The car made its debut in the 1974 South African Grand Prix, driven by Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who qualified in 11th position. However, Beltoise was able to use qualifying tyres in the race due to the P201's handling, and was able to drive through the field for a second-place finish. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Beltoise again qualified 11th but retired after two laps, with an engine problem. At Belgium, he qualified seventh and finished fifth. At Monaco, Beltoise, who had qualified 11th and led the first practice times at one point, was in collision with Denny Hulme's McLaren on the first lap when the New Zealander got off-line and in attempting to rejoin, triggered a multiple accident. For this race, a second P201 chassis had been produced with outboard front disc brakes rather than inboard but was not used.