1976 Japanese Grand Prix

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1976 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 16 in the 1976 Formula One season
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Fuji-Historical-1976-1977.svg
Race details
Date24 October 1976
Official name XI Japanese Grand Prix [1]
Location Fuji Speedway
Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.359 km (2.709 miles)
Distance 73 laps, 318.207 [2] km (197.725 miles)
Weather Very wet and misty, eventually drying
Pole position
Driver Lotus-Ford
Time 1:12.77
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite 2 Ligier-Matra
Time 1:19.97 on lap 70
Podium
First Lotus-Ford
Second Tyrrell-Ford
Third McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1976 Japanese Grand Prix

The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix 1 was a Formula One motor race held at Fuji Speedway on 24 October 1976. It was the 16th and final race of the 1976 Formula One World Championship

Contents

The 1976 World Championship was to be decided at the Mount Fuji circuit, with Niki Lauda just three points ahead of James Hunt after a season full of incidents including Lauda's near-fatal crash at the Nürburgring and subsequent missed races.

Background

Fuji Speedway in 1983 Fuji Speedway Aerial photograph 1983.jpg
Fuji Speedway in 1983

Entries

The field was almost unchanged from the previous race, but Noritake Takahara rented the second Surtees replacing Brett Lunger and Masami Kuwashima replaced Warwick Brown in the second Wolf-Williams. However, Kuwashima was himself replaced by Hans Binder during the meeting, after his money failed to materialize. Maki resurrected its Formula One car for Tony Trimmer while Heros Racing entered an old Tyrrell for Kazuyoshi Hoshino on Bridgestone tyres, which was the first Formula One start for the Japanese manufacturer. Kojima Engineering entered a locally built chassis for Masahiro Hasemi (on Dunlop tyres).

Championship standings before the race

Heading into the final race of the season it was Niki Lauda who led the World Drivers' Championship by three points ahead of James Hunt. In the Constructors' Championship it was Ferrari who had an eleven point lead over McLaren. [3] As this was the final race of the season with 9 points available for the win it meant that the Japanese Grand Prix would decide the Drivers' Championship although Ferrari had confirmed their Constructors' title win in the previous round. [2]

Championship permutations

For Lauda to win the Championship he needed:

  • to finish ahead of Hunt
  • to finish 3rd with Hunt 2nd
  • to finish 4th or 5th with Hunt 3rd
  • to finish 6th with Hunt 4th or lower
  • Hunt to finish 5th or lower

For Hunt to win the Championship he needed to finish:

  • 1st
  • 2nd with Lauda 4th or lower
  • 3rd with Lauda 6th or lower
  • 4th with Lauda 7th or lower

Qualifying

Mario Andretti took pole position in the Lotus 77, with Hunt alongside him on the front row and Lauda third. Then came John Watson in the Penske, Jody Scheckter, Carlos Pace, Clay Regazzoni and Vittorio Brambilla. The top 10 was completed by Ronnie Peterson and Hasemi. Trimmer failed to qualify the Maki.

Qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
15 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 1:12.77 
211 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt McLaren-Ford 1:12.80+0.03
31 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Ferrari 1:13.08+0.31
428 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Penske-Ford 1:13.29+0.52
53 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 1:13.31+0.54
68 Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace Brabham-Alfa Romeo 1:13.43+0.66
72 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1:13.64+0.87
89 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 1:13.72+0.95
910 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 1:13.85+1.08
1051 Flag of Japan.svg Masahiro Hasemi Kojima-Ford 1:13.88+1.11
1126 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:13.88+1.11
1212 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford 1:14.05+1.28
134 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 1:14.15+1.38
1416 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford 1:14.23+1.46
1517 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford 1:14.32+1.55
166 Flag of Sweden.svg Gunnar Nilsson Lotus-Ford 1:14.35+1.58
177 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Larry Perkins Brabham-Alfa Romeo 1:14.38+1.61
1834 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford 1:14.38+1.61
1920 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Wolf-Williams-Ford 1:14.41+1.64
2019 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Surtees-Ford 1:14.60+1.83
2152 Flag of Japan.svg Kazuyoshi Hoshino Tyrrell-Ford 1:14.65+1.88
2224 Flag of Austria.svg Harald Ertl Hesketh-Ford 1:15.26+2.49
2330 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 1:15.30+2.53
2418 Flag of Japan.svg Noritake Takahara Surtees-Ford 1:15.77+3.00
2521 Flag of Austria.svg Hans Binder Wolf-Williams-Ford 1:17.36+4.59
2621 Flag of Japan.svg Masami Kuwashima Wolf-Williams-Ford 1:17.90+5.13
DNQ54 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tony Trimmer Maki-Ford 1:30.91+18.14
Source: [4]

Race

On race day the weather was very wet with fog and running water at several places on the track. There were intense debates as to whether the race should be started; in the end the organisers decided to go ahead and a majority of drivers did not disagree. Some drivers, including Lauda, were not happy with the decision.

Hunt took the lead from the start with Watson and Andretti behind. On the second lap Watson slid down an escape road and Lauda drove into the pits to withdraw, as he believed the weather conditions made the track too dangerous. He later said "my life is worth more than a title." Larry Perkins made a similar decision after one lap, as did Pace and Emerson Fittipaldi later in the race.

Hunt continued to lead, behind him second place passed between Andretti and Brambilla. On lap 22 Brambilla challenged for the lead but spun out of contention before retiring 15 laps later with electrical problems. Jochen Mass moved into second before crashing on the 36th lap just before turn 7, promoting Patrick Depailler into the position with Andretti third.

It seemed Hunt was on for an easy win, but as the track began to dry he started to lose positions. He only needed a fourth place finish to win the title, because of Lauda's retirement. On lap 62 Hunt fell behind Depailler and Andretti, but two laps later Depailler's left rear tyre started to deflate and he had to pit. Andretti took the lead, but then Hunt had a similar tyre problem. Hunt pitted, dropped to fifth and set off after Depailler, Alan Jones and Regazzoni. Depailler overtook both drivers on lap 70 and on the next lap Hunt did the same and overtook both of them in order to win the World Drivers' Championship. There was brief confusion as the immediate unofficial finish marked him as fifth place, but with quick deliberation the official finish was third. Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship despite Lauda's retirement.

Andretti's victory was his second in Formula One, coming five years, seven months and 18 days after his maiden win at the 1971 South African Grand Prix. As of 2024, this is the longest period between a first and second victory of a driver in the series. [5]

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
15 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford G 731:43:58.8619
24 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford G 72+ 1 Lap136
311 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt McLaren-Ford G 72+ 1 Lap24
419 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Surtees-Ford G 72+ 1 Lap203
52 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Ferrari G 72+ 1 Lap72
66 Flag of Sweden.svg Gunnar Nilsson Lotus-Ford G 72+ 1 Lap161
726 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra G 72+ 1 Lap11 
824 Flag of Austria.svg Harald Ertl Hesketh-Ford G 72+ 1 Lap22 
918 Flag of Japan.svg Noritake Takahara Surtees-Ford G 70+ 3 Laps24 
1017 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford G 69+ 4 Laps15 
1151 Flag of Japan.svg Masahiro Hasemi Kojima-Ford D 66+ 7 Laps10 
Ret3 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford G 58Overheating5 
Ret21 Flag of Austria.svg Hans Binder Wolf-Williams-Ford G 49Wheel25 
Ret16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford G 46Energy14 
Ret9 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford G 38Electrical8 
Ret34 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford G 37Electrical18 
Ret12 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford G 35Accident12 
Ret28 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Penske-Ford G 33Engine4 
Ret52 Flag of Japan.svg Kazuyoshi Hoshino Tyrrell-Ford B 27Tyre21 
Ret20 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Wolf-Williams-Ford G 23Gearbox19 
Ret30 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford G 9Withdrew23 
Ret8 Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 7Withdrew6 
Ret1 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Ferrari G 2Withdrew3 
Ret7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Larry Perkins Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 1Withdrew17 
Ret10 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson March-Ford G 0Engine9 
DNS21 Flag of Japan.svg Masami Kuwashima Wolf-Williams-Ford G     
DNQ54 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tony Trimmer Maki-Ford D     
Source: [6] [7]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

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Masahiro Hasemi is a former racing driver and team owner from Japan. He started racing motocross when he was 15 years old. In 1964 he signed to drive for Nissan. After establishing himself in saloon car and GT races in Japan, he participated in his only Formula One race at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix for Kojima on 24 October 1976. He qualified 10th after an error which cost him his chance of a pole position and finished 11th, seven laps behind the winner. Contrary to a widely propagated but mistaken result, however, he never set a fastest lap in a Formula One championship race.1 Along with compatriots Noritake Takahara and Kazuyoshi Hoshino, he was the first Japanese driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix.

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References

  1. "1976 Japanese GP". www.chicanef1.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Japan 1976". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  3. "USA East 1976 - Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  4. "Japan 1976 - Qualifications". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  5. Leslie, Jack (18 August 2017). "The 5 Drivers with the Biggest Gap between First and Second F1 Wins". wtf1.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  6. "1976 Japanese Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. "1976 Japanese Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 24 October 1976. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  8. i-dea archives (14 January 2006), '76 F1イン・ジャパン (1976 F1 World Championship in Japan), Auto Sport Archives 日本の名レース100選 (The 100 Best races in Japan) (in Japanese), vol. 001, San-eishobo Publishing Co., Ltd., p. 77, ISBN   978-4-7796-0007-4, archived from the original on 13 December 2010, retrieved 16 December 2010
  9. "Motorsport competition results: 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan" (in Japanese). Japan Automobile Federation . Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  10. "Archive: 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports News. 25 October 1976. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Japan 1976 - Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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