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.
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 permutationsedit
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:
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[update], this is the longest period between a first and second victory of a driver in the series.[5]
^ In Japan, the formal name of this Formula One event was not "Japanese Grand Prix" but was "Formula One World Championship in Japan" (F1世界選手権・イン・ジャパン), because an event of the Japanese Formula 2000 championship had been named "Japanese Grand Prix" in 1976.
^ It was initially announced that the fastest lap was set by Masahiro Hasemi on lap 25, but this was a measurement mistake, and, several days later, the circuit issued a press release to correct the fastest lap holder of the race to Jacques Laffite with a time of 1:19.97 on lap 70.[8] This press release was promptly made known in Japan, and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and Japanese media corrected the record.[9][10] But this correction was not made well known outside Japan, thus, Hasemi is credited with the fastest lap of the race in many record books.
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 7 results from the first 8 races and the best 7 results from the last 8 races counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
Referencesedit
^"1976 Japanese GP". www.chicanef1.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
^ ab"Japan 1976". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
^"USA East 1976 - Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
^"Japan 1976 - Qualifications". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
^Leslie, Jack (18 August 2017). "The 5 Drivers with the Biggest Gap between First and Second F1 Wins". wtf1.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
^. formula1.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
^"1976 Japanese Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 24 October 1976. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
^i-dea archives (14 January 2006), , 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, ISBN978-4-7796-0007-4, archived from the original on 13 December 2010, retrieved 16 December 2010
^"Motorsport competition results: 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan" (in Japanese). Japan Automobile Federation. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^"Archive: 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports News. 25 October 1976. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^ ab"Japan 1976 - Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
1976, japanese, grand, prix, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1976 Japanese Grand Prix news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix1 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 Championship1976 Japanese Grand PrixRace 16 of 16 in the 1976 Formula One season Previous raceRace detailsDate24 October 1976Official nameXI Japanese Grand Prix 1 LocationFuji SpeedwayOyama Shizuoka JapanCoursePermanent racing facilityCourse length4 359 km 2 709 miles Distance73 laps 318 207 2 km 197 725 miles WeatherVery wet and misty eventually dryingPole positionDriverMario AndrettiLotus FordTime1 12 77Fastest lapDriverJacques Laffite2Ligier MatraTime1 19 97 on lap 70PodiumFirstMario AndrettiLotus FordSecondPatrick DepaillerTyrrell FordThirdJames HuntMcLaren FordLap leaders 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 Nurburgring and subsequent missed races Contents 1 Background 1 1 Entries 1 2 Championship standings before the race 1 2 1 Championship permutations 2 Qualifying 2 1 Qualifying classification 3 Race 3 1 Race classification 4 Notes 5 Championship standings after the race 6 ReferencesBackground edit nbsp Fuji Speedway in 1983 Entries edit Further information 1976 Formula One season Teams and drivers 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 edit Further information List of Formula One points scoring systems 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 edit 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 lowerQualifying editMario 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 edit Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap 1 5 nbsp Mario Andretti Lotus Ford 1 12 77 2 11 nbsp James Hunt McLaren Ford 1 12 80 0 03 3 1 nbsp Niki Lauda Ferrari 1 13 08 0 31 4 28 nbsp John Watson Penske Ford 1 13 29 0 52 5 3 nbsp Jody Scheckter Tyrrell Ford 1 13 31 0 54 6 8 nbsp Carlos Pace Brabham Alfa Romeo 1 13 43 0 66 7 2 nbsp Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 1 13 64 0 87 8 9 nbsp Vittorio Brambilla March Ford 1 13 72 0 95 9 10 nbsp Ronnie Peterson March Ford 1 13 85 1 08 10 51 nbsp Masahiro Hasemi Kojima Ford 1 13 88 1 11 11 26 nbsp Jacques Laffite Ligier Matra 1 13 88 1 11 12 12 nbsp Jochen Mass McLaren Ford 1 14 05 1 28 13 4 nbsp Patrick Depailler Tyrrell Ford 1 14 15 1 38 14 16 nbsp Tom Pryce Shadow Ford 1 14 23 1 46 15 17 nbsp Jean Pierre Jarier Shadow Ford 1 14 32 1 55 16 6 nbsp Gunnar Nilsson Lotus Ford 1 14 35 1 58 17 7 nbsp Larry Perkins Brabham Alfa Romeo 1 14 38 1 61 18 34 nbsp Hans Joachim Stuck March Ford 1 14 38 1 61 19 20 nbsp Arturo Merzario Wolf Williams Ford 1 14 41 1 64 20 19 nbsp Alan Jones Surtees Ford 1 14 60 1 83 21 52 nbsp Kazuyoshi Hoshino Tyrrell Ford 1 14 65 1 88 22 24 nbsp Harald Ertl Hesketh Ford 1 15 26 2 49 23 30 nbsp Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi Ford 1 15 30 2 53 24 18 nbsp Noritake Takahara Surtees Ford 1 15 77 3 00 25 21 nbsp Hans Binder Wolf Williams Ford 1 17 36 4 59 26 21 nbsp Masami Kuwashima Wolf Williams Ford 1 17 90 5 13 DNQ 54 nbsp Tony Trimmer Maki Ford 1 30 91 18 14 Source 4 Race editOn 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 update this is the longest period between a first and second victory of a driver in the series 5 Race classification edit Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time Retired Grid Points 1 5 nbsp Mario Andretti Lotus Ford G 73 1 43 58 86 1 9 2 4 nbsp Patrick Depailler Tyrrell Ford G 72 1 Lap 13 6 3 11 nbsp James Hunt McLaren Ford G 72 1 Lap 2 4 4 19 nbsp Alan Jones Surtees Ford G 72 1 Lap 20 3 5 2 nbsp Clay Regazzoni Ferrari G 72 1 Lap 7 2 6 6 nbsp Gunnar Nilsson Lotus Ford G 72 1 Lap 16 1 7 26 nbsp Jacques Laffite Ligier Matra G 72 1 Lap 11 8 24 nbsp Harald Ertl Hesketh Ford G 72 1 Lap 22 9 18 nbsp Noritake Takahara Surtees Ford G 70 3 Laps 24 10 17 nbsp Jean Pierre Jarier Shadow Ford G 69 4 Laps 15 11 51 nbsp Masahiro Hasemi Kojima Ford D 66 7 Laps 10 Ret 3 nbsp Jody Scheckter Tyrrell Ford G 58 Overheating 5 Ret 21 nbsp Hans Binder Wolf Williams Ford G 49 Wheel 25 Ret 16 nbsp Tom Pryce Shadow Ford G 46 Energy 14 Ret 9 nbsp Vittorio Brambilla March Ford G 38 Electrical 8 Ret 34 nbsp Hans Joachim Stuck March Ford G 37 Electrical 18 Ret 12 nbsp Jochen Mass McLaren Ford G 35 Accident 12 Ret 28 nbsp John Watson Penske Ford G 33 Engine 4 Ret 52 nbsp Kazuyoshi Hoshino Tyrrell Ford B 27 Tyre 21 Ret 20 nbsp Arturo Merzario Wolf Williams Ford G 23 Gearbox 19 Ret 30 nbsp Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi Ford G 9 Withdrew 23 Ret 8 nbsp Carlos Pace Brabham Alfa Romeo G 7 Withdrew 6 Ret 1 nbsp Niki Lauda Ferrari G 2 Withdrew 3 Ret 7 nbsp Larry Perkins Brabham Alfa Romeo G 1 Withdrew 17 Ret 10 nbsp Ronnie Peterson March Ford G 0 Engine 9 DNS 21 nbsp Masami Kuwashima Wolf Williams Ford G DNQ 54 nbsp Tony Trimmer Maki Ford D Source 6 7 Notes edit In Japan the formal name of this Formula One event was not Japanese Grand Prix but was Formula One World Championship in Japan F1世界選手権 イン ジャパン because an event of the Japanese Formula 2000 championship had been named Japanese Grand Prix in 1976 It was initially announced that the fastest lap was set by Masahiro Hasemi on lap 25 but this was a measurement mistake and several days later the circuit issued a press release to correct the fastest lap holder of the race to Jacques Laffite with a time of 1 19 97 on lap 70 8 This press release was promptly made known in Japan and the Japan Automobile Federation JAF and Japanese media corrected the record 9 10 But this correction was not made well known outside Japan thus Hasemi is credited with the fastest lap of the race in many record books Championship standings after the race editDrivers Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 nbsp James Hunt 69 2 nbsp Niki Lauda 68 3 nbsp Jody Scheckter 49 4 nbsp Patrick Depailler 39 5 nbsp Clay Regazzoni 31 Source 11 Constructors Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 nbsp Ferrari 83 2 nbsp McLaren Ford 74 75 3 nbsp Tyrrell Ford 71 4 nbsp Lotus Ford 29 5 nbsp Penske Ford 20 Source 11 Note Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings Only the best 7 results from the first 8 races and the best 7 results from the last 8 races counted towards the Championship Numbers without parentheses are Championship points numbers in parentheses are total points scored References edit 1976 Japanese GP www chicanef1 com Retrieved 2 August 2020 a b Japan 1976 StatsF1 com Retrieved 16 May 2019 USA East 1976 Championship StatsF1 com Retrieved 16 May 2019 Japan 1976 Qualifications StatsF1 com Retrieved 19 December 2018 Leslie Jack 18 August 2017 The 5 Drivers with the Biggest Gap between First and Second F1 Wins wtf1 com Retrieved 3 January 2018 1976 Japanese Grand Prix formula1 com Archived from the original on 10 December 2014 Retrieved 23 December 2015 1976 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results amp History GP Archive GPArchive com 24 October 1976 Retrieved 23 October 2021 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 Motorsport competition results 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan in Japanese Japan Automobile Federation Retrieved 17 December 2010 Archive 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan in Japanese Nikkan Sports News 25 October 1976 Retrieved 17 December 2010 a b Japan 1976 Championship StatsF1 com Retrieved 18 March 2019 Previous race 1976 United States Grand Prix FIA Formula One World Championship 1976 season Next race 1977 Argentine Grand Prix Previous race 1975 Japanese Grand Prix Japanese Grand Prix Next race 1977 Japanese Grand Prix Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1976 Japanese Grand Prix amp oldid 1206496094, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
