1977 United States Grand Prix

1977 United States Grand Prix
1977 United States Grand Prix
Race 15 of 17 in the 1977 Formula One season
Race details
Date	October 2, 1977
Official name	XX Toyota United States Grand Prix
Location	Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course ; Watkins Glen, New York
Course	Permanent road course
Course length	5.435 km (3.377 miles)
Distance	59 laps, 320.67 km (199.24 miles)
Weather	Rain with temperatures reaching up to 17 °C (63 °F);; Winds gusting up to 23.69 km/h (14.72 mph)
Pole position
Driver	James Hunt ;
Time	1:40.863
Fastest lap
Driver	Ronnie Peterson
Time	1:51.85 on lap 56
Podium
First	James Hunt ;
Second	Mario Andretti ;
Third	Jody Scheckter ;
	Lap leaders ;

Last updated March 27, 2023

The 1977 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 2, 1977, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the fifteenth race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 3, 1977, in Long Beach, California. It was covered on American radio by Motor Racing Network.

The 59-lap race was won from pole position by James Hunt, driving a McLaren-Ford. In wet conditions, Hunt held off a late charge from Mario Andretti in the Lotus-Ford to take his second consecutive Watkins Glen victory. Jody Scheckter was third in the Wolf-Ford, while Niki Lauda clinched his second Drivers' Championship by finishing fourth in his Ferrari.

Report

For the first time, the American race was being held before the Canadian Grand Prix, which would follow a week later. Lauda led the championship with 69 points, while Jody Scheckter was second with 42 points. With nine points being awarded for a win, Lauda needed only to score one point in any of the final three races to clinch the title, while Scheckter needed to win them all to have a chance (both would be on 69 points, but Scheckter would have the tiebreaker on wins with 5, compared to Lauda's 3).

From the start of practice on Friday, Hunt's McLaren was dominant, setting a track record of 1:40.863. Brabham teammates Hans-Joachim Stuck and John Watson were a quarter of a second back, followed by Andretti, Ronnie Peterson and the Ferraris of Carlos Reutemann and Lauda. On Saturday morning there was rain just before the end of untimed practice, and so the afternoon session served only as practice for a possible wet race on Sunday, as Friday's times determined the grid.

Sunday began cold but dry, with a crowd over 100,000. Before the warmup, however, it began to drizzle, and by the five-minute signal, it had picked up enough that only John Watson was willing to gamble on starting with slicks. At the flag, everyone got away from the grid and through the first turn without incident, but the spray was so heavy that nothing was visible after the first five cars. Stuck quickly jumped ahead of Hunt, and after one lap, they were followed by Andretti, Reutemann, Peterson, Lauda, Scheckter, Jacques Laffite and Gunnar Nilsson.

Immediately, Scheckter began to take advantage of the others' uncertainty in the conditions and, by lap five had moved from ninth to fourth. Stuck was also going well in the wet, and, despite losing his clutch cable in the first few laps, pulled away from Hunt. Lauda passed his teammate Reutemann for fifth spot when the Argentine spun. On lap 15, with Hunt four seconds behind, Stuck, struggling to make gear changes without a clutch, popped out of gear entering a corner and went straight on. He retired with damage to the monocoque.

Hunt now led Andretti by 10.5 seconds, with Scheckter 14 seconds further back in third. The rain stopped, and drivers sought the wet sections of a drying track to cool their tires. With 10 laps remaining and the lead at 22 seconds, Hunt backed off in response to a pit signal. Lauda was coasting in fourth, a position sufficient to clinch the Championship. Scheckter had slowed in third to preserve his tires.

With two laps to go, Andretti, who had been closing while Hunt cruised home, was only 6.7 seconds behind. As they began the last lap, the margin had closed to 1.5 seconds, but Hunt increased his lead slightly to win by just over two seconds. The McLaren pit had not informed him how close the Lotus was until the start of the final lap, when Teddy Mayer gave him a frantic wave to pick up the pace.

Lauda thus took his second title, and Ferrari took their third consecutive Constructor's Championship. For Lauda, it was the culmination of a comeback from the life-threatening injuries he had sustained at the Nürburgring in 1976. Almost immediately, the Austrian quit Ferrari, having already announced his intention to move to Brabham for 1978.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.	Driver	Constructor	Time
1	James Hunt	McLaren–Ford	1:40.863
2	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Brabham–Alfa Romeo	+0.275
3	John Watson	Brabham–Alfa Romeo	+0.330
4	Mario Andretti	Lotus–Ford	+0.618
5	Ronnie Peterson	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.045
6	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	+1.089
7	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	+1.226
8	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell–Ford	+1.375
9	Jody Scheckter	Wolf–Ford	+1.452
10	Jacques Laffite	Ligier–Matra	+1.777
11	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees–Ford	+1.923
12	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus–Ford	+1.952
13	Alan Jones	Shadow–Ford	+2.156
14	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	+2.206
15	Jochen Mass	McLaren–Ford	+2.379
16	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow–Ford	+2.653
17	Brett Lunger	McLaren–Ford	+2.835
18	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi–Ford	+3.075
19	Clay Regazzoni	Ensign–Ford	+3.345
20	Rupert Keegan	Hesketh–Ford	+3.687
21	Ian Scheckter	March–Ford	+3.839
22	Ian Ashley	Hesketh–Ford	+4.237
23	Alex Ribeiro	March–Ford	+4.610
24	Patrick Nève	March–Ford	+4.982
25	Hans Binder	Surtees–Ford	+5.017
26	Danny Ongais	Penske–Ford	+5.207
Cut-off
27	Patrick Tambay	Ensign–Ford	+8.572
Source:^[2]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	James Hunt	McLaren-Ford	G	59	1:58:23.267	1	9
2	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	G	59	+ 2.026	4	6
3	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf-Ford	G	59	+ 1:18.879	9	4
4	11	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	G	59	+ 1:40.615	7	3
5	22	Clay Regazzoni	Ensign-Ford	G	59	+ 1:48.138	19	2
6	12	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	G	58	+ 1 Lap	6	1
7	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	G	58	+ 1 Lap	10
8	24	Rupert Keegan	Hesketh-Ford	G	58	+ 1 Lap	20
9	16	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow-Ford	G	58	+ 1 Lap	16
10	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren-Ford	G	57	+ 2 Laps	17
11	18	Hans Binder	Surtees-Ford	G	57	+ 2 Laps	25
12	7	John Watson	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	57	+ 2 Laps	3
13	28	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	G	57	+ 2 Laps	18
14	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell-Ford	G	56	+ 3 Laps	8
15	9	Alex Ribeiro	March-Ford	G	56	+ 3 Laps	23
16	3	Ronnie Peterson	Tyrrell-Ford	G	56	+ 3 Laps	5
17	25	Ian Ashley	Hesketh-Ford	G	55	+ 4 Laps	22
18	27	Patrick Nève	March-Ford	G	55	+ 4 Laps	24
19	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees-Ford	G	54	+ 5 Laps	11
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	M	30	Alternator	14
Ret	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus-Ford	G	17	Accident	12
Ret	8	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	14	Accident	2
Ret	10	Ian Scheckter	March-Ford	G	10	Accident	21
Ret	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren-Ford	G	8	Fuel Pump	15
Ret	14	Danny Ongais	Penske-Ford	G	6	Accident	26
Ret	17	Alan Jones	Shadow-Ford	G	3	Accident	13
DNQ	23	Patrick Tambay	Ensign-Ford	G
Source:^[3]^[4]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Niki Lauda	72
2	Mario Andretti	47
3	Jody Scheckter	46
4	Carlos Reutemann	36
5	James Hunt	31
Source: ^[5]

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Ferrari	89 (91)
2	Lotus-Ford	62
3	McLaren-Ford	47
4	Wolf-Ford	46
5	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	27
Source: ^[5]

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 8 results from the first 9 races and the best 7 results from the remaining 8 races were retained. Numbers without parentheses are retained points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Related Research Articles

The 1972 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 8, 1972, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 12 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 59-lap race was won by Tyrrell driver Jackie Stewart after he started from pole position. His teammate François Cevert finished second and McLaren driver Denny Hulme came in third. This was the debut race of the future world champion Jody Scheckter.

The 1974 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 6, 1974, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 15 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

The 1975 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 6 July 1975. It was race 9 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 53rd French Grand Prix and the third to be held at Paul Ricard. The race was held over 54 laps of the 5.8-kilometre (3.6 mi) circuit for a race distance of 313 kilometres (194 mi).

The 1975 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on 3 August 1975. It was race 11 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 37th German Grand Prix and the 34th to be held at the Nürburgring. The race was held over 14 laps of the 22.8-kilometre (14.2 mi) circuit for a race distance of 319 kilometres (198 mi).

The 1975 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 7 September 1975. It was race 13 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 45th Italian Grand Prix and the 41st to be held at Monza. The race held over 52 laps of the five kilometre circuit for a race distance of 300 kilometres.

The 1975 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 5, 1975, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 14 of 14 in both the 1975 World Championship of Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 25th United States Grand Prix since the first American Grand Prize was held in 1908 and the 18th since the first United States Grand Prix at Riverside in 1958.

The 1977 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Österreichring on 14 August 1977. It was the twelfth race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors.

The 1978 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 16 July 1978. It was the tenth race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors.

The 1978 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 8 October 1978 at Montreal. This was the 16th and final race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the International Cup for F1 Constructors. It was Ferrari Driver Gilles Villeneuve's first victory in Formula One.

The 1979 Formula One season was the 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-round series which commenced on 21 January 1979, and ended on 7 October. The season also included three non-championship Formula One races. Jody Scheckter of Scuderia Ferrari won the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers while Scuderia Ferrari won 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors. Gilles Villeneuve made it a 1–2 for Ferrari in the championship, concluding a successful second half of the 1970s for Ferrari. Alan Jones finished the season strongly for Williams, finishing third in the championship and with teammate Clay Regazzoni scoring Williams's first ever Grand Prix win as a constructor. Scheckter's title was Ferrari's last drivers' title for 21 years, before Michael Schumacher won five consecutive titles for the team between 2000 and 2004.

The 1978 Formula One season was the 32nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the International Cup for F1 Constructors, contested concurrently over a sixteen race series which commenced on 15 January and ended on 8 October. The season also included the non-championship BRDC International Trophy.

The 1977 Formula One season was the 31st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 28th World Championship of Drivers and the 20th International Cup for Formula 1 Constructors. The season commenced on 9 January 1977 and ended on 23 October after seventeen races, making it the longest Formula One season in the sport's history at the time. The season also included a single non-championship race for Formula One cars, the 1977 Race of Champions.

The 1976 Formula One season was the 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1976 World Championship of Drivers and the 1976 International Cup for Formula 1 Manufacturers. The two titles were contested over a sixteen race series which commenced on 25 January and ended on 24 October. Two non-championship races were also held during the 1976 season.

The 1975 Formula One season was the 29th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1975 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently from 12 January to 5 October over fourteen races. The season also included three non-championship Formula One races and a nine race South African Formula One Championship.

The 1974 Formula One season was the 28th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October. The season also included three non-championship races.

The 1976 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on March 28, 1976, in Long Beach, California. The race was the third round of the 1976 Formula One season and the first new race to be added to the calendar since the Brazilian and Swedish Grand Prix were added in 1973. It was the second Formula One race held in California, the first being the 1960 United States Grand Prix at Riverside, only 50 miles away. The race was held over 80 laps of the 3.251-kilometre street circuit for a total race distance of 260 kilometres.

The 1977 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on April 3, 1977 in Long Beach, California. It was the fourth race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors.

The 1978 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 1, 1978, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 2, 1978, in Long Beach, California.

The 1979 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 7, 1979 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the fifteenth and final race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 8, 1979 in Long Beach, California.

The 1976 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 10, 1976, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on March 28, 1976, in Long Beach, California.

References

↑ "Weather information for the 1977 United States Grand Prix". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
↑ "1977 Formula One United States Grand Prix – Qualifying". Motorsport Stats . Retrieved 14 April 2021.
↑ "1977 USA East Grand Prix". formula1.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
↑ "1977 United States Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 2 October 1977. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
1 2 "United States 1977 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 21 March 2019.

Previous race: 1977 Italian Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1977 season	Next race: 1977 Canadian Grand Prix
Previous race: 1976 United States Grand Prix	United States Grand Prix	Next race: 1978 United States Grand Prix

v t e « previous Formula One Grands Prix (1970–1979) next »
1970	RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA MEX
1971	RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA
1972	ARG RSA ESP MON BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA
1973	ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR NED GER AUT ITA CAN USA
1974	ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA
1975	ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA
1976	BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA JPN
1977	ARG BRA RSA USW ESP MON BEL SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN JPN
1978	ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN
1979	ARG BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA