Origins While racing in Sweden had a long history it was not until 1931 that a race was first titled Grand Prix. The first
Swedish Winter Grand Prix was held on a mammoth 46 kilometre circuit near
Lake Rämen about 2 hours northwest of
Stockholm in the snow and freezing cold with a lap time of approximately 35 minutes. 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. 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.
Kristianstad #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. 75,000 spectators surrounded the -long
Råbelövsbanan circuit, located near
Kristianstad. It was the debut of the
Mercedes 300SLR (entered for
Juan Manuel Fangio and
Stirling Moss). 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. only for it to have trouble with its brakes, as well.
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
Niki Lauda's second year with Ferrari, the team provided him with the
312T – a car that was technically far superior to any of the competition. He won his first world title that year with 5 wins and a huge margin over second place in the championship. At Anderstorp he took his third consecutive win of the season after the
Monaco and
Belgian Grands Prix. Qualifying resulted in pole position for
Vittorio Brambilla in his
March, Lauda qualified fifth fastest and his teammate
Clay Regazzoni 11th. In the race Brambilla took the lead, but by lap 16 he was overtaken by
Carlos Reutemann's
Brabham. Meanwhile, Lauda was steadily progressing through the field and on lap 42 he was second. He put a series of fastest laps, closed on Reutemann and overtook him to win the Grand Prix by 6 seconds. Reutemann finished second with Regazzoni in the second Ferrari 312T third. The 1976 Swedish GP saw the first (and only) win of a 6-wheel car – the
Tyrrell P34. The theory was that its four tiny front wheels would increase mechanical front-end grip – with more rubber on the road – and thus eliminate
understeer while at the same time improve cornering and braking. When it was revealed it was the instant sensation of the 1976 season. The car was a photo opportunity on wheels – six of them, which was precisely why – and must have given
Elf more free publicity in the 1976 pre-season and beyond than it garnered during the whole of 1974 and 1975. Tyrrell's
Jody Scheckter took pole, with
Patrick Depailler in fourth. In the race the Tyrrells strode imperiously to a crushing one-two. The South African, who when later probed confided that he thought the six-wheeled concept ridiculous, was beaming on the podium. However the Swedish walkover proved to be a fluke, and the P34 never won a race again. At Anderstorp,
Jacques Laffite in his
Gitanes sponsored
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" 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==