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Formula One 1975 Season |
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Regulations:
Engine: 1500 cc (supercharged / turbocharged), 3000 cc (normally aspirated)
Cylinders: 12 (maximum)
Weight: 575 kg (minimum)
Points - Driver & Constructors: 1st: 9, 2nd: 6, 3rd: 4, 4th: 3, 5th: 2, 6th: 1 |
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Emerson Fittipaldi's McLaren M23 won the Argentine GP after Reutemann and Hunt had dropped back.
The end of the 1975 John Player British GP. Twelve cars, including most of the leaders, were eliminated on the 56th lap. The race had been dogged by foul weather, necessitating as many as four tire changes. The race was abandoned after Emerson Fittipaldi completed his 56th lap, but it took another 3 days for officials to establish the finishing order.
Mark Donohue was one of the nicest people in motorsport - and many mourned when he was killed during practice for the 1975 Austrian GP. An experienced development engineer, Donohue had been Trans-Am Champion in 1968, 1969 and 1970 in Roger Penske's Camaro, Can-Am Champion in a Porsche 917 in 1973 and Indianapolis winner in 1972.
Tony Brise, who was killed in a senseless air crash at the end of the 1975 season, along with Graham Hill.
Graham Hill, killed in an air crash at the end of the 1975 season, along with Tony Brise and four other team members - the team was then disbanded.
Lord Hesketh and James Hunt with the 1975 Hesketh 308C. The car was very low, apart from the cockpit, and featured rubber springing. After the demise of the racing team from Easton Neston, the Frank Williams equipe took over the project. |
The Constructors
All Ferrari's earlier promise finally netted the results in 1975 and Niki Lauda took the world championship away from the Ford-powered cars for the first time since 1968, once more fuelling the longstanding pronostications that the DFV's reign was over. The introduction of the Ferrari 312T marked the beginning of a long run of successes for the Maranello marque. The outstanding feature of the 312T was its use of a transversely mounted gearbox, yet another variation on the low polar moment theme, but this time one that worked.
One other car that looked as though it was on the road to success was the latest Shadow, the DN5; a sterling performance in Argentina, in practice, and another in the Brazilian race were highspots in an otherwise frustrating season. New cars appeared from Lola, Ensign, Frank Williams and the Brazilian Copersucar team, formed by Wilson Fittipaldi. The return of Lola to F I was not a successful one and before the end of the season the Hill team, which was running their cars, had built their own contender.
However the potential of the team was never fully realised as the key personnel, including Hill and the designer Andy Smallman, were killed in a flying accident in November 1975. The Hesketh team's swansong was the 308C which made its debut in Italy. The car featured an extremely shallow monocoque tub with the fuel load carried centrally, and low line air intakes which anticipated the 1976 rules, which banned high air boxes.
Project 34
The Hesketh team were to be disbanded at the end of 1975 and the car was never developed to the extent it deserved. Before the end of the 1975 season, Tyrrell dropped a bombshell when he revealed his new car - known then as Project 34 - to a disbelieving world; Project 34 had six wheels. Far from being the publicity grabber that many dubbed it, P34 was developed over the closed season and the early part of 1976 to be among the top three competitors.
Gardner's thinking in providing the car with four mini-sized front wheels was to maintain - or even improve - the tire contact area and consequently braking and steering power, with a reduction in frontal area to give a higher top speed. When early brake-cooling and setting-up problems had been overcome the car showed that its major advantage was that the narrow front track allowed the drivers to go much deeper into the corners before turning in, allowing them to brake a little later and harder.
Perspex windows in the cockpit sides, to allow the drivers to see the tiny wheels, also let spectators in on the fact that the six-wheeler was something of a handful to drive. Whether P34 would have been quicker than a newly developed conventional Tyrrell is a matter for conjecture but several other teams were rumoured to be thinking along similar lines. |
1975 Grand Prix Calendar |
Date |
Grand Prix |
Circuit |
Pole Position |
Winner |
January 12th, 1975 |
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Argentine GP |
Buenos Aires |
Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
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Brazilian GP |
Interlagos |
Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Carlos Pace |
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South African GP |
Kyalami
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Carlos Pace |
Jody Scheckter |
April 27th, 1975 |
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Spanish GP |
Montjuich Park |
Niki Lauda |
Jochen Mass |
May 11th, 1975 |
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Monaco GP |
Monte Carlo |
Niki Lauda |
Niki Lauda |
May 25th, 1975 |
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Belgian GP |
Zolder |
Niki Lauda |
Niki Lauda |
June 8th, 1975 |
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Swedish GP |
Anderstorp |
Vittorio Brambilla |
Niki Lauda |
June 22nd, 1975 |
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Dutch GP |
Zandvoort |
Niki Lauda |
James Hunt |
July 6th, 1975 |
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French GP |
Paul Ricard |
Niki Lauda |
Niki Lauda |
July 19th, 1975 |
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British GP |
Silverstone |
Tom Pryce |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
August 3rd, 1975 |
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German GP |
Nürburgring |
Niki Lauda |
Carlos Reutemann |
August 17th, 1975 |
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Austrian GP |
Osterreichring |
Niki Lauda |
Vittorio Brambilla |
September 7th, 1975 |
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Italian GP |
Monza |
Niki Lauda |
Clay Regazzoni |
October 5th, 1975 |
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United States GP |
Watkins Glen |
Niki Lauda |
Niki Lauda |
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1975 F1 Drivers
Championship |
Position |
Driver |
Points |
C |
Niki Lauda |
64.5 |
2 |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
45 |
3 |
Carlos Reutemann |
37 |
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James Hunt |
33 |
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Clay Regazzoni |
25 |
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Carlos Pace |
24 |
7 |
Jody Scheckter |
20 |
8 |
Jochen Mass |
20 |
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1975 F1 Constructors
Championship |
Position |
Manufacturer |
Points |
C |
Ferrari / Ferrari |
72.5 |
2 |
Brabham / Ford |
54 |
3 |
McLaren / Ford |
53 |
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Hesketh / Ford |
33 |
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Tyrrell / Ford
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25 |
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Shadow / Ford |
9.5 |
7 |
Lotus / Ford |
9 |
8 |
March / Ford |
7.5 |
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