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1975 Austrian Grand Prix

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1975 Austrian Grand Prix
Race details
Date 17 August 1975
Official name XIII Memphis Großer Preis von Österreich
Location Spielberg, Austria
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.911 km (3.673 miles)
Distance 29 laps, 171.419 km (106.517 miles)
Scheduled distance 54 laps, 319.914 km (198.342 miles)
Weather Heavy rain
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:34.85[1]
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford
Time 1:53.90[2]
Podium
First March-Ford
Second Hesketh-Ford
Third Shadow-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1975 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on 17 August 1975. It was race 12 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.[4] It was the eighth Austrian Grand Prix and the sixth to be held at the Österreichring. It was held over 29 of the scheduled 54 laps of the six kilometre circuit for a race distance of 171 kilometres. The race was shortened by heavy rain, meaning that only half points were awarded. The weekend itself was marred by the deaths of Mark Donohue and a track marshal in a practice crash.

Mastering the wet weather, the race was won by Italian driver Vittorio Brambilla driving a March 751. It was Brambilla's only Formula One win in his seven-year Grand Prix career. He took a 27-second win over British driver James Hunt in his Hesketh 308. Eight seconds further back was the Shadow DN5 of British driver Tom Pryce in the first of just two podiums in his abbreviated career.

Qualifying summary

[edit]
Ronnie Peterson (left) and James Hunt in the pits

Niki Lauda delighted his home crowd by claiming his seventh pole position of the year. Rolf Stommelen returned after his crash in Spain but could only muster 26th position for qualifying. Chris Amon had returned for Ensign but only being able to qualify in 24th. Brett Lunger qualified well in his début for Hesketh to start 17th.

Practice crashes

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Practice was marred by a series of accidents, Brian Henton crashing his Lotus when he hit an oil patch and Wilson Fittipaldi breaking two bones in his hand. During the warm-up on Sunday morning, Mark Donohue had a tyre failure and crashed at Vöest-Hügel, the flat-out right hander after the pits. The car went through catch fencing and advertising billboards lining the track.[5] One track marshal was killed and another marshal was injured. Donohue was injured but suffered a brain hemorrhage after the accident and died two days later.[5][6]

Race summary

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As the grid formed up, there were reports of rain at the far side of the track. Thunderclouds were forming ominously and the cars were returned to the pits to change to wet tyres.

Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann (left) with Bernie Ecclestone

After 45 minutes, the grid reformed. Lauda led off the start from James Hunt and Patrick Depailler who had shot up from the fourth row. Mario Andretti spun off, whilst Bob Evans retired the BRM.

Vittorio Brambilla had shot through the spray to gain a third place, with Ronnie Peterson leaping from tenth to fourth.

By lap 12, it was obvious that Lauda's car was not set up fully to cope with wet conditions and by lap 15 Hunt stormed by to lead for the fifth time this season. However, this was to be short-lived. The Hesketh's engine was running on only seven cylinders and Brambilla was clambering all over the back of the car. Ahead of them Lunger was driving carefully in his first wet race and could not see the leaders approaching him. Brambilla seized the lead and it took a further two laps for Hunt to finally pass his teammate. Peterson had to pit to replace a faulty visor, whilst the Brabham drivers found they had been racing with one of their own rear tyres and one of their teammates'. Jochen Mass spun out of third place, and soon there was frantic activity between the Grand Prix Drivers' Association and the race officials as to whether the race should continue – it was brought to a halt on lap 29.

As Brambilla took the flag, he crashed into the barriers and the March team celebrated a historic victory. However, behind the scenes, there was confusion. Some teams were preparing for a restart, but as the race had already been stopped with the chequered flag, it could not happen anymore. The race results would stand, but with only half points awarded. Brambilla, the oldest man in the field at 37, had won his first and only Grand Prix.

This was the first of only two races where Shadow used a Matra engine instead of the Cosworth DFV in Jean-Pierre Jarier's Shadow DN7.[7]

With neither Carlos Reutemann nor Emerson Fittipaldi featuring in the points, Niki Lauda's sixth position actually allowed him to expand his points lead to 17.5 points. If Lauda scored any points at all at the Italian Grand Prix the Austrian driver could claim the championship.

Classification

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Qualifying

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 12 Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari 1:34.85
2 24 United Kingdom James Hunt Hesketh-Ford 1:34.97 +0.12
3 1 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford 1:35.21 +0.36
4 10 West Germany Hans Joachim Stuck March-Ford 1:35.38 +0.53
5 11 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:35.41 +0.56
6 8 Brazil Carlos Pace Brabham-Ford 1:35.71 +0.86
7 4 France Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 1:35.78 +0.93
8 9 Italy Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 1:35.80 +0.95
9 2 West Germany Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford 1:36.12 +1.27
10 3 South Africa Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 1:36.14 +1.29
11 7 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 1:36.43 +1.58
12 21 France Jacques Laffite Williams-Ford 1:37.60 +2.75
13 5 Sweden Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 1:37.61 +2.76
14 17 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Matra 1:37.62 +2.77
15 16 United Kingdom Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford 1:37.64 +2.79
16 23 United Kingdom Tony Brise Hill-Ford 1:37.69 +2.84
17 25 United States Brett Lunger Hesketh-Ford 1:37.87 +3.02
18 18 United Kingdom John Watson Surtees-Ford 1:37.96 +3.11
19 27 United States Mario Andretti Parnelli-Ford 1:37.97 +3.12
20 30 Brazil Wilson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 1:38.14 +3.29
21 28 United States Mark Donohue March-Ford 1:38.19 +3.34
22 29 Italy Lella Lombardi March-Ford 1:38.43 +3.58
23 6 United Kingdom Brian Henton Lotus-Ford 1:38.72 +3.87
24 31 New Zealand Chris Amon Ensign-Ford 1:38.75 +3.90
25 14 United Kingdom Bob Evans BRM 1:39.53 +4.68
26 22 West Germany Rolf Stommelen Hill-Ford 1:39.56 +4.71
27 32 Austria Harald Ertl Hesketh-Ford 1:40.72 +5.87
28 33 Netherlands Roelof Wunderink Ensign-Ford 1:42.58 +7.73
29 20 Switzerland Jo Vonlanthen Williams-Ford 1:42.80 +7.95
30 35 United Kingdom Tony Trimmer Maki-Ford 1:44.88 +10.03

*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.

Race

[edit]
Italian Vittorio Brambilla, winner in a March-Ford
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 9 Italy Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 29 0:57:56.69 8 4.5
2 24 United Kingdom James Hunt Hesketh-Ford 29 + 27.03 2 3
3 16 United Kingdom Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford 29 + 34.85 15 2
4 2 West Germany Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford 29 + 1:12.66 9 1.5
5 5 Sweden Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 29 + 1:23.33 13 1
6 12 Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari 29 + 1:30.28 1 0.5
7 11 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 29 + 1:39.07 5  
8 3 South Africa Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 10  
9 1 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 3  
10 18 United Kingdom John Watson Surtees-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 18  
11 4 France Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 7  
12 31 New Zealand Chris Amon Ensign-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 24  
13 25 United States Brett Lunger Hesketh-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 17  
14 7 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 11  
15 23 United Kingdom Tony Brise Hill-Ford 28 + 1 Lap 16  
16 22 West Germany Rolf Stommelen Hill-Ford 27 + 2 Laps 26  
17 29 Italy Lella Lombardi March-Ford 26 + 3 Laps 22  
NC 33 Netherlands Roelof Wunderink Ensign-Ford 25 + 4 Laps 28  
Ret 32 Austria Harald Ertl Hesketh-Ford 23 Electrical 27  
Ret 21 France Jacques Laffite Williams-Ford 21 Handling 12  
Ret 8 Brazil Carlos Pace Brabham-Ford 17 Engine 6  
Ret 20 Switzerland Jo Vonlanthen Williams-Ford 14 Engine 29  
Ret 10 West Germany Hans Joachim Stuck March-Ford 10 Accident 4  
Ret 17 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Matra 10 Injection 14  
Ret 14 United Kingdom Bob Evans BRM 2 Engine 25  
Ret 27 United States Mario Andretti Parnelli-Ford 1 Accident 19  
DNS 30 Brazil Wilson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 0 Handling 20  
DNS 28 United States Mark Donohue March-Ford 0 Fatal accident 21  
DNS 6 United Kingdom Brian Henton Lotus-Ford 0 Accident 23  
DNQ 35 United Kingdom Tony Trimmer Maki-Ford        
Source:[8]

Notes

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  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Swiss driver Jo Vonlanthen and American driver Brett Lunger.
  • This race marked the 25th Grand Prix victory for an Italian driver.
  • This was the 25th Grand Prix start for Hesketh.

Championship standings after the race

[edit]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 6 results from the first 7 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

[edit]
  1. ^ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 93. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
  2. ^ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 95. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
  3. ^ "Austrian Grand Prix 1975". motorsport-stats.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. ^ "1975 Austrian Grand Prix Entry list".
  5. ^ a b "Donohue dies after surgery". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 20 August 1975.
  6. ^ "Austrian Grand Prix 1975". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  7. ^ Jones, Bruce (1998). "Statistics". The Complete Encyclopedia of Formula One. Carlton Books. pp. 400–401. ISBN 1-85868-515-X.
  8. ^ "1975 Austrian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Austria 1975 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.


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1975 German Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1975 season
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1975 Italian Grand Prix
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1974 Austrian Grand Prix
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1976 Austrian Grand Prix
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1974 German Grand Prix
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(Designated European Grand Prix)
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1976 Dutch Grand Prix