The championship increased from twelve to fifteen races as Jackie Stewart bounced back to win his third World Title and then retired having set a record 27 Grand Prix wins from just 99 starts. His final and 100th championship race was to have been at the U.S. Grand Prix, but tragically his team-mate Francois Cevert was killed in practice and the Tyrrell team withdrew as a mark of respect.

Lotus having signed up Ronnie Peterson to partner Emerson Fittipaldi equipped themselves with two winning drivers who between them scored seven wins. However the pair effectively took points from each other and despite taking the Constructor's crown for the Hethel team they both fell short of Stewart's points total.

McLaren introduced their type M23 car, a splendid design that was to give the team four years of success and two driver's championships.

New constructors' Ensign and Shadow both made their first starts in Formula 1 and an irreverent and ebullient group of enthusiasts at Hesketh Racing spearheaded by James Hunt ran a privateer March.

Safety became an issue once more after a fiery accident befell Roger Williamson at Zandvoort. Grids were henceforth restricted to lines of two by two cars.