Formula 1

About the season

On 1 August, at the Nürburgring, Niki Lauda's Ferrari slammed into an embankment and burst into flames; he was read his last rites at the scene and suffered severe burns, losing his right ear. Just 42 days later, on 12 September, Lauda returned to the grid at Monza - Ferrari's home race - with his head still bandaged, and finished fourth. At the British Grand Prix, James Hunt returned to the pits via the access road after a first-lap crash and was initially barred from the restart - only to be allowed to race after the home crowd's protests, going on to win, before Ferrari's appeal saw him retroactively disqualified two months later in September, handing the win to Lauda. At the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, the race started in torrential rain; Lauda withdrew after two laps citing the danger, while Hunt finished third to clinch the World Championship by a single point. James Hunt won the 1976 Drivers' Championship with 69 points (McLaren), 1 point ahead of the runner-up. Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship with 83 points, 9 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 16 completed races this season, there were 181 retirements. 7 different drivers won a race this season. James Hunt took the most race wins, 6 in total. Lauda won the season-opening race, the Brazilian Grand Prix. The most dominant win of the season came at the United States Grand Prix West, with a margin of 42.4 seconds. Pryce made the biggest gain of the season at the British Grand Prix, from grid position 20 to finishing 4 (up 16 places). The British Grand Prix saw the most retirements of the season, with 17 drivers failing to finish. The closest finish of the season came at the Dutch Grand Prix, with a gap of just 0.920 seconds. The season's biggest upset win came from Peterson at the Italian Grand Prix, starting from grid position 8. Andretti won the Japanese Grand Prix, the final race of the season.