1975 Monaco Grand Prix
| XXXIII Gran Prix de Monaco – F1 | |
|---|---|
| Country | 
|
| Grand Prix |
|
| Date | May 11 |
| Year | 1975 |
| Race No | 5 |
| Season No | 14 |
| Location | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Course | Street circuit |
| Course mi | 2.037 |
| Course km | 3.278 |
| Distance laps | 75 |
| Distance mi | 152.764 |
| Distance km | 245.850 |
| Scheduled laps | 78 |
| Scheduled mi | 158.874 |
| Scheduled km | 255.684 |
| Weather | Rain, later drying |
| Pole Driver | Niki Lauda |
| Pole Team | Ferrari |
| Pole Time | 1:26.40 |
| Pole Country | flagiconAustria |
| Fast Driver | Patrick Depailler |
| Fast Team | Tyrrell-Ford |
| Fast Time | 1:28.67 |
| Fast Lap | 68 |
| Fast Country | flagiconFrance |
| First Driver | Niki Lauda |
| First Team | Ferrari |
| First Country | flagiconAustria |
| Second Driver | Emerson Fittipaldi |
| Second Team | McLaren-Ford |
| Second Country | flagiconBrazil |
| Third Driver | José Carlos Pace |
| Third Team | Brabham-Ford |
| Third Country | flagiconBrazil |
The 1975 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 11, 1975. It was the fifth race of the 1975 Formula One season
Race summary
The future of Grand Prix racing was under scrutiny following the disastrous Spanish race. Actions had to be taken quickly: extra guard rails and catch fences were erected, kerbing resited and the chicane was modified. New measures were introduced: the grid was staggered and in addition would be restricted to just 18 cars. This last rule took Graham Hill's chance to qualify: the 5-time Monaco winner had all sorts of practice problems and failed to qualify by 0.377 seconds. John Watson and Clay Regazzoni collided in practice, whilst the Surtees team was ordered to remove pro-Europe political stickers from its cars.
Niki Lauda, on Ferrari, claimed pole position, but sensationally sharing the front row was Tom Pryce, on Shadow, who just 12 months earlier had been deemed 'too inexperienced' to compete. Jean-Pierre Jarier and Ronnie Peterson filled the second row. The race began under rain conditions, so everyone went for wet tyres. Lauda was fastest at the start, whole Pryce had a slow start and was passed by Jarier; the Frenchman soon attempted to pass Lauda in an ill-advised overtaking manoeuvre, and hit the barriers at the Mirabeau; his car was damaged in the collision and handled badly, so he hit the wal again at the chicane and retired. Peterson went into the second place with Vittorio Brambilla third, until Pryce hit the Italian's wheel. Regazzoni stopped to change a tyre and the nosecone of his car, and James Hunt stopped to change onto slick tyres, anticipating a drying of the track surface. However, the team's pit work was really slow and he lost a substantial amount of time.
Ronnie Peterson's victory chances were damaged at his pit stop when a wheel nut was lost under the car. Tom Pryce came in to replace a broken nosecone, and by that time Niki Lauda led by 15 seconds from Emerson Fittipaldi and Carlos Pace. Many accidents happened during the race: Jochen Mass and James Hunt tangled at Mirabeau, and Patrick Depailler got embroiled in their accident; Clay Regazzoni hit the chicane and suffered damage; John Watson spun and stalled the engine of his car; Pryce hit the barrier and had to retire; Mario Andretti entered the pits with his car on fire; Mark Donohue hit the barrier, whilst Alan Jones broke a wheel.
In the last laps Lauda's oil pressure was fading and Fittipaldi was closing. With 3 laps left the gap was 2.75 seconds, however,the 2 hour time limit was reached and the race was stopped, with Lauda winning. Ferrari had won their first Monaco Grand Prix in 20 years; the tragedy of the Spanish Grand Prix was being forgotten and the Championship race was back on.
Classification
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Notes
- The race was originally scheduled for 78 laps, but was stopped after reaching the two hours limit.
| Previous Race: 1975 Spanish Grand Prix |
FIA 1975 Formula One World Championship |
Next Race: 1975 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Previous Race: 1974 Monaco Grand Prix |
Monaco Grand Prix | Next Race: 1976 Monaco Grand Prix |