The 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 April 1974 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama near Madrid, Spain. It was race 4 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
The 84-lap race was won from pole position by Austrian driver Niki Lauda, driving a Ferrari. It was Lauda's first of 25 Formula One victories. Swiss teammate Clay Regazzoni finished second, with Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi third in a McLaren-Ford.
Race summary
With James Hunt's Hesketh having won the non-championship International Trophy three weeks previously, the 1974 season was turning out to be one of the most open ever, with five drivers from four teams having won the first five races (also including the non-championship Race of Champions), and a driver who had not won at all - Clay Regazzoni - leading the Drivers' Championship.
The Spanish Grand Prix marked the debuts of the Trojan and Amon teams, as well as Liechtensteiner driver Rikky von Opel. Jorge de Bagration, a local driver of Georgian royal descent, was to have taken part in the race, driving a Surtees TS16 with sponsorship from department store El Corte Inglés, but missed out due to a very unusual set of circumstances: the outgoing president of the Spanish Motor Sport Federation cleared his office, taking with him all paper files including the official entry list for the race; a replacement list was hurriedly drawn up that omitted de Bagration, whose sponsorship had just fallen through. Despite this, de Bagration should still have been included on the replacement list, regardless whether or not he would have been able to race.
Niki Lauda took pole from Ronnie Peterson in a qualifying session disrupted by a large accident to Patrick Depailler, but it was Peterson who led from the start as rain began to fall. Jacky Ickx moved into the podium places, taking 3rd place on lap 19.
As the track dried, cars dived into the pits for replacement tyres. Ferrari got Lauda in and out for a total pit stop time of 35 seconds, enabling him to take the lead. The race ended at the two-hour mark, six laps short of the scheduled 90, with Lauda leading Regazzoni home in a Ferrari 1-2 and no other driver on the lead lap. Arturo Merzario lost out on a solid points finish when the hit the wall in 4th. Emerson Fittipaldi held off a strong challenge from Hans-Joachim Stuck, whilst Jody Scheckter claimed his first points.
Classification
Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap 1 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 1:18.44 2 1 Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 1:18.47 +0.03 3 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:19.25 +0.81 4 5 Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford 1:19.28 +0.84 5 2 Jacky Ickx Lotus-Ford 1:19.28 +0.84 6 7 Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 1:19.37 +0.93 7 20 Arturo Merzario Iso-Marlboro-Ford 1:19.54 +1.10 8 56 Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 1:19.66 +1.22 9 10 Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 1:19.81 +1.37 10 3 Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 1:19.86 +1.42 11 24 James Hunt Hesketh-Ford 1:19.87 +1.43 12 14 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 1:20.03 +1.59 13 17 Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford 1:20.20 +1.76 14 9 Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford 1:20.46 +2.02 15 18 Carlos Pace Surtees-Ford 1:20.52 +2.08 16 28 John Watson Brabham-Ford 1:20.52 +2.08 17 4 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 1:20.65 +2.21 18 33 Mike Hailwood McLaren-Ford 1:20.65 +2.21 19 19 Jochen Mass Surtees-Ford 1:20.80 +2.36 20 26 Graham Hill Lola-Ford 1:20.99 +2.55 21 15 Henri Pescarolo BRM 1:21.32 +2.88 22 16 Brian Redman Shadow-Ford 1:21.35 +2.91 23 37 François Migault BRM 1:21.43 +2.99 24 30 Chris Amon Amon-Ford 1:21.79 +3.35 25 8 Rikky von Opel Brabham-Ford 1:21.85 +3.41 26 23 Tim Schenken Trojan-Ford 1:21.89 +3.45 27 Guy Edwards Lola-Ford 1:21.96 +3.52 21 Tom Belsø Iso-Marlboro-Ford 1:22.09 +3.65
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 12 Niki Lauda Ferrari 84 2:00:29.56 1 9 2 11 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 84 + 35.61 3 6 3 5 Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford 83 + 1 Lap 4 4 4 9 Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford 82 + 2 Laps 13 3 5 3 Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 82 + 2 Laps 9 2 6 56 Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 82 + 2 Laps 8 1 7 16 Brian Redman Shadow-Ford 81 + 3 Laps 21 8 4 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 81 + 3 Laps 16 9 33 Mike Hailwood McLaren-Ford 81 + 3 Laps 17 10 24 James Hunt Hesketh-Ford 81 + 3 Laps 10 11 28 John Watson Brabham-Ford 80 + 4 Laps 15 12 15 Henri Pescarolo BRM 80 + 4 Laps 20 13 18 Carlos Pace Surtees-Ford 78 + 6 Laps 14 14 23 Tim Schenken Trojan-Ford 76 Spun Off 25 17 Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford 73 + 11 Laps 12 26 Graham Hill Lola-Ford 43 Engine 19 20 Arturo Merzario Iso-Marlboro-Ford 37 Accident 7 19 Jochen Mass Surtees-Ford 35 Gearbox 18 37 François Migault BRM 27 Engine 22 2 Jacky Ickx Lotus-Ford 26 Brakes 5 1 Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 23 Engine 2 30 Chris Amon Amon-Ford 22 Brakes 23 8 Rikky von Opel Brabham-Ford 14 Oil Leak 24 7 Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 12 Spun Off 6 14 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 2 Engine 11 10 Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford Accident 27 Guy Edwards Lola-Ford 21 Tom Belsø Iso-Marlboro-Ford 25 Silvio Moser Brabham-Ford 29 Jorge de Bagration Surtees-Ford
Notes
This was the Formula One World Championship debut for British constructor Trojan and New Zealand constructor Amon. Amon also was the first constructor from New Zealand. This was the 50th Grand Prix win for a Ferrari and a Ferrari-powered car. For the first time since the 1972 German Grand Prix, a Grand Prix was not won by a Ford-powered car. It ended a record streak of 22 consecutive Grand Prix wins for the British-American engine supplier.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Clay Regazzoni 16 5 2 Niki Lauda 15 3 Emerson Fittipaldi 13 4 Denny Hulme 10 3 5 Carlos Reutemann 9Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 McLaren-Ford 26 2 Ferrari 21 3 Brabham-Ford 9 4 BRM 8 1 5 Tyrrell-Ford 6Source:
References