1976 Japanese Grand Prix

Infobox Grand Prix race report
Type = F1
Country = Japan
Grand Prix = Japanese
Date = October 24
Year = 1976
Race_No = 16
Season_No = 16
Official name = XI Japanese Grand Prix
Location = Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka
Course = Permanent racing facility
Course_mi = 2.70
Course_km = 4.359
Distance_laps = 73
Distance_mi = 197.72
Distance_km = 319.690
Weather = Very wet and misty
Pole_Driver = Mario Andretti
Pole_Team = Lotus-Ford
Pole_Time = 1:12.77
Pole_Country = USA
Fast_Driver = Masahiro Hasemi
Fast_Team = Kojima-Ford
Fast_Time = 1:18.23
Fast_Country = Japan
Fast_L

First_Driver = Mario Andretti
First_Team = Lotus-Ford
First_Country = United States
Second_Driver = Patrick Depailler
Second_Team = Tyrrell-Ford
Second_Country = France
Third_Driver = James Hunt
Third_Team = McLaren-Ford
Third_Country = UKThe 1976 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula 1 race held at Fuji on October 24, 1976.

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. The field was almost unchanged from the previous race: Noritake Takahara rented the second Surtees, replacing Brett Lunger, and Hans Binder was back in the second Wolf Williams after Masami Kuwashima's money failed to materialize. Maki resurrected its old Formula One car for Tony Trimmer while Heros Racing entered an old Tyrrell for Kazuyoshi Hoshino, and Kojima Engineering entered a locally-built chassis for Masahiro Hasemi (on Dunlop tires).

In qualifying Mario Andretti took pole position in the Lotus 77 with Hunt on second place and Lauda third. Then came John Watson's Penske, Jody Scheckter, Carlos Pace, Clay Regazzoni and Vittorio Brambilla . The top 10 was completed by Ronnie Peterson and Hasemi. The Maki failed to qualify.

On race day the weather was very wet with streams running across the track and fog. There were intense debates as to whether the race should be started; in the end the organizers decided to go ahead and most drivers all agreed, although some were not happy with the decision, and Lauda was among them. At the start Hunt went into the lead with Watson behind him and Andretti leading the rest of the field. Lauda, who wasn't yet in a perfect form after the crash at the Nürburgring, was in the midfield, but in the second lap (during which Watson went down an escape road) Lauda pulled into the pits and withdrew, because the track was becoming too dangerous, in his view, to continue the race (he will say later "my life is worth more than a title"). In the laps that followed Pace and Emerson Fittipaldi also pulled out, joining Larry Perkins who had decided against racing at the end of the first lap.

Out on the race track Hunt continued to lead while the situation behind him was rather more confused as second place passed between Andretti and Brambilla. On lap 22 Brambilla even challenged for the lead but then spun off. Jochen Mass run to the second place to a McLaren 1-2 but on the 36th lap he crashed and so Patrick Depailler moved to second place with Andretti third.

It seemed Hunt was on for an easy win, but as the track began to dry he started to lose positions (though he only needed a fourth place to win the title, because of Lauda's retire). On lap 62 he 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. Distraught, he headed for the pits, and thus dropped to fifth and set off after Depailler, Alan Jones and Regazzoni. Depailler overtook both men on lap 70 and on the next lap Hunt did the same, although he finished thinking that he had lost the title.

Even with Lauda's withdrawal, Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship.

Classification

Notes

*In Japan, the formal name of this Formula One event is not "Japanese Grand Prix" but is "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.

F1 race report
Name_of_race = Japanese Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 1976
Previous_race_in_season = 1976 United States Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1977 Argentine Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 1975 Japanese Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 1977 Japanese Grand Prix