abstract
| - Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.937,0.937,0.937) id:linemark value:gray(0.8) id:linemark2 value:gray(0.9) BackgroundColors = canvas:canvas PlotData = mark:(line,linemark) from:start till:56 color:yellow shift:(20,-5) text:Ronnie Peterson (Laps 1-56) from:56 till:end color:green shift:(20,-5) text:Emerson Fittipaldi (Laps 7-79) The XIX Gran Premio de España, otherwise known as the 1973 Spanish Grand Prix, was the fourth round of the 1973 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Montjuïc Park Circuit on the 29th of April. The race would be a story of varying degrees of tyre wear, as well as an extraordinary podium for new constructor Shadow. Qualifying had seen Ronnie Peterson, racing the updated Lotus 72E for the first time, snatch pole, beating Denny Hulme in his new McLaren M23 by 0.7s. Row two was to be shared between François Cevert and Jackie Stewart in the two Tyrrells, while defending Champion Emerson Fittipaldi found himself down in seventh after a difficult couple of days. At the start it would be Peterson who streaked away into an early lead, while Hulme dragged Stewart past Cevert to head the pack chasing down the Swede. Niki Lauda made a strong start to leap into sixth, while Mike Hailwood got away a minute later, having been told to start in the pits after an engine change on race morning. Fittipaldi made several moves in the early stages to climb up the order, while Stewart moved past Hulme to take second, with the race settling down soon after. Then, on lap 20, Hulme was forced into the pits, followed soon after by Cevert with a double puncture, leaving Fittipaldi in a lonely third. A few laps later Stewart went out with a brake failure to leave the two Loti running one-two, although that would only last for a few laps before Peterson's run came to an end with a gearbox failure. Carlos Reutemann then briefly appeared in second until he suffered a driveshaft failure, while Fittipaldi battled with a slow puncture. Fortunately for the Brazilian second placed Cevert was too far behind to challenge, allowing Fittipaldi to sweep home to a third win of the season. Behind Cevert was the Shadow of George Follmer, who had survived a wave of retirements to finish on the podium, and still on the lead lap. Revson, Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Hulme completed the scorers.
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