by Tom Rubython
6 points
15
John Watson
Brabham-Ford Cosworth
6 points
16
Hans-Joachim Stuck
March-Ford Cosworth
5 points
17
Arturo Merzario
Iso Marlboro-Ford Cosworth
4 points
18
Graham Hill
Lola-Ford Cosworth
1 point
19
Tom Pryce
Token-Ford Cosworth/
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
1 point
20
Vittorio Brambilla
March-Ford Cosworth
1 point
Scoring system: 1st: 9 points; 2nd: 6; 3rd: 4; 4th: 3; 5th: 2; 6th: 1. Best 7 scores from first 8 races, best 6 from remaining 7 races.
1975 Formula One World Championship
1
Niki Lauda
Ferrari
64.5 points
2
Emerson Fittipaldi
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
45 points
3
Carlos Reutemann
Brabham-Ford Cosworth
37 points
4
James Hunt
Hesketh-Ford Cosworth
33 points
5
Clay Regazzoni
Ferrari
25 points
6
Carlos Pace
Brabham-Ford Cosworth
24 points
7
Jody Scheckter
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
20 points
8
Jochen Mass
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
20 points
9
Patrick Depailler
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
12 points
10
Tom Pryce
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
8 points
11
Vittorio Brambilla
March-Ford Cosworth
6.5 points
12
Jacques Laffite
Williams-Ford Cosworth
6 points
13
Ronnie Peterson
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth
6 points
14
Mario Andretti
Parnelli-Ford Cosworth
5 points
15
Mark Donohue
Penske-Ford Cosworth/
March-Ford Cosworth
4 points
16
Jacky Ickx
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth
3 points
17
Alan Jones
Hesketh-Ford Cosworth/
Hill-Ford Cosworth
2 points
18
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Shadow-Ford Cosworth/
Shadow-Matra
1.5 points
19
Tony Brise
Williams-Ford Cosworth/
Hill-Ford Cosworth
1 point
20
Gijs van Lennep
Ensign-Ford Cosworth
1 point
21
Lella Lombardi
March-Ford Cosworth/
Williams-Ford Cosworth 0.5 point
Scoring system: 1st: 9 points; 2nd: 6; 3rd: 4; 4th: 3; 5th: 2; 6th: 1. Best 7 scores from first 8 races, best 5 from remaining 6 races.
Half points were awarded in Spain and Austria where the races were stopped early.
1976 Formula One World Championship
1
James Hunt
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
69 points
2
Niki Lauda
Ferrari
68 points
3
Jody Scheckter
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
49 points
4
Patrick Depailler
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
39 points
5
Clay Regazzoni
Ferrari
31 points
6
Mario Andretti
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth/
Parnelli-Ford Cosworth
22 points
7
John Watson
Penske-Ford Cosworth
20 points
8
Jacques Laffite
Ligier-Matra
20 points
9
Jochen Mass
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
19 points
10
Gunnar Nilsson
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth
11 points
11
Ronnie Peterson
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth/
March-Ford Cosworth
10 points
12
Tom Pryce
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
10 points
13
Hans-Joachim Stuck
March-Ford Cosworth
8 points
14
Carlos Pace
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
7 points
15
Alan Jones
Surtees-Ford Cosworth
7 points
16
Carlos Reutemann
Brabham-Alfa Romeo/
Ferrari
3 points
17
Emerson Fittipaldi
Copersucar-Ford Cosworth
3 points
18
Chris Amon
Ensign-Ford Cosworth/
Wolf Williams-Ford Cosworth
2 points
19
Vittorio Brambilla
March-Ford Cosworth
1 point
20
Rolf Stommelen
Brabham-Alfa Romeo/
Hesketh-Ford Cosworth
1 point
Scoring system: 1st: 9 points; 2nd: 6; 3rd: 4; 4th: 3; 5th: 2; 6th: 1. Best 7 scores from first 8 races, best 7 from remaining 8 races.
1977 Formula One World Championship
1
Niki Lauda
Ferrari
72 points
2
Jody Scheckter
Wolf-Ford Cosworth
55 points
3
Mario Andretti
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth
47 points
4
Carlos Reutemann
Ferrari
42 points
5
James Hunt
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
40 points
6
Jochen Mass
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
25 points
7
Alan Jones
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
22 points
8
Gunnar Nilsson
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth
20 points
9
Patrick Depailler
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
20 points
10
Jacques Laffite
Ligier-Matra
18 points
11
Hans-Joachim Stuck
March-Ford Cosworth/
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
12 points
12
Emerson Fittipaldi
Copersucar-Ford Cosworth
11 points
13
John Watson
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
9 points
14
Ronnie Peterson
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
7 points
15
Carlos Pace
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
6 points
16
Vittorio Brambilla
Surtees-Ford Cosworth
17
Clay Regazzoni
Ens
ign-Ford Cosworth
5 points
18
Patrick Tambay
Surtees-Ford Cosworth/
Ensign-Ford Cosworth
5 points
19
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Penske-Ford Cosworth/
Shadow-Ford Cosworth/
Ligier-Matra
1 point
20
Riccardo Patrese
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
1 point
21
Renzo Zorzi
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
1 point
Scoring system: 1st: 9 points; 2nd: 6; 3rd: 4; 4th: 3; 5th: 2; 6th: 1. Best 8 scores from first 9 races, best 7 from remaining 8 races.
1978 Formula One World Championship
1
Mario Andretti
JPS Lotus-Ford Cosworth
64 points
2
Ronnie Peterson
Lotus-Ford Cosworth
51 points
3
Carlos Reutemann
Ferrari
48 points
4
Niki Lauda
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
44 points
5
Patrick Depailler
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
34 points
6
John Watson
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
25 points
7
Jody Scheckter
Wolf-Ford Cosworth
24 points
8
Jacques Laffite
Ligier-Matra
19 points
9
Gilles Villeneuve
Ferrari
17 points
10
Emerson Fittipaldi
Copersucar-Ford Cosworth
17 points
11
Alan Jones
Williams-Ford Cosworth
11 points
12
Riccardo Patrese
Arrows-Ford Cosworth
11 points
13
James Hunt
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
8 points
14
Patrick Tambay
McLaren-Ford Cosworth
8 points
15
Didier Pironi
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
7 points
16
Clay Regazzoni
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
4 points
17
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Renault
3 points
18
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Shadow-Ford Cosworth
2 points
19
Vittorio Brambilla
Surtees-Ford Cosworth
1 point
20
Derek Daly
Hesketh-Ford Cosworth/
Ensign-Ford Cosworth
1 point
21
Hector Rebaque
Lotus-Ford Cosworth
1 point
Scoring system: 1st: 9 points; 2nd: 6; 3rd: 4; 4th: 3; 5th: 2; 6th: 1. Best 7 scores from first 8 races, best 7 from remaining 8 races.
APPENDIX IX
1975 to 1977 Formula One Wins by Season
James Hunt spent 13 years as a race car driver from 1967 to 1979. It was a relatively short career by modern standards, when drivers can usually expect 19 years at the wheel before retirement. But he didn’t discover motor racing until he was 18 and was too old for go-karting, which is where virtually every driver starts their career. When he got to Formula One, he was immediately accomplished and immediately competitive. Strangely, he performed better at the very highest level of the sport than he did in any other formulae. He spent three of his seven years in Formula One in uncompetitive cars and most of his success was achieved in just two years, 1976 and 1977.
1975 Hesketh-Ford Cosworth V8: one win
The most important win in James Hunt’s career was the first win, and it made Hesketh racing a team that would never be forgotten. The win was made all the more memorable because the car was a dog and only became a winner because of Hunt’s driving skills.
1976 McLaren-Ford Cosworth V8: six wins
In fact, it was seven wins after the British GP victory was taken away from him. In the end that didn’t matter, as the dominant driver won the world championship in a car that was effectively obsolete. His one-point victory understated the superb performances he put in to beat a dominant Ferrari team.
1977 McLaren-Ford Cosworth V8: three wins
If only the team had stuck to its M23 model car and shelved the M28, Hunt could have won the championship again. But somehow Hunt took the unloved M28 to three race victories. It was a demonstration of mind over matter and a driver at the top of his form.
APPENDIX X
1975 to 1977 10 Formula One Wins
James Hunt had an even bigger problem with winning races, a problem he was very happy to talk about. His first win should have been in 1973 at the very last race of the year in the United States at Watkins Glen. He had a superior car and a tyre advantage but he wasn’t psychologically equipped to do it. In truth, his first win in his third year of racing, in 1975, was fortuitous when the trye and weather conditions favoured him. But it gave him the taste for winning, and when he got to McLaren he was able to win frequently – ten times in all. But all his wins came in two of his seven years of racing. But it only happened after he had convinced himself he could do it.
1. 1975 Dutch Grand Prix: Zandvoort, 75 laps in 1h 46m 57.40s
Second: Niki Lauda, Ferrari, +1.06s
Third: Clay Regazzoni, Ferrari, +55.06s
Zandvoort’s fluid, high-speed design suited the Ferraris perfectly. When it started raining before the start, Horsley knew the team had a chance from its third grid position. He looked up at the sky and saw a tiny patch of clear sky. Just as the mechanics had been about to change the dry weather set-up on the car, Horsley ordered that they leave it, believing the weather would clear up. Hunt started with wet grooved tyres and a dry set up – a severe disadvantage – while the rest of the grid did the opposite. Horsley told Hunt that the moment the track began to dry, he was to come into the pits to change to slick racing tyres. Hunt dropped down to 19th in the 22-car field. But as soon as all the others were forced to stop for dry tyres, the difference was crucial, as Hunt steeled himself and got right on the Ferrari’s tail. On the 14th lap, Hunt took the lead. His tactics worked and Hunt crossed the line on the 75th lap – just one second ahead.
2. 1976 Spanish Grand Prix: Jarama, 75 laps in 1h 42m 20.43s
Second: Niki Lauda, Ferrari, +30.97s
Third: Gunnar Nilsson, Lotus, +48.02s
The start was delayed while King Juan Carlos, a keen Formula One fan, arrived in his helicopter. Once again, Hunt, fearful of his clutch, was slow to get away from the start while Lauda, high on painkillers, stormed into the lead for the first 31 laps. Hunt was again beaten off the line. But Lauda could feel his broken jagged rib-ends grinding together under the G-forces in hard cornering and, as the painkillers wore off, he had increased difficulty controlling the car. Hunt was content to play a waiting game, knowing that Lauda’s ribs simply wouldn’t let him continue at that pace for the entire race. Hunt recalled later: “Niki was motoring hard at the start and I was able to tuck in behind quite comfortably. I couldn’t do anything about passing him, it was just a case of waiting until his ribs started to hurt and I’d be able to nip through.” And so it proved, as Hunt went past on lap 32, followed by Mass a few laps later. Mass’ engine failed with a few laps to go and Hunt crossed the line to take his first Grand Prix victory for McLaren. Lauda crawled in for second place, 31 seconds behind and in agony.
3. 1976 France Grand Prix: Paul Ricard, 54 laps in 1h 40m 58.60s
Second: Patrick Depailler, Tyrrell, +12.70s
Third: John Watson, Penske, +23.55s
Niki Lauda made the best of the start and disappeared into the distance. Hunt bided his time in second and started to close the gap gradually. On the eighth lap, Lauda coasted to a halt with a broken crankshaft. Eleven laps later, Regazzoni’s Ferrari suffered its own crankshaft failure. Hunt led comfortably from Depailler in the Tyrrell-Ford but, by lap 40, Hunt began to feel ill and was sick inside his helmet. He barely made it to the chequered flag, with Depailler 12 seconds behind in second place. John Watson came home third.
4. 1976 German Grand Prix: Nürburgring, 14 laps in 1h 41m 42.70s
Second: Jody Scheckter, Tyrrell, +27.70s
Third: Jochen Mass, McLaren, +52.40s
Jochen Mass had made the right choice of tyres, established a big lead and was certain to win the race, but, after the restart, James Hunt cleared his mind of everything but the task at hand and streaked into a lead that remained unthreatened. He called his first lap “probably the most aggressive piece of driving I did all year. I was absolutely determined to get as big a lead as possible, and everything turned out right.” He was ten seconds clear at the end of the first restarted lap and was followed home by Jody Scheckter’s Tyrrell-Ford, with Mass coming in third. He was half a minute ahead of Scheckter and called the victory: “One of my most satisfying drives.”