Brazilian GP 1974

JANUARY 27, 1974

Brazilian GP, 1974

A fortnight after the opening round of the World Championship in Buenos Aires the teams gathered again in Brazil. Shadow had been forced to fly out a new car after the first lap crash in Argentina but despite some problems with the local customs authorities the field was in place for qualifying. Emerson Fittipaldi was pole in his McLaren with Carlos Reutemann's Brabham alongside while Niki Lauda confirmed that Ferrari was going to be a force to be reckoned with by qualifying third. He shared the second row of the grid with Ronnie Peterson's Lotus. Jacky Ickx was fifth quickest in his Lotus and then came Peter Revson's Shadow. The fourth row was shared by Mike Hailwood's Yardley McLaren and Clay Regazzoni in the second Ferrari while the top 10 was completed by Arturo Merzario in the Williams-run Iso-Marlboro and Jochen Mass's Surtees.

The start of the race saw Reutemann jump into the lead with Peterson chasing him. Fittipaldi was third and Regazzoni fourth. Lauda was in trouble with a misfiring engine. For the first few laps Reutemann was able to keep Peterson behind him but on lap 4 the Swede took the lead and Fittipaldi moved to second. Reutemann would fade as his softer tires began to lose grip and he was overtaken by both Regazzoni and Ickx. Peterson remained in the lead until lap 16 when Fittipaldi outfoxed Peterson while they were lapping Merzario and went into the lead. Peterson then dropped back with a slow puncture and had to pit on lap 19. This promoted Regazzoni to second place and Ickx to third (a lap down).

It had been a dominant and very impressive performance by Fittipaldi.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Cosworth M23 32 1h24m37.060s  
11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 312B3 32 1h24m50.630s  
Jacky Ickx Lotus-Cosworth 72E 31  
18 Carlos Pace Surtees-Cosworth TS16 31  12 
33 Mike Hailwood McLaren-Cosworth M23 31  
Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Cosworth 72E 31  
Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Cosworth BT44 31  
Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Cosworth 005 31  16 
24 James Hunt March-Cosworth 731 31  18 
10 14 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM P160E 31  17 
11 26 Graham Hill Lola-Cosworth T370 31  21 
12 Denny Hulme McLaren-Cosworth M23 31  11 
13 Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Cosworth 006 31  14 
14 15 Henri Pescarolo BRM P160E 30  22 
15 Richard Robarts Brabham-Cosworth BT44 30  24 
16 37 Francois Migault BRM P160E 30  23 
17 19 Jochen Mass Surtees-Cosworth TS16 30  10 
28 John Watson Brabham-Cosworth BT42 27 Clutch 15 
Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Cosworth 741 24 Cv Joint 13 
17 Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Cosworth DN1 22 Brakes 19 
20 Arturo Merzario Iso Marlboro-Cosworth FW 20 Throttle Slides 
16 Peter Revson Shadow-Cosworth DN3 11 Overheating 
10 Howden Ganley March-Cosworth 741 Mechanical 20 
27 Guy Edwards Lola-Cosworth T370 Mechanical 25 
12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 312B3 Engine