Fighting with the frontrunners

James Hunt, a rookie in Formula One, pauses confidently ahead of the 1973 British Grand Prix held at Silverstone (picture above). Rightfully so, James finished an excellent fourth.

The race is remembered for the first lap pile-up which caused eleven cars to retire. The accident happened when Jody Scheckter, running a strong fourth in his McLaren, spun at Woodcote at the end of the first lap, causing many other cars to collide and crash while trying to avoid him (picture below).

The race was restarted, and James Hunt in his Hesketh Racing March 731, who ran fourth for most of the race, surprised many by fighting with the front-runners. American driver Peter Revson (McLaren M23) took his first Grand Prix victory by 2.8 seconds from Peterson (Lotus 72).