1975 Swedish Grand Prix - Race Report

Race Report

Qualifying resulted in pole position for Vittorio Brambilla in his March, while Lauda qualified fifth fastest and his teammate Clay Regazzoni 11th. In the race Brambilla took the lead, but by lap 16 he was overtaken by Carlos Reutemann's Brabham and eventually had to retire with a blistered front tyre. Tom Pryce had to pit early due to throttle slides being clogged by sand, whilst Patrick Depailler suffered a brake line leak. Hunt retired on lap 22 with a brake-pipe leak, promoting Regazzoni and Mario Andretti. Poor Jean-Pierre Jarier lost second place to failing oil pressure on lap 38. Young Tony Brise was showing little respect for his elders, overtaking Mark Donohue and Ronnie Peterson and then challenging championship leader Emerson Fittipaldi. The battle which ensued slowed them up and John Watson in the Surtees had soon climbed up behind them. Meanwhile, Lauda was steadily progressing through the field and on lap 42 he was second. He put a series of fastest laps, benefiting from a harder tyre compound, closed on Reutemann and overtook him to win the Grand Prix by 6 seconds. Reutemann finished second with Regazzoni, in the other Ferrari 312T, third. Brise had his gearbox jammed in fourth and surrendered to Donohue, but on his third Grand Prix gained his first World Championship point and Graham Hill's first as a constructor. It would prove the only point of Brise's promising but brief F1 career. Fittipaldi suffered braking problems and was passed by Jody Scheckter at the race end to finish in eighth.