Formula 1's youngest world champion sat trapped aboard his Lotus 72, feet pinched and ankles badly bruised. It would be 20 minutes before Emerson Fittipaldi was freed; a painful blow for his title defence, which had been ignited by successive wins in the 1973 season-opening Argentinian and Brazilian Grands Prix.
Come the Dutch race, round 10 of 15, the 26-year-old needed to bounce back after two straight retirements. He was on course to do just that, and was topping the qualifying times at Zandvoort behind the wheel of 72/5, in which he'd scored four world championship victories and a further three non-championship triumphs, making it the most successful of the 10 chassis built.