s
4 11 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:00.46T 0:59.77 0:59.48 0:59.13 +0.34s
5 5 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford Cosworth 0:59.20 0:59.41 0:59.56 0:59.78 +0.41s
6 33 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:01.30 1:00.02 0:59.22T 0:59.59 +0.43s
7 3 South Africa Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:00.76 1:00.31 1:00.55 0:59.68 +0.53s
8 7 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford Cosworth 0:59.93 0:59.84 0:59.80 0:59.36 +0.57s
9 4 France Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 0:59.43 1:00.96T 1:01.43T 1:02.09T +0.64s
10 24 United Kingdom James Hunt Hesketh-Ford Cosworth 1:00.29 0:59.51 0:59.90 0:59.95 +0.72s
11 6 United Kingdom Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:01.58 1:00.08 0:59.54 1:00.22 +0.75s
12 17 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford Cosworth 1:00.40 0:59.72 0:59.59 0:59.83 +0.80s
13 2 Belgium Jacky Ickx Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:01.48 1:00.31 1:00.55 1:00.00 +1.21s
14 28 United Kingdom John Watson Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:01.08 1:01.34 1:01.03 1:00.02 +1.23s
15 20 Italy Arturo Merzario Iso-Marlboro-Ford Cosworth 1:00.34 1:00.68 1:00.52 1:00.16 +1.37s
16 10 Italy Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford Cosworth 1:00.95 1:00.26 1:00.49 +1.47s
17 14 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 1:00.67 1:01.25 1:00.78 1:00.36 +1.57s
18 19 West Germany Jochen Mass Surtees-Ford Cosworth 1:01.65 1:02.14 1:00.48 1:00.71 +1.69s
19 15 France Henri Pescarolo BRM 1:13.84 1:00.67 1:00.80 +1.88s
20 27 United Kingdom Guy Edwards Lola-Ford Cosworth 1:01.72 1:01.57 1:00.80 1:00.68 +1.89s
21 26 United Kingdom Graham Hill Lola-Ford Cosworth 1:02.15 1:01.50T 1:00.73 1:00.83 +1.94s
22 37 France François Migault BRM 1:01.01 1:00.86 1:11.82 1:01.79 +2.07s
DNQ 22 Australia Vern Schuppan Ensign-Ford Cosworth 1:02.82 1:01.90 1:01.24 +2.45s
DNQ 34 Brazil Carlos Pace Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:01.35 1:01.76 1:02.33 1:01.62 +2.56s
DNQ 21 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Iso-Marlboro-Ford Cosworth 1:01.52 1:02.93 1:02.28 1:02.04 +2.73s
DNQ 9 West Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford Cosworth 1:04.05 1:01.60T 1:02.16T 1:01.99 +2.81s
DNQ 18 France José Dolhem Surtees-Ford Cosworth 1:01.70 1:02.31 1:02.15 +2.91s
DNQ 8 Liechtenstein Rikky von Opel Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:02.27 1:02.18 1:01.79 1:02.34 +3.00s
DNQ 23 Finland Leo Kinnunen Surtees-Ford Cosworth 1:03.63 1:04.56 1:03.15 +4.36s
DNQ 43 France Gérard Larrousse Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:05.27 1:03.68 1:03.27 +4.48s
WD 42 France Jacques Laffite Token-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
Source:[2][5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Niki Lauda
Ronnie Peterson ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Tom Pryce
Clay Regazzoni ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Emerson Fittipaldi
Mike Hailwood ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Jody Scheckter
Carlos Reutemann ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Patrick Depailler
James Hunt ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Denny Hulme
Jean-Pierre Jarier ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Jacky Ickx
John Watson ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Arturo Merzario
Vittorio Brambilla ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jochen Mass ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Henri Pescarolo
Guy Edwards ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Graham Hill
François Migault ______________

Race[]

Sunday dawned bright and warm, with an early morning warm-up session staged to allow teams to test out their overnight repairs.[2] Some late changes saw Vittorio Brambilla take over teammate Hans-Joachim Stuck's unqualified car, while Patrick Depailler was officially allowed to keep his grid slot despite racing with a different chassis.[2] Otherwise, the twenty-two strong grid was ready to race, with a long wait for the starter to finally wave the French tricolour.[2]

Report[]

Unfortunately, the long pause before the starter waved his flag caused problems for numerous drivers, with Henri Pescarolo and Jochen Mass just beginning to creep forwards.[2] Also in trouble was third placed Tom Pryce with an overheating engine, and as he glanced at his temperature gauge the starter waved his flag.[2] Front row starters Niki Lauda and Ronnie Peterson reacted instantly, as did the cars around Pryce's Shadow, while the Brit himself was only a fraction slower to react.[2]

However, a moments hesitation was all that it took, and an unsighted Carlos Reutemann, who had just jinked around Mike Hailwood, duly slammed into the side of the Shadow.[2] With little control Pryce was powerless to prevent his car from sliding into the path of James Hunt, who had no time to react.[2] For the second race in a row the two Brits were out before the first corner, Hunt pulling to a stop a few yards on while Pryce limped into the pits at the end of the lap.[2] Reutemann also picked up damage, but continued on with some rather unusual handling characteristics on his Brabham.[2]

In front of the carnage, however, it was an all out fight for the lead into the first corner, with Lauda just edging Peterson out as the pair dived onto the brakes.[2] The move proved to be decisive, for the #12 Ferrari was duly able to establish a small lead over the #1 Lotus over the rest of the opening lap, although the Swede was hardly troubled by those running behind.[2] Clay Regazzoni was the man in third, leading a tight bunch that contained the bulk of the field, with just the start line victims, and the a limping François Migault running around behind them.[2]

The following laps saw Regazzoni break away from the group, joining Peterson in the hunt to catch Lauda, who found it difficult to escape more than a couple of seconds up the road.[2] Behind, Hailwood was elbowed out of the way by Jody Scheckter, moments before teammate Emerson Fittipaldi barged past as well.[2] The Brazilian had to first move past Jacky Ickx in the second Lotus to attack his teammate, and it was not long before both Scheckter and Fittipaldi were clear of the #33 McLaren.[2]

Indeed, the lack of pace from Hailwood, resulting from a dodgy set of shock absorbers, ensured that the majority of the field remained condensed for the time being.[2] That fact allowed Denny Hulme to steadily pick off cars in the sister car, although a stubborn defence from Jean-Pierre Beltoise in the BRM took the Kiwi longer to get past than expected.[2] A similar limitation was denying Fittipaldi further progress, the Brazilian stuck right on the tail of Scheckter, with the rest of the order remaining stable around the McLaren trio.[2]

Back with the leaders and the race had quickly become a procession, with Lauda having just enough pace to prevent Peterson from launching an attack, while Regazzoni looked on.[2] Yet, all was not well with the #12 Ferrari, and on lap seventeen Lauda suddenly lost pace, allowing Peterson to sweep past without issue.[2] The Swede duly established a lead over the following laps, and continued to stretch out his advantage as the Austrian battled with an undiagnosed issue.[2]

Fittipaldi, meanwhile, had finally elbowed his way past Scheckter, although the South African was doggedly hanging onto the back of the 1972 World Champion.[2] Those two were chipping away into the gap the third place Regazzoni, who was unable to match even the hampered pace of his teammate.[2] Behind, Hailwood's group was beginning to break up into small duels and truels, while Hulme was up into the top ten and dicing with Depailler.[2]

Sadly, the race was to take a rather monotonous turn before the leaders hit half-distance, as several of those providing entertainment dropped out of contention.[2] First out of the fight was John Watson, who had to pit for fresh tyres after an incredible defensive drive to deny both Depailler and Hulme for countless laps.[2] Then the two Lolas disappeared for a fresh set of Firestones each, splitting them apart after a healthy inter-team battle.[2] Yet, overshadowing all of this was the fall of Fittipaldi, as the Brazilian suffered a catastrophic engine failure after just pulling within striking distance of title rival Regazzoni.[2]

Without a tow, Scheckter could no longer hang on to the pace of even a wounded Ferrari, and so Regazzoni was effectively guaranteed third.[2] Hailwood, meanwhile, had lost more places, falling behind Ickx, Depailler and Hulme, with the latter also making his way past the #4 Tyrrell a few moments later.[2] Ickx proved to be a more stubborn prospect for the Kiwi, with the two remaining glued together for the rest of the race.[2]

Bar a late charge from Scheckter onto the back of Regazzoni the race was run, with Peterson claiming another win for the venerable Lotus 72E.[2] Lauda remained physically, rather than mechanically, untroubled to claim second, while Regazzoni had to do little more than occasionally glance in his mirrors to keep Scheckter at bay for third.[2] Ickx and Hulme finished a second apart to complete the points, with everyone else lapped assuming they made it to see the chequered flag.[2]

Results[]

The full results for the 1974 French Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Sweden Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford Cosworth 80 1:21:55.02 2 9
2 12 Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari 80 +20.36s 1 6
3 11 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 80 +27.84s 4 4
4 3 South Africa Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 80 +28.11s 7 3
5 2 Belgium Jacky Ickx Lotus-Ford Cosworth 80 +37.54s 13 2
6 6 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford Cosworth 80 +38.14s 11 1
7 33 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood McLaren-Ford Cosworth 79 +1 Lap 6
8 4 France Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 79 +1 Lap 9
9 20 Italy Arturo Merzario Iso-Marlboro-Ford Cosworth 79 +1 Lap 15
10 14 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 79 +1 Lap 17
11 10 Italy Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford Cosworth 79 +1 Lap 16
12 17 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford Cosworth 79 +1 Lap 12
13 26 United Kingdom Graham Hill Lola-Ford Cosworth 78 +2 Laps 21
14 37 France François Migault BRM 78 +2 Laps 22
15 27 United Kingdom Guy Edwards Lola-Ford Cosworth 77 +3 Laps 20
16 28 United Kingdom John Watson Brabham-Ford Cosworth 76 +4 Laps 14
Ret 5 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford Cosworth 27 Oil leak 5
Ret 7 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford Cosworth 24 Handling 8
Ret 19 West Germany Jochen Mass Surtees-Ford Cosworth 4 Clutch 18
Ret 15 France Henri Pescarolo BRM 1 Clutch 19
Ret 16 United Kingdom Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford Cosworth 1 Accident 3
Ret 24 United Kingdom James Hunt Hesketh-Ford Cosworth 0 Accident 10
DNQ 22 Australia Vern Schuppan Ensign-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 34 Brazil Carlos Pace Brabham-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 21 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Iso-Marlboro-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 9 West Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 18 France José Dolhem Surtees-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 8 Liechtenstein Rikky von Opel Brabham-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 23 Finland Leo Kinnunen Surtees-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 43 France Gérard Larrousse Brabham-Ford Cosworth
WD 42 France Jacques Laffite Token-Ford Cosworth
Source:[6]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

With Emerson Fittipaldi failing to score it would be Niki Lauda who left France with the lead in the World Championship standings, surging to a four point lead. His teammate Clay Regazzoni also snuck ahead of the Brazilian, a point ahead of the former World Champion, while Jody Scheckter retained fourth but lost ground overall. Race winner Ronnie Peterson climbed into the top five, but required a complete reversal in fortune to challenge for the title, while Jacky Ickx climbed up the table with a strong points finish.

Lauda's second place finish was enough to put Ferrari to the top of the International Cup for Manufacturers' standings, the Italian firm taking away a two point lead over rivals McLaren-Ford Cosworth. Dropped scores denied the British squad the lead, although only they and the tifosi could really entertain hopes of the title. Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth and Lotus-Ford Cosworth were leading those in the battle to be third, while BRM had their early season form to thank as they desperately hung onto their fifth place spot.

Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts +/-
1 Austria Niki Lauda 36 ▲1
2 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni 32 ▲1
3 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 31 ▼2
4 South Africa Jody Scheckter 26
5 Sweden Ronnie Peterson 19 ▲3
6 New Zealand Denny Hulme 12
7 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood 12 ▼2
8 France Patrick Depailler 11 ▼1
9 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise 10
10 Argentina Carlos Reutemann 9
11 Belgium Jacky Ickx 6 ▲3
12 France Jean-Pierre Jarier 6 ▼1
13 West Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck 5 ▼1
14 United Kingdom James Hunt 4 ▼1
15 Brazil Carlos Pace 3
16 United Kingdom Graham Hill 1
17 United Kingdom John Watson 1
18 Italy Arturo Merzario 1
International Cup for Manufacturers
Pos. Team Pts +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 45 ▲1
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 43 (45) ▼1
3 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 30
4 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 22
5 United Kingdom BRM 10
6 United Kingdom Brabham-Ford Cosworth 10
7 United States Shadow-Ford Cosworth 6
8 United Kingdom March-Ford Cosworth 5
9 United Kingdom Hesketh-Ford Cosworth 4
10 United Kingdom Surtees-Ford Cosworth 3
11 United Kingdom Lola-Ford Cosworth 1
12 United Kingdom Iso-Marlboro-Ford Cosworth 1

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: FRENCH GP, 1974', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2016), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr244.html, (Accessed 26/04/2017)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.48 2.49 2.50 2.51 2.52 2.53 2.54 2.55 2.56 2.57 2.58 2.59 2.60 2.61 2.62 2.63 2.64 2.65 2.66 2.67 2.68 2.69 2.70 2.71 2.72 2.73 2.74 2.75 2.76 2.77 2.78 2.79 2.80 2.81 'The 7th Grand Prix of France: Minuscule', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport, 01/08/1974), , (Accessed 26/04/2017)
  3. 3.0 3.1 '9: France 1974', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1974/france.aspx, (Accessed 26/04/2017)
  4. 'France 1974: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1974/france/engages.aspx, (Accessed 26/04/2017)
  5. 'France 1974: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1974/france/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 27/04/2017)
  6. 'France 1974: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1974/france/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/04/2017)
V T E 1974 Formula One Season
Constructors Amon • Brabham • BRM • Ensign • Ferrari • Hesketh • Iso-Marlboro • Lola • Lotus • Lyncar • Maki • March • McLaren • Parnelli • Penske • Shadow • Surtees • Token • Trojan • Tyrrell
Engines BRM • Ferrari • Ford Cosworth
Drivers Amon • Andretti • Ashley • Bell • Belsø • Beltoise • Brambilla • Charlton • Depailler • Dolhem • Donohue • Driver • Edwards • Facetti • E. Fittipaldi • Ganley • Gethin • Hailwood • Hill • Hobbs • Hulme • Hunt • Ickx • Jabouille • Jarier • Keizan • Kinnunen • Koinigg • Laffite • Larrousse • Lauda • van Lennep • Lombardi • Mass • Merzario • Migault • Nicholson • von Opel • Pace • Perkins • Pescarolo • Peterson • Pillette • Purley • Pryce • Quester • Redman • Regazzoni • Reutemann • Revson • Robarts • Roos • I. Scheckter • J. Scheckter • Schenken • Schuppan • Stommelen • Stuck • Watson • Wietzes • Wilds • Wisell
Cars Amon AF101 • Brabham BT42 • Brabham BT44 • BRM P160E • BRM P201 • Ensign N174 • Ferrari 312B3-74 • Hesketh 308 • Iso-Marlboro FW • Lola T370 • Lotus 72E • Lotus 76 • Lyncar 006 • Maki F101 • March 731 • March 741 • McLaren M23 • Parnelli VPJ4 • Penske PC1 • Shadow DN1 • Shadow DN3 • Surtees TS16 • Token RJ02 • Trojan T103 • Tyrrell 004 • Tyrrell 005 • Tyrrell 006 • Tyrrell 007
Tyres Firestone • Goodyear
Races Argentina • Brazil • South Africa • Spain • Belgium • Monaco • Sweden • Netherlands • France • Britain • Germany • Austria • Italy • Canada • United States
Non-championship Races Presidente Medici • Race of Champions • International Trophy
See also 1973 Formula One Season • 1975 Formula One Season • Category
V T E France French Grand Prix
Circuits Le Mans (1906, 1921, 1929)
Dieppe (1907-1908, 1912)
Amiens (1913)
Lyon (1914, 1924)
Strasbourg (1922)
Tours (1923)
Montlhéry (1925, 1927, 1931, 1933-1937)
Reims-Gueux (1932, 1938-1939, 1948–1951, 1953–1954, 1956, 1958–1961, 1963, 1966)
Lyon-Parilly (1947)
Rouen-Les-Essarts (1952, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1968)
Charade Circuit (1965, 1969–1970, 1972)
Bugatti Circuit (1967)
Circuit Paul Ricard (1971, 1973, 1975–1976, 1978, 1980, 1982–1983, 1985–1990, 2018–2019, 2021-2022)
Dijon-Prenois (1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984)
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (1991–2008)
PR Screen Shot 2017-03-23 at 12.15.31 AM
Races 195019511952195319541955195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009–201720182019202020212022
European Championship Races 193119321933–193719381939
Non-Championship Races 1906190719081909–19111912191319141915–192019211922192319241925192619271928192919301931–1932193319341935193619371938–1946194719481949
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