Jochen Mass survives the chaos

The 1975 Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix was held at the Montjuic circuit, on 27 April 1975. It was the fourth, and last, Grand Prix to be held on this circuit, on the hills of Barcelona. The race was shortened to 29 of its scheduled 75 laps and was won by German driver Jochen Mass, driving a McLaren M23 (picture above).

Right from the start of the weekend, the drivers who were members of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, expressed their concern that the barriers were not bolted together properly, making this track too dangerous to race. Thus, they went on strike and, besides Jacky Ickx, all refused to take part in practice.

Track staff worked overnight to fix the barriers, and the drivers, still not happy with the safety of the circuit, were ‘convinced’ to race, when the organisers threatened legal action if no race was run. The defending World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, however, was still furious. He did the minimum three laps, but at a very slow pace, then pulled into the pits. The next morning, Fittipaldi announced he would not race, and went back home.

On lap 26, tragedy struck. The rear wing on Rolf Stommelen’s Embassy Hill broke, sending him into the barriers. He bounced off it and back into the road, hitting the barrier again and flying over it (picture below). Four people were killed by Stommelen’s flying car. The driver himself suffered a broken leg, a broken wrist and two cracked ribs.

The race continued for another four laps, during which Mass passed Ickx for the lead. On lap 29, the race was finally halted with Mass (McLaren M23) the winner – it would be the only Formula One win of his career – Ickx (Lotus 72E) second and Jarier (Shadow DN5) in third. With the race being stopped early, only half points were awarded for the first time in history.

After qualifying in 24th position, Lella Lombardi finished sixth in her March 751, two laps down on the winner, and was awarded 0.5 points. She’s the only woman in history to score championship points.