The Osterreichring, set amid the rolling hills of Styria, was one of the fastest and most scenically dramatic circuits on the Formula One calendar. By mid-August 1973, the championship was entering its decisive phase. Lotus held the upper hand through Peterson and Fittipaldi, while Stewart's Tyrrell team remained in contention. Austria carried extra emotion in 1973 because the race's most prominent local interest, Niki Lauda, was absent. Lauda had broken his wrist in an accident at the Nurburgring two weeks earlier and was unable to compete at his home grand prix. BRM, his employer at the time, did not call up a replacement driver for the event.
Ronnie Peterson converted his second-place grid position into victory, adding another win to his impressive mid-season run for Lotus. Jackie Stewart, already a three-time world champion contender, finished second in his Tyrrell-Ford. The result proved historically significant: it was Stewart's 43rd and final podium finish in Formula One, a record that would stand for eight years until Carlos Reutemann surpassed it at the 1981 Italian Grand Prix.
Third place went to Brazilian Carlos Pace in a Surtees-Ford, and it was a landmark occasion for him as well — his first podium in Formula One. Pace was still building his reputation in 1973 and the Austrian result confirmed the potential that would later see him claim his lone grand prix victory at the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix before his career was cut short.
Lauda's enforced absence meant Austrian fans were denied the opportunity to watch their most celebrated driver at his home circuit. The episode highlighted the physical risks of Formula One in the early 1970s, when injuries sustained at one race could cascade across the remainder of a season. BRM's decision not to replace Lauda also reflected the constructor's struggling form at the time; the team was in decline from its early-decade competitiveness.
Peterson's victory contributed to an extraordinary season in which he and Fittipaldi were the dominant forces for Lotus, but the title ultimately went to Stewart. The Austrian race proved to be one of Stewart's final appearances in the sport, as he would announce his retirement at the end of 1973 following the death of his teammate Francois Cevert at Watkins Glen. Stewart's record of 43 podiums, set in Austria, stood as the benchmark for longevity and consistency in Formula One until the more career-intensive 1980s. For Pace, the podium in Austria marked the beginning of a run of results that would establish him as one of South America's finest racing drivers.