The 1973 US Grand Prix, the season finale, was overshadowed by François Cevert's fatal qualifying crash, which prompted Tyrrell's withdrawal and gifted Lotus the Manufacturers' Cup.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Ronnie Peterson (Lotus-Ford)
- Number of laps
- 59 laps
- Race position in season
- Race 15 of 15
- Peterson's seasonal victories
- 4th victory of the 1973 season
- Fatality during qualifying
- François Cevert
- Manufacturers' Cup awarded to
- Lotus (after Tyrrell withdrawal)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During qualifying on October 6, 1973, Tyrrell driver François Cevert was killed in a crash at Watkins Glen. The accident occurred the day before what was planned as Jackie Stewart's 100th and final Grand Prix start, depriving the Tyrrell team of both drivers and prompting their decision to withdraw from the race.
On October 7, 1973, Ronnie Peterson won the 59-lap United States Grand Prix from pole position, driving a Lotus-Ford. He held off James Hunt's Hesketh-entered March-Ford, with Carlos Reutemann finishing third in a Brabham-Ford. The race served as the final round of both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
Tyrrell's withdrawal from the event, following Cevert's death, meant the team scored no points in the finale. This result handed the Manufacturers' Cup to Lotus. Jackie Stewart, deprived of his planned farewell race, retired from Formula One having already secured his third World Drivers' Championship earlier that season.