1976 Brazil Grand Prix

FERRARI’S RELIABILITY KEY IN LAUDA’S VICTORY AT A SCORCHING HOT BRAZIL GRAND PRIX AT THE LAND “BETWEEN THE LAKES

A scorching hot weekend in the land “Between the Lakes” greeted the F1 circus as they rolled into South America for the lone GP that season on the continent after political turmoil canceled the Argentine GP. At the time, no one could have realized that São Paulo's Autódromo do Interlagos and the V Grande Prêmio do Brasil would be the first salvo in one of the most dramatic title battles in F1 history. This race also saw the introduction of a “fancy” new start procedure, with colored lights replacing the traditional flag drop.

Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi's move to Copersucar had the hometown crowd in a state of “bedlam,” but Welshman James Hunt secured pole, a first for Team McLaren in F1. Reigning Champion Austrian Niki Lauda in a Ferrari 312 would start alongside, with the second Ferrari piloted by Switzerland’s Clay Regazzoni and the upstart Shadow piloted by Jean-Pierre Jarier on the second row.

As the lights went green, there was a ragged start, allowing Regazzoni to slip into the lead, but that would only last nine laps when his teammate out-braked him, sending him wide and allowing Hunt to move into 2nd. Hunt then set off to challenge Lauda for the lead, but that effort ended on the 33rd lap with a stuck throttle, sending him first into the barriers and then back across the track. Lauda was able to negotiate around the oil slick left by Hunt to secure the win and gain the early championship lead, setting the stage for the intense Lauda-Hunt battle depicted in the 2012 Ron Howard blockbuster "Rush."

 Key Sources:

MotorSport Magazine Database (Free): https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1976-brazilian-grand-prix/

MotorSport Magazine digitized articles (Subscription required):

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-1976/42/brazilian-grand-prix-12/