Fittipaldi also managed to give the home fans exactly what they wanted in qualifying, sweeping to pole despite the fact it was only his second race for McLaren. Carlos Reutemann claimed second on the grid, while Niki Lauda shared the front row with Ronnie Peterson. At the start it was the "even" side of the grid that got the best start, as Reutemann and Peterson shot in front of Fittipaldi, while Lauda tumbled down the order with a misfire. The rest of the field filtered through behind a fast starting Clay Regazzoni, who shot up from eighth on the grid.