abstract
| - The 1974 Argentine Grand Prix, officially advertised as the XI Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina, was the opening round of the 1974 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged on the lengthened Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires on 13th January 1974. The race proved to be the beginning of a new era after the retirement of World Champion Jackie Stewart, although Denny Hulme ultimately scored a win for the "old guard". After a turbulent winter, which saw countless driver and staff changes across the field, the F1 circus headed to Argentina with very little new equipment, although there would be a debut for the latest Lola attempt. The big news was the departure of 1972 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi from Lotus, the Brazilian taking up a seat at McLaren, while Ferrari had completely reshuffled their F1 department, with Luca di Montezemolo taking control with the blessing of Enzo Ferrari. Qualifying allowed the teams to get back up to speed after four months away from a race meeting, with Ronnie Peterson taking pole, continuing his run from 1973. Clay Regazzoni put his resurrected Ferrari on the front row, while Fittipaldi and Peter Revson shared the second row. The start would see Peterson immediately take the lead, while James Hunt darted into second after a stunning start from fifth. Behind them, however, there was to be confusion when Regazzoni, Revson and Mike Hailwood collided, with Jean-Pierre Jarier, Arturo Merzario and John Watson also picking up damage. Hunt went for a spin before the end of the opening tour to end his chances of taking victory, leaving Peterson with a small advantage over Carlos Reutemann. The Argentine racer was in fine form in front of his home fans, and when he swept past Peterson for the lead on lap three the crowd went into orbit. Peterson, meanwhile, was only just able to keep up with Reutemann over the following laps, although his pace began to fade with brake trouble. Peterson's pace continued to deteriorate and so Hailwood, Jacky Ickx, Hulme, barged past the Swede on lap ten. Those three then battled for second behind Reutemann, who was just keeping out of reach, with Niki Lauda joining them a few laps later. Issues for Ickx and Hailwood caused them to drop back, leaving Lauda a solid third while Hulme was released to attack Reutemann. The Kiwi failed to make any progress, until the Argentine developed a misfire as the race entered its final throes. Ultimately, a famous home win for Reutemann would be stolen from him on the penultimate lap, Hulme left with a relatively easy pass, while the Argentine continued to battle. Unfortunately he was also desperately short of fuel, and duly ran out on the final tour to allow Lauda, Regazzoni, Hailwood, Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Patrick Depailler to leap ahead of him. Hulme duly collected his eighth and final race victory, Lauda his maiden podium, and Depailler his first point.
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