1972-73 SeasonRaces: 1972 GBR-1973 FRA (Best 6 Results from first seven races, best 6 results from last seven; Total Points/Tiebreaker Criteria in Brackets)
This photo from the 1973 Belgian Grand Prix perfectly sums up the season: Emerson Fittipaldi leading, Jackie Stewart snapping at his heels, and no other competition in sight.1. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 682. Jackie Stewart -- 66
3. Denny Hulme -- 39
4. Francois Cevert -- 37
5. Peter Revson -- 28
6. Ronnie Peterson -- 26
7. Jacky Ickx -- 19
8. Carlos Reutemann -- 10
9. Mike Hailwood -- 9 (1 2nd, 1 4th)
10. Clay Regazzoni -- 9 (1 2nd,1 5th)
11. Arturo Merzario -- 7 (2 4ths)
12. Chris Amon -- 7 (1 4th)
13. George Follmer -- 5
14. Howden Ganley -- 4
15. Andrea de Adamich -- 3 (1 4th)
16. Graham Hill -- 3 (1 5th)
17. Jean-Pierre Beltoise -- 2 (1 5th, 2 8ths)
18. Niki Lauda -- 2 (1 5th, 1 8th)
19. Brian Redman -- 2 (1 5th, 1 DNF)
20. Wilson Fittipaldi -- 1 (1 6th,1 7th, 1 10th)
21. Mario Andretti -- 1 (1 6th,1 7th, No Other Results)
22. James Hunt -- 1 (1 6th, 1 9th)
23. Peter Gethin -- 1 (1 6th,1 1 13th)
This was a season of the old guard versus the new blood….in the most unusual of senses.
Driver-wise, the hottest, newest driver on the block was Emerson Fittipaldi. He had already launched a credible title threat last season, and many were predicting for this to be the moment where a new king would be crowned. But first, he'd have to get through the man who actually won the championship last time out, Jackie Stewart. The Scot was in his 9th season in Formula One, and retirement, he feels, is just beyond the horizon. But that does not mean he's going down without a fight.
Teams-wise, though, it was the same story, just flipped around. Fittipaldi was driving for Lotus, the team that had guided Jim Clark to two championships back in 1962-63 and 1963-64. They were definitely one of the more experienced teams in the paddock under the guidance of Colin Chapman, and by now, their team was going into 'god, they're old' territory. Hell, even their chassis was ageing, as the Lotus 72 underwent update after update, and every sign pointed to them to soldier on with the chassis into the 1972-73 season. Meanwhile, Stewart was driving for a relatively new team: Tyrrell. They have only been in the paddock for five seasons, and producing their own chassis for just three. Despite this, they already have a drivers title under their belt, and whenever they needed to upgrade, they'd just produce a new chassis instead of updating the old one.
Two different drivers, two different teams, two completely different formulas. Let's see how they panned out…
The start of the season was a frantic rush for wins, podiums and securing top spots for both Lotus and Tyrrell, both attempting to start the season off with a bang. With the sole exception of Jacky Ickx winning at the 'Ring, all wins over the first nine races were split between Stewart and Fittipaldi, with each team sticking to their own respective strategies, with Fittipaldi getting that slight upper hand. It was at the ninth race, Sotuh Africa, where Tyrrell decided to step up a notch. Their 006 Chassis, used by teammate Francois Cevert, was looking to be their fastest chassis yet. Giving the chassis to Stewart to drive, he went from 16th on the grid to win.
This rattled the Lotus team. They needed to do something, quick sharp, to fend off Tyrrell's and Stewart's new challenge. What to do? Well, they couldn't build another chassis on such short notice. So they had to upgrade the Lotus 72 once again. It seemed to work in Montjuic next time out, with Fittipaldi winning the race, but that was helped by Stewart suffering a brake failure. The next few races proved that either the 006 was the better car, or Stewart was the better driver, as Stewart took two wins on the trot, ahead of Fittipaldi, to close up the gap in the championship.
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Championship Standings: 1973 Monaco Grand Prix (2 Rounds to Go)
1. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 68
2. Jackie Stewart -- 61
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The penultimate round of the championship was in Anderstorp, held for the first time at the Scandinavian Raceway. The majority of the race was run with Fittipaldi in second and Stewart. This would have gifted Fittipaldi the title, as Stewart would need to win the next race with Fittipaldi scoring zero, zilch and nada in the next race.
Advantage: Fittipaldi.
However, by lap 69, Fittipaldi started slowing and started dropping down the order, eventually pulling up with a few laps to go with a gearbox failure. This promoted Stewart to second, and with just a few laps to go, looked like he was going to close the gap up to a single point heading into the finale at Paul Ricard
Advantage: Stewart
Then the Tyrrell's brakes failed. Again. Stewart didn't pull out of the race like he did at Spain, but he dropped through the field nonetheless, behind Hulme, behind Cevert and behind Reutemann, into fifth spot. Only two points. Stewart was still quite a distance behind.
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Championship Standings: 1973 Swedish Grand Prix (1 Round to Go)
1. Emerson Fittipaldi -- 68
2. Jackie Stewart -- 63
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The finale at Paul Ricard beckoned. Jackie Stewart took the pole position, needing second or better to win the championship. However, at the start, it was Jody Scheckter in the McLaren that took the lead in only his third Grand Prix start, with Fittipaldi's teammate Ronnie Peterson jumping Stewart into second. These three, along with Hulme and Fittipaldi, formed a five car train that would remain close for sixteen laps. However, Hulme dropped out with issues to his tyres, requiring a pit stop. Surely, though, that's just a one-off puncture, isn't it?
A few laps later, Stewart suffered the same exact problem as Hulme, relegating him to twelfth after his pit sop, and necessitating a lot of catching up to do for the young Scot. Fittipaldi, meanwhile, had a title to secure. He was waved through by Peterson and begin to challenge Scheckter for the lead. The South African youngster was held up by a slow Jean-Pierre Beltoise, and Fittipaldi saw a gap into the final turn.
Fittipaldi and Scheckter collided, sending Scheckter up on two wheels and breaking Fittipaldi's suspension, eliminating both drivers from the race.Stewart, in the meantime, was on a charge up the order. He breezed by de Adamich, swept past both Lauda and Hill in one lap, flew by Merzario, easily disposed of Hunt, took advantage of Scheckter's and Fittipaldi's demise, and overtook Ickx on the track. That seems like a lot one driver could do in a race, and it was. Was it good enough for the title?
Not really. He came fourth, just half a second from a podium and a meagre five seconds behind his desired second place. There's only so much a driver can do in a race, and that was too much for Stewart to do as Emerson Fittipaldi celebrated his first title which he could have oh so easily thrown away.