1976 British Grand Prix

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1976 British Grand Prix
Race 9 of 16 in the 1976 Formula One season
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Brands Hatch 1976-1987.svg
Race details
Date18 July 1976
Official name XXIX John Player Grand Prix [1]
Location Brands Hatch, Kent, England
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.206 km (2.613 miles)
Distance 76 laps, 319.656 km (198.588 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver
 Ferrari
Time 1:19.35 [2]
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Ferrari
Time 1:19.91 on lap 41 [3]
Podium
First
 Ferrari
Second
 Tyrrell-Ford
Third
 Penske-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1976 British Grand Prix

The 1976 British Grand Prix (formally the John Player Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 18 July 1976 at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, England, United Kingdom. The 76-lap race was the ninth round of the 1976 Formula One season. [4]

Contents

British driver James Hunt was involved in a first corner crash that brought out the red flags. Hunt drove his damaged car back to the pits, but did not complete a full lap of the track to do so, instead driving through an access road on the Cooper Straight. The officials declared that, since he had not been on the circuit when the red flag was waved, Hunt would not be allowed to take part in the restart. This news led to much angry feeling amongst the British crowd, who chanted Hunt's name until the stewards, fearing crowd trouble, announced that Hunt would be allowed to take the restart. Hunt duly won the restarted race. Immediately after the race, the Ferrari, Tyrrell and Fittipaldi teams protested against the inclusion of Hunt's car. In September, two months after the event, a decision was reached and Hunt was disqualified, giving Niki Lauda the race win.

Report

Background

This was the only Formula One Grand Prix in which multiple female racers (Lella Lombardi and Divina Galica) were entered. Neither qualified for the Grand Prix.

The Brands Hatch layout had been modified from the previous year. Paddock Hill, Bottom Straight (renamed Cooper Straight) and South Bank (renamed Surtees) had all been slightly modified. The pit lane was extended and many of the corners were renamed, all after racing drivers and teams.

Race

At the start, Hunt made a relatively poor start and allowed Lauda to pull away. By contrast, Clay Regazzoni starting from fourth made a good start from the second row, and attempted to take the lead from Lauda at the first corner. Regazzoni made contact with his Ferrari team-mate which resulted in a broken rear wheel on Lauda's car, and him spinning his own car. Regazzoni's car was then hit by cars behind, resulting in damage to several more cars including those of Hunt and Jacques Laffite. Due to the amount of debris covering the track as a result, the race was stopped.

The McLaren, Ferrari and Ligier teams set about preparing the spare cars for Hunt, Regazzoni and Laffite respectively in the belief that there was insufficient time for their original cars to be repaired. However, the race stewards announced that no driver would be allowed to take part in the restarted race unless they were in their original car, and that they had finished the first lap of the original race. This meant that the spare cars could not be used, and the drivers that had returned to the pits at the end of the first lap would not be allowed to restart. [5]

Some debate then ensued, during which time the McLaren mechanics managed to repair Hunt's damaged McLaren which he had used in the original start. Despite having failed to complete the first lap, Hunt was now at least not in a replacement car, and with the crowds chanting "We Want Hunt" with bottles and other litter thrown to the track with the potential of crowd trouble with the British fans, the stewards relented and allowed Hunt to take the restart. In the event, both Regazzoni and Laffite also took the restart, although both in replacement cars, with the two teams opting to compete anyway and face possible exclusion after the race. [6]

At the second attempt to start the race, Lauda again led the field, with Hunt second, Regazzoni third and Scheckter fourth. Laffite retired on lap 32 and Regazzoni on lap 37 due to suspension problems and low oil pressure respectively.

James Hunt crossed the finish line in first position, but was disqualified after the race. James Hunt British GP 1976.jpg
James Hunt crossed the finish line in first position, but was disqualified after the race.
Hunt (right) on the winners' rostrum Hunt Wins 09.jpg
Hunt (right) on the winners' rostrum

Lauda led the race for the first 45 laps, until gearshift problems allowed Hunt to overtake him. Hunt continued to build up a lead from Lauda for the rest of the race, and crossed the finish line in first position.

Post-race

Immediately following the race, the Ferrari, Tyrrell and Copersucar teams protested the result to the stewards. The three teams believed that as Hunt had not completed a lap following the accident, under the then-regulations, he should not have been allowed to take the restart. Following a three-hour meeting, the officials dismissed the protests and announced the original result would stand. [5]

Ferrari announced that they would submit an appeal to the RAC, the governing body of motorsport in Britain who were responsible for sanctioning and organizing the British Grand Prix. A meeting was held in London on 4 August, where the Ferrari team again put forward their view that Hunt did not complete a lap, and therefore should not have been permitted to take part in the restart. In explaining their reason for dismissing the appeal, the RAC stated that although Hunt did not finish the lap, his car was still moving at the time the race was stopped, and this was sufficient to allow him to restart. [7]

Ferrari then protested the result to the FIA, which resulted in a tribunal being convened to hear Ferrari's appeal. The tribunal was held in Paris on 25 September, where Ferrari put forward their belief that Hunt's car had been pushed by his mechanics before the race had been halted, breaking the regulation prohibiting outside assistance during the race. McLaren maintained that they had only pushed the car after the race had been stopped. [8]

Indeed, then-McLaren Team Manager Alastair Caldwell has since stated that the rules at the time stated cars should come to a halt where they were when a red flag is shown. Other drivers continued to complete the first lap at racing speed, attempting to encourage the red flag to be withdrawn as had happened on previous occasions, while McLaren were able to show TV footage proving that Hunt's car had stopped at the red flag, and only after then received outside assistance to return to the pits. In Caldwell's view, the only car which correctly complied with the red flag rules and should have been safe from disqualification from this incident was in fact Hunt's. [9]

The decision reached by the tribunal was to uphold the appeal by Ferrari, and disqualify Hunt from the race. This in turn resulted in all the other drivers moving up one position, and hence making Lauda the winner of the race. [10]

Niki Lauda at the 1976 British Grand Prix. Niki Lauda at 1976 British Grand Prix.jpg
Niki Lauda at the 1976 British Grand Prix.

Classification

Qualifying classification

Pos.DriverConstructorTimeNo
1Niki LaudaFerrari1:19,351
2James HuntMcLaren-Ford1:19,412
3Mario AndrettiLotus-Ford1:19,763
4Clay RegazzoniFerrari1:20,054
5Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford1:20,155
6Chris AmonEnsign-Ford1:20,276
7Ronnie PetersonMarch-Ford1:20,297
8Jody ScheckterTyrrell-Ford1:20,318
9Arturo MerzarioMarch-Ford1:20,329
10Vittorio BrambillaMarch-Ford1:20,3610
11John WatsonPenske-Ford1:20,4111
12Jochen MassMcLaren-Ford1:20,6112
13Jacques LaffiteLigier-Matra1:20,6713
14Gunnar NilssonLotus-Ford1:20,6714
15Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Alfa Romeo1:20,9915
16Carlos PaceBrabham-Alfa Romeo1:21,0316
17Hans-Joachim StuckMarch-Ford1:21,2017
18Brett LungerSurtees-Ford1:21,3018
19Alan JonesSurtees-Ford1:21,4219
20Tom PryceShadow-Ford1:21,8420
21Emerson FittipaldiCopersucar-Ford1:22,0621
22Bob EvansBrabham-Ford1:22,4722
23Jean-Pierre JarierShadow-Ford1:22,7223
24Harald ErtlHesketh-Ford1:22,7524
25Guy EdwardsHesketh-Ford1:22,7625
26Henri PescaroloSurtees-Ford1:22,7626
DNQJacky IckxWolf-Williams-Ford1:23,32—
DNQDivina GalicaSurtees-Ford1:25,24—
DNQMike WildsShadow-Ford1:25,66—
DNQLella LombardiBrabham-Ford1:27,08—

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
11 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Ferrari 761:44:19.6619
23 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Jody Scheckter Tyrrell-Ford 76+ 16.1886
328 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Penske-Ford 75+ 1 Lap114
416 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Pryce Shadow-Ford 75+ 1 Lap203
519 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Surtees-Ford 75+ 1 Lap192
630 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 74+ 2 Laps211
724 Flag of Austria.svg Harald Ertl Hesketh-Ford 73+ 3 Laps23 [nb 1]  
88 Flag of Brazil.svg Carlos Pace Brabham-Alfa Romeo 73+ 3 Laps16 
917 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier Shadow-Ford 70+ 6 Laps24 [nb 1]  
DSQ11 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt McLaren-Ford 76Outside assistance2 
Ret6 Flag of Sweden.svg Gunnar Nilsson Lotus-Ford 67Engine14 
Ret10 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 60Fuel system7 
Ret18 Flag of the United States.svg Brett Lunger Surtees-Ford 55Gearbox18 
Ret4 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 47Engine5 
Ret7 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Alfa Romeo 46Oil pressure15 
Ret35 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario March-Ford 39Engine9 
DSQ [nb 2] 2 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 36Illegal car change4 
DSQ [nb 2] 26 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 31Illegal car change13 
Ret32 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bob Evans Brabham-Ford 24Gearbox22 
Ret9 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla March-Ford 22Accident10 
Ret38 Flag of France.svg Henri Pescarolo Surtees-Ford 16Fuel system26 
Ret22 Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Amon Ensign-Ford 8Water leak6 
Ret5 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 4Ignition3 
Ret12 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford 1Clutch12 
Ret34 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck March-Ford 0Accident17 
Ret25 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Guy Edwards Hesketh-Ford 0Accident25 
DNQ20 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jacky Ickx Wolf-Williams-Ford     
DNQ13 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Divina Galica Surtees-Ford     
DNQ40 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Wilds Shadow-Ford     
DNQ33 Flag of Italy.svg Lella Lombardi Brabham-Ford     
Sources: [12] [13]
  1. 1 2 Jean-Pierre Jarier set a faster time than Harald Ertl in practice, but they swapped grid positions for both the original and restarted races. [11]
  2. 1 2 The race stewards announced that drivers would not be allowed to take part in the restarted race unless they were in their original car. Regazzoni and Laffite took the restart in spare cars. Some sources list Regazzoni and Laffite as "disqualified" but others list them as "retired"

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. ↑ "1976 British GP". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 131. ISBN   0-85429-380-9.
  3. ↑ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 134. ISBN   0-85429-380-9.
  4. ↑ "1976 British Grand Prix Entry list".
  5. 1 2 Blunsden, John (19 July 1976). "Hunt survives pile-up and protest to win third race in two weeks". The Times. p. 8.
  6. ↑ "Grand Prix Results: British GP, 1976". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Blunsden, John (5 August 1976). "Ferrari appeal over British GP is rejected". The Times. p. 9.
  8. ↑ "Tribunal's decision crucial for Hunt". The Times. Reuters. 24 September 1976. p. 11.
  9. ↑ Foster, Ed. "Alastair Caldwell on 1976: Royal Automobile Club Talk Show". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  10. ↑ Blunsden, John (25 September 1976). "Hunt drops farther behind Lauda after British GP disqualification". The Times. p. 15.
  11. ↑ Nye, Doug (1977). The British Grand Prix.
  12. ↑ "1976 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Britain 1976". statsf1.com. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Britain 1976 – Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
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