Swedish Grand Prix

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Formula One race. For other uses, see Swedish Grand Prix (disambiguation).

The Swedish Grand Prix (

Finland and Norway. The first Swedish Summer Grand Prix was held in 1933
, but was not repeated until 1949.

The first races with the title Swedish Grand Prix were three sports car races held at Råbelövsbanan starting in 1955. A Formula Two race held in 1967 also carried the title.

History

Origins

While racing in Sweden had a long history it was not until 1931 that a race was first titled Grand Prix. The first

Lake Rämen about 2 hours northwest of Stockholm in the snow and freezing cold with a lap time of approximately 35 minutes.[1] In 1933 the first Swedish Summer Grand Prix was held on another huge 30 kilometre circuit made of public roads at Norra Vram, not far north from Malmö, a race which can be better compared to modern Grands Prix. The opening lap saw a multi-car pile-up which saw several drivers injured, two seriously, and a riding mechanic was killed. One of the crashed cars started a fire which saw a nearby house burned to the ground.[2] The race continued while emergency services attended the scene and the race was eventually won by Antonio Brivio in an Alfa Romeo (for Scuderia Ferrari). Major racing came to a halt after that.[3]

Kristianstad

Ferrari 500 Mondial
#0408MD driven by Valdemar Stener in the 1955 Swedish GP

The first postwar Grand Prix (a sports car event) was held in August 1955, only a few months after the Le Mans tragedy.[4] 75,000 spectators surrounded the 6.537 km (4.062 mi)-long Råbelövsbanan circuit, located near Kristianstad.[5] It was the debut of the Mercedes 300SLR (entered for Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss).[5] Other entrants included Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori (the works Aston Martin DB3Ss), Eugenio Castellotti (the sole works Ferrari 735 LM), and the works Maserati 300S of Jean Behra.[5]

Unusually, the race used a Le Mans start.[5] It proved to be "a dull procession",[5] with Moss leading lap one, while Fangio took command on lap two and held the lead for the next 31 laps to the checkered flag.[5] Only Fangio, Moss, Castellotti (who came third), and Behra finished.[5]

After the track was resurfaced and widened, following it being named an event on the

Ecurie Ecosse's Le Mans-winning D-types, and ran 153 laps.[6]

Collins took an early lead in the Ferrari 290 MM, pursued by Moss' 300S and Mike Hawthorn's Ferrari 860 Monza. At the first pit stop, Moss came out first. Behra (sharing Moss' 300S) suffered brake trouble and Olivier Gendebien (in Collins' Ferrari) had an oil leak.[5] The oil led to a wreck involving Gendebien's teammates Collins (taking over for Wolfgang von Trips) and Phil Hill (in the car started by Maurice Trintignant).[5] This put the Ferrari shared between Castellotti and Fangio well ahead.[5] Moss took over the Maserati of Luigi Villoresi and Harry Schell,[7] only for it to have trouble with its brakes, as well.[6] The car Moss started caught fire in a pit stop debacle.[6] Castellotti's engine blew in the lead, giving the Trintignant/Hill 250MM the win, followed home by von Trips/Collins in the second 250MM, and Hawthorne/Alfonso de Portago/Duncan Hamilton in an 860 Monza.[6]

The last sports car Grand Prix at Råbelövsbanan was in 1957, a six-hour World Sportscar Championship race, rather than 1,000 km (620 mi). It was dominated by the Maserati 450S shared by Moss and Behra, which "romped home"[6] in front of the Ferrari 335 S of Hill and Collins. In addition, Moss co-drove the 300S of Jo Bonnier/Giorgio Scarlatti/Harry Schell, which came third.[6] Hawthorne and Luigi Musso placed fourth in a 335 S.[6]

Karlskoga

In 1967, the name Swedish Grand Prix was, as a one-off name, given to that year's Kanonloppet in Karlskoga. It was run to Formula Two rules and was won by Jackie Stewart.[8]

Anderstorp

Ronnie Peterson's success with Team Lotus was the catalyst for a Swedish Grand Prix and the race was held for the first time in 1973 at the grandly-named Scandinavian Raceway, about two hours east of Gothenburg in the middle of southern Sweden- this circuit, much like Watkins Glen in the eastern United States, was very isolated and people often either camped out or stayed in local people's homes, which were few and far between in the nearmost town of Anderstorp, a town with a population of less than 5,000; the larger town of Gislaved not providing much more accommodation. Peterson did not disappoint his fans in qualifying, taking pole in his Lotus. For 70 laps it looked like this was going to be a one-two for Team Lotus with Peterson first and world champion Emerson Fittipaldi second. However disaster struck when Fittipaldi retired with gearbox failure. Meanwhile, Denny Hulme was quickly closing the gap on the lead, Peterson having major trouble with tire wear and fighting to stay on the track. On the 79th, penultimate, lap Hulme was able to pass the local hero to snatch victory, the New Zealander's decision to run harder tires on his McLaren-Cosworth having paid off. Peterson was second. That was as close as any Swede came to winning on home soil. During the 1973 season, the Cosworth DFV powered the winner in every single race in the 15-race season, a performance never repeated.

In 1974, the Swedish Grand Prix was totally dominated by the two Tyrrell 007-Cosworths of Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. It was the Frenchman who took pole, however Scheckter beat him by 0.380 sec in the race. This was the South African's first Grand Prix win.

In 1975, Austrian

Ligier-Matra put in a commanding display, romping to victory in the 1977 Swedish GP. France
had been put back on the map: that was the first time that a French car with a French engine, backed by a French company, and driven by a French driver had won a Grand Prix.

1978 race and the Brabham "fan car"

Brabham BT46B "fan car"

The 1978 Swedish GP saw the only appearance in Formula One of the

Brabham BT46B. Designed by Brabham's Gordon Murray, who was trying to eclipse Colin Chapman's ground effect invention on the Lotus 79, the car featured a large fan pulling air from under the bottom of the car to create additional downforce. Its legality was soon protested, but it was allowed to race, Niki Lauda and John Watson qualifying 2nd and 3rd behind the Lotus 79 of Mario Andretti. Andretti eventually dropped out due to a broken valve, allowing Lauda into the lead. Once a back-marker dropped oil onto the track, the Brabham was in a race of its own, seemingly unaffected by the slippery surface. Lauda went on to win by 34.6 seconds. The "fan car" was later voluntarily withdrawn by Brabham, and never raced again. The car had, however, been deemed legal, allowing the win to stand, which also cost Arrows
their chance of victory in their debut season.

There has been no Swedish Grand Prix since 1978. The deaths of both Ronnie Peterson and Gunnar Nilsson that year contributed to the demise of this round of the world championship, as interest for Formula One in Sweden fell as a result. The race was scheduled for the 1979 season, but was cancelled before being run, due to lack of local sponsorships.

Winners

The races before 1956 were formally called the Swedish Summer Grand Prix.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Repeat winners (drivers)

Wins Driver Years won
2 South Africa Jody Scheckter 1974, 1976
Austria Niki Lauda 1975, 1978
Source:[9]

Repeat winners (constructors)

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Teams in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.

Wins Constructor Years won
2 Italy Maserati 1949, 1957
Italy Ferrari 1956, 1975
United Kingdom Tyrrell 1974, 1976
Sources:[9][10]

Repeat winners (engine manufacturers)

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Manufacturers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.

Wins Manufacturer Years won
3 United States Ford * 1973, 1974, 1976
2 Italy Maserati 1949, 1957
Italy Ferrari 1956, 1975
Italy Alfa Romeo 1933, 1978
Sources:[9][10]

* Built by Cosworth

By year

A map of all the locations of the Swedish Grand Prix

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Year Driver Constructor Location Report
1933 Italy Antonio Brivio Alfa Romeo Norra Vram Report
1934
–
1948 		Not held
1949 Thailand B. Bira Maserati Skarpnäck Report
1950
–
1954 		Not held
1955 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes-Benz Råbelövsbanan Report
1956
 United States Phil Hill
France Maurice Trintignant 		Ferrari Report
1957
 France Jean Behra
United Kingdom Stirling Moss 		Maserati Report
1958
–
1966 		Not held
1967 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart Matra-Cosworth Karlskoga Report
1968
–
1972 		Not held
1973 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford
Anderstorp
 Report
1974 South Africa Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford Report
1975 Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari Report
1976 South Africa Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford Report
1977 France Jacques Laffite
Ligier-Matra
 Report
1978 Austria Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo Report
Sources:[8][9][10][11]

References

  1. ^ Superventilen (15 January 2013). "GRAND PRIX RÄMENLOPPET 1933 ! (Grand Prix Motor Racing Sweden Winter 1933)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "1933 Mannin Moar, Dieppe GP, Coppa Ciano, Swedish and Nice GPs". Kolumbus.fi. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
  3. ^ "Tracks-Nordic Countries". Kolumbus.fi. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
  4. ^ Kettlewell, Mike. "Swedish Grand Prix: Formula One in Scandinavia", in Ward, Ian, executive editor. The World of Automobiles, Volume 19 (London: Orbis, 1974), p.2279.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kettlewell, p.2279.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Kettlewell, p.2280.
  7. ^ Kettlewell, pp.2279-80.
  8. ^ a b "1967 Swedish Grand Prix". Motor Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7603-0152-4
    – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ a b c "Swedish Grand Prix". The FastLane. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  11. ^ "1933 Grand Prix Season – I Svergies Sommar Grand Prix". Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing. Retrieved 10 December 2021.

External links

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