1975 Argentine Grand Prix
Motor car race
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The 1975 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 12 January 1975. It was race 1 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the twelfth Argentine Grand Prix and only the second to be held on the lengthened six kilometre version of the race track that runs out towards Curvon Salotto around the lake which lies to the north-east of the circuit.
| 1975 Argentine Grand Prix | |||
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| Race details | |||
| Date | January 12, 1975 | ||
| Official name | XII Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina | ||
| Location |
Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.968 km (3.708 miles) | ||
| Distance | 53 laps, 316.315 km (196.549 miles) | ||
| Weather | Hot and sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Shadow-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:49.21[1] | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 James Hunt | Hesketh-Ford | |
| Time | 1:50.91[2] on lap 34 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Second | Hesketh-Ford | ||
| Third | Brabham-Ford | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The race was won for the second time by Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi driving a McLaren M23. He took a six-second victory over James Hunt in his Hesketh 308. Carlos Reutemann scored his best result to that time on his home race finishing third in his Brabham BT44B.
Race summary
The close season had been fairly quiet – Jochen Mass had replaced Denny Hulme at McLaren, John Watson had joined Surtees and Mike Wilds, Rolf Stommelen and Jacques Laffite were confirmed at BRM, Hill and Williams respectively.
March had announced their retirement, but then in a dramatic U-turn confirmed their entry for 1975 with Vittorio Brambilla and Lella Lombardi.
There were contractual wrangles with Ronnie Peterson, reportedly discontent at Lotus and it was uncertain up until the start of practice whether he would be driving for them or Shadow.
Jean-Pierre Jarier proved the Shadow's effectiveness, putting in the fastest ever lap of the circuit, averaging 122 mph to gain his first pole from Carlos Pace and Carlos Reutemann.
However it was all in vain. On the warm-up lap, his crown-wheel-and-pinion stripped, leaving him a non-starter. Local hero Reutemann gratefully accepted the lead from Pace. James Hunt driving the newest Hesketh with new rubber suspension climbed from the 6th row up to third place, duelling with Niki Lauda. Jochen Mass and Jody Scheckter tangled. Meanwhile, John Watson was stranded with a loose fuel-pipe and was disqualified after attempting trackside repairs.
Wilson Fittipaldi crashed on lap 13, his car of his own construction catching fire and requiring the fire engine to be deployed. By now, Hunt had passed Lauda and was catching the two Brabhams. Pace took the lead on lap 15, but spun on the very next lap. Reutemann having retaken the lead, was understeering badly and on lap 25 was passed by Hunt. There was a ferocious battle with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead.
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Shadow–Ford | 1:49.21 |
| 2 |  Carlos Pace |
Brabham–Ford | +0.43 |
| 3 |  Carlos Reutemann |
Brabham–Ford | +0.59 |
| 4 |  Niki Lauda |
Ferrari | +0.75 |
| 5 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
McLaren–Ford | +0.81 |
| 6 | James Hunt |
Hesketh–Ford | +1.05 |
| 7 |  Clay Regazzoni |
Ferrari | +1.50 |
| 8 | Patrick Depailler |
Tyrrell–Ford | +1.59 |
| 9 |  Jody Scheckter |
Tyrrell–Ford | +1.61 |
| 10 |  Mario Andretti |
Parnelli–Ford | +1.85 |
| 11 |  Ronnie Peterson |
Lotus–Ford | +2.23 |
| 12 |  Vittorio Brambilla |
March–Ford | +2.56 |
| 13 |  Jochen Mass |
McLaren–Ford | +2.61 |
| 14 | Tom Pryce |
Shadow–Ford | +2.71 |
| 15 | John Watson |
Surtees–Ford | +2.92 |
| 16 | Mark Donohue |
Penske–Ford | +3.15 |
| 17 | Jacques Laffite |
Williams–Ford | +3.67 |
| 18 |  Jacky Ickx |
Lotus–Ford | +3.69 |
| 19 | Rolf Stommelen |
Lola–Ford | +3.91 |
| 20 | Arturo Merzario |
Williams–Ford | +4.22 |
| 21 | Graham Hill |
Lola–Ford | +4.79 |
| 22 | Mike Wilds |
BRM | +5.27 |
| 23 | Wilson Fittipaldi |
Fittipaldi–Ford | +11.01 |
| Source:[4] | |||
Race
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
McLaren-Ford | G | 53 | 1:39:26.29 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | 24 | James Hunt |
Hesketh-Ford | G | 53 | + 5.91 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | 7 | Carlos Reutemann |
Brabham-Ford | G | 53 | + 17.06 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 11 | Clay Regazzoni |
Ferrari | G | 53 | + 35.79 | 7 | 3 |
| 5 | 4 | Patrick Depailler |
Tyrrell-Ford | G | 53 | + 54.25 | 8 | 2 |
| 6 | 12 | Niki Lauda |
Ferrari | G | 53 | + 1:19.65 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | 28 | Mark Donohue |
Penske-Ford | G | 52 | + 1 lap | 16 | |
| 8 | 6 | Jacky Ickx |
Lotus-Ford | G | 52 | + 1 lap | 18 | |
| 9 | 9 | Vittorio Brambilla |
March-Ford | G | 52 | + 1 lap | 12 | |
| 10 | 22 | Graham Hill |
Lola-Ford | G | 52 | + 1 lap | 21 | |
| 11 | 3 | Jody Scheckter |
Tyrrell-Ford | G | 52 | + 1 lap | 9 | |
| 12 | 16 | Tom Pryce |
Shadow-Ford | G | 51 | Transmission | 14 | |
| 13 | 23 | Rolf Stommelen |
Lola-Ford | G | 51 | + 2 laps | 19 | |
| 14 | 2 | Jochen Mass |
McLaren-Ford | G | 50 | + 3 laps | 13 | |
| Ret | 8 | Carlos Pace |
Brabham-Ford | G | 46 | Engine | 2 | |
| NC | 20 | Arturo Merzario |
Williams-Ford | G | 44 | + 9 laps | 20 | |
| Ret | 27 | Mario Andretti |
Parnelli-Ford | F | 27 | Transmission | 10 | |
| Ret | 14 | Mike Wilds |
BRM | G | 24 | Engine | 22 | |
| Ret | 5 | Ronnie Peterson |
Lotus-Ford | G | 15 | Engine | 11 | |
| Ret | 21 | Jacques Laffite |
Williams-Ford | G | 15 | Gearbox | 17 | |
| Ret | 30 | Wilson Fittipaldi |
Fittipaldi-Ford | G | 12 | Accident | 23 | |
| DSQ | 18 | John Watson |
Surtees-Ford | G | 6 | Disqualified | 15 | |
| DNS | 17 | Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Shadow-Ford | G | 0 | Transmission | 1 | |
| WD | 29 | Nestor García-Veiga |
Berta-Ford | G | Withdrew[5] | |||
- Jean-Pierre Jarier did not start of race. His place on the grid was left vacant.
- Nestor García-Veiga withdrew due to a crash in pre-race testing. His place on the grid was left vacant.
Notes
- Jean-Pierre Jarier set the fastest qualifying time, but did not start the race. Pole position was left vacant on the grid. Carlos Pace, in the second slot, was the first driver on the grid. Jarier is still considered to have held pole position.
Milestone
- This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Argentinian driver Nestor García-Veiga.
- This was the 100th Grand Prix start for McLaren. In those 100 races, McLaren had won 13 Grands Prix, achieved 47 podium finishes, 4 pole positions, 6 fastest laps and won 1 Driver's and 1 Constructor's World Championship.
- This race marked the Formula One World Championship debut for British constructor Frank Williams Racing Cars (as a constructor), Brazilian constructor Fittipaldi and Argentinian constructor Berta. Both Fittipaldi and Berta were the first constructors of their respective nations to participate in Formula One.
- This was the first pole position for American-British constructor Shadow. Shadow became the first American constructor to get a pole position.
- This was the first fastest lap set by a Hesketh.
- This was the last race for Firestone tyres, equipping the Parnelli team (piloted by Mario Andretti), who preferred to concentrate his efforts in the American open-wheel car racing (more exactly in the USAC) since then.
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.