1973 Dutch Grand Prix

1973 Dutch Grand Prix
Race 10 of 15 in the 1973 Formula One season
Race details
Date	July 29, 1973
Official name	XXI Grote Prijs van Nederland
Location	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.18 km (2.6 miles)
Distance	72 laps, 304.27 km (189.06 miles)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:19.47
Fastest lap
Driver	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:20.31
Podium
First	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford
Second	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford
Third	James Hunt	March-Ford

The 1973 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Zandvoort on July 29, 1973. Zandvoort returned to the Formula 1 calendar following a year's absence for extensive safety upgrades to the race track including new asphalt, new barriers and a new race control tower. Jackie Stewart won the race, this Grand Prix being fourth of five wins for Stewart during the 1973 Formula One season, and he became the most successful Formula One driver of all time with his 26th Grand Prix victory, surpassing Jim Clark's record of 25 victories.

Driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race; this was the first of two driver fatalities in the 1973 season. François Cevert, who took the podium in second place at this race, would later perish during practice for the 1973 United States Grand Prix.

Death of Roger Williamson

On the 8th lap of the race through the high speed esses near the Tunnel Oost (East Tunnel) right-hand corner, a suspected tyre failure caused Williamson's car to pitch into the barriers at high speed, and be catapulted 300 yards (275 m) across the track, eventually coming to rest upside down against the barriers on the other side. The petrol tank had ignited whilst being scraped along the track, and the car caught fire. Williamson had not been seriously injured by the impact, but was trapped in the car. The race was not stopped and continued with a local yellow at the scene, a fact which would become significant over the next few minutes.

Fellow driver David Purley, who witnessed Williamson's impact, almost immediately pulled his car over on the opposite side of the track, then ran across the live racetrack to assist him. Williamson was heard shouting to Purley to get him out of the car as Purley tried in vain to turn the car upright. There appeared to have been ample time to right the car and pull Williamson out, but as desperately as he tried, Purley was unable to do it by himself, and the marshals, who were not wearing flame retardant overalls, were unable to help due to the intense heat.

Race control assumed that it was Purley's car that had crashed and that the driver had escaped unharmed. Many drivers who saw Purley waving them down to stop assumed that he was trying to put a fire out from his own car, having safely exited it, and thus did not know that a second driver had been involved. As a result the race continued at full pace while Purley desperately tried to save the life of Williamson.

There was only a single fire extinguisher in the area, and it was not enough to put out the fire. With the car still burning upside-down, the situation became hopeless, and the distraught Purley was led away by a marshal. Some spectators, appalled at Williamson's plight, tried to breach the safety fences in order to assist Williamson, but were pushed back by track security staff with dogs.

With the race still on, it took some eight minutes for a fire truck to completely travel around the circuit with the flow of race traffic. By the time the car was eventually righted, and the fire extinguished, Williamson had died of asphyxiation. A blanket was thrown over the burnt-out wreck with Williamson still inside, and the race carried on.

Purley was awarded the George Medal for his brave actions in trying to save his fellow sportsman.

In an otherwise uneventful race, Jackie Stewart won his 26th career Grand Prix and broke Jim Clark's 5-year old record of the most career Grand Prix victories.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	1:19.47	—
2	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	1:19.97	+0.50
3	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	1:20.12	+0.65
4	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	1:20.31	+0.84
5	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	1:20.59	+1.12
6	8	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	1:20.60	+1.13
7	27	James Hunt	March-Ford	1:20.70	+1.23
8	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	1:21.02	+1.55
9	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:21.14	+1.67
10	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	1:21.23	+1.76
11	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	1:21.43	+1.96
12	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	1:21.56	+2.09
13	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	1:21.82	+2.35
14	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign-Ford	1:22.01	+2.54
15	25	Howden Ganley	Iso Marlboro-Ford	1:22.10	+2.63
16	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	1:22.24	+2.77
17	12	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	1:22.50	+3.03
18	14	Roger Williamson	March-Ford	1:22.72	+3.25
19	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	1:22.73	+3.26
20	26	Gijs van Lennep	Iso Marlboro-Ford	1:22.95	+3.48
21	18	David Purley	March-Ford	1:23.09	+3.62
22	16	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	1:24.14	+3.67
23	15	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	1:24.45	+3.98
24	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	1:32.33	+11.86

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	72	1:39:12.45	2	9
2	6	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	72	+ 15.83	3	6
3	27	James Hunt	March-Ford	72	+ 1:03.01	7	4
4	8	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	72	+ 1:09.13	6	3
5	20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	72	+ 1:13.37	9	2
6	26	Gijs Van Lennep	Iso Marlboro-Ford	70	+ 2 Laps	20	1
7	24	Carlos Pace	Surtees-Ford	69	+ 3 Laps	8
8	19	Clay Regazzoni	BRM	68	+ 4 Laps	12
9	25	Howden Ganley	Iso Marlboro-Ford	68	+ 4 Laps	15
10	16	George Follmer	Shadow-Ford	67	+ 5 Laps	22
11	2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	66	Engine	1
NC	12	Graham Hill	Shadow-Ford	56	Not Classified	17
Ret	21	Niki Lauda	BRM	52	Fuel Pump	11
Ret	23	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	52	Electrical	24
Ret	7	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	31	Engine	4
Ret	11	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	27	Accident	13
Ret	22	Chris Amon	Tecno	22	Fuel System	19
Ret	10	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	9	Tyre	5
Ret	18	David Purley	March-Ford	8	Withdrew	21
Ret	14	Roger Williamson	March-Ford	7	Fatal Accident	18
Ret	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	2	Physical	16
Ret	15	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	2	Electrical	23
Ret	17	Jackie Oliver	Shadow-Ford	1	Accident	10
DNS	28	Rikky von Opel	Ensign-Ford	0	Non Starter	14

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Jackie Stewart	51
	2	Emerson Fittipaldi	41
	3	François Cevert	39
	4	Ronnie Peterson	25
1	5	Peter Revson	23

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
1	1	Tyrrell-Ford	62 (66)
1	2	Lotus-Ford	58 (62)
	3	McLaren-Ford	38
	4	Brabham-Ford	12
	5	Ferrari	12

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 7 results from the first 8 races and the best 6 results from the last 7 races counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References

• "The Official Formula 1 website". Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• Admin. "Formula 1 complete - all access F1 - Williamson, Roger". Archived from the original on 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)