1974 French Grand Prix
The 1974 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon on 7 July 1974. It was race 9 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. This race was held the same day as the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final in Munich, West Germany, but that event took place later in the day from this Grand Prix.
| 1974 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Dijon-Prenois Circuit | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 7 July 1974 | ||
| Location | Dijon-Prenois, Dijon, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.289 km (2.044 mi) | ||
| Distance | 80 laps, 263.12 km (163.495 mi) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 0:58.79[1] | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
.svg.png){kind=small} | Tyrrell-Ford | |
| Time | 1:00.00[2] on lap 10 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
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Lap leaders
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The 80-lap race was won by Ronnie Peterson, driving a Lotus-Ford. Niki Lauda finished second in a Ferrari, having started from pole position, with teammate Clay Regazzoni third.
Race summary
To honor the 80th birthday of the ACF, a parade of vintage cars was organized with a selection of great drivers from the 20s and 30s up to the present day. The race itself was largely uneventful. Tom Pryce put in a superb performance to be 3rd on the grid behind Ronnie Peterson and Niki Lauda. However, he was slow off the start and was hit by Carlos Reutemann, ending his race. James Hunt and Henri Pescarolo were also taken out in the ensuing accident. Lauda led convincingly from Peterson and Clay Regazzoni with Emerson Fittipaldi up to 4th by lap 15. Lauda dropped back with handling problems on lap 16, and was passed by Peterson, who led to the flag. He was followed by Lauda and Regazzoni, who came home 3rd despite vibration problems. Regazzoni had been challenged strongly by Fittipaldi, but just as the McLaren driver was preparing to pass, Fittipaldi's engine exploded, ending his race. Jody Scheckter was fourth, less than a second behind Regazzoni.
Classification
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Notes
- This was the only Formula One race to be held on the Dijon circuit's original 3.289 km (2.044 mi) layout.
- This was the only World Championship Grand Prix in which lap times of less than one minute were set, by 12 drivers during qualifying.[4]
- Lauda's pole position lap of 58.79 seconds remains the shortest lap in Formula One history in terms of duration.
Championship standings after the race
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- 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
- Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 39. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
- Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 41. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
- "1974 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- "Dijon 1974 - classification". F1 Facts. Archived from the original on 23 October 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- "France 1974 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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