1977
SEASON

Race 1: Argentina

The 1977 season started in Argentina, returning after a year's absence. It was reigning world champion James Hunt who started off his title defence with pole position in his McLaren . Countryman John Watson shared the front row with him in the Brabham , and Patrick Depailler in the six-wheeled Tyrrell was third on the grid. The weather was, as was very often the case in Buenos Aires, oppressively hot, which contributed to the attrition of this race – the track temperature was 51 °C (124 °F). Watson took the lead at the start with Hunt second. Watson led for the first 10 laps until Hunt moved ahead and pulled away, with Mario Andretti 's Lotus third, but soon the other McLaren of Jochen Mass took the place. Mass had to retire soon after with an engine failure which caused him to spin, and a suspension failure took teammate and race leader Hunt out three laps later. Watson took the lead again, but he also had suspension failures and let teammate Carlos Pace through. Watson eventually ...

Race 2: Brazil

The second round took place at the longest circuit of the year – the very demanding and difficult 5-mile Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, Brazil. Hunt took pole again with Reutemann second and Andretti third on the grid. Home hero Pace took the lead at the start, with Hunt dropping behind Reutemann as well but soon Hunt was back behind Pace and attacking. There was contact, and Hunt took the lead whereas Pace had to pit for repairs. Hunt led Reutemann until he began to suffer from tyre troubles ...

Race 3: South Africa

The race in South Africa was over a month later, but Hunt still continued his streak of poles, with Pace alongside and Lauda next. Hunt led off at the start, with Lauda and Scheckter following him after Pace struggled. The order stayed put until the seventh lap when Lauda took the lead and was never headed again, with Scheckter taking second from Hunt 11 laps later. On lap 21, two marshals ran across the track after the Shadow of Renzo Zorzi caught fire. The second marshal, Fredrik Jansen van Vuuren, carrying a fire extinguisher was hit by the car of Tom Pryce at about 270 km/h (170 mph) and was killed instantly by the collision. His fire extinguisher struck Pryce's face, killing and nearly decapitating him. The race continued however, and Lauda won, his first since his own horror crash last year, with home hero Scheckter second, and Depailler's six-wheeler took third from Hunt in the closing laps.

Race 4: United States GP West

The death of Pryce had shaken the field up, and then before the next round at Long Beach, California in the western United States, there was more news, as Carlos Pace , who had finished second in the opening round in Argentina, was killed in a plane crash. The field, in a somber mood, went to this relatively new street circuit near Los Angeles, and Lauda took pole ahead of home hero Andretti, with Scheckter third. At the start, it was Scheckter who got the best start, and he passed both Andretti and Lauda, with Reutemann going up an escape road and spinning as he tried to follow Scheckter through. The top three of Scheckter, Andretti and Lauda pulled away from the rest of the pack, and ran closely together but the order did not change. However, a ...

Race 5: Spain

The next round was in Spain, at the Jarama circuit near Madrid, where Andretti continued his recent form with pole and Jacques Laffite 's Ligier springing a surprise, beating Lauda to second, however Lauda was unable to take part in the race due to a broken rib. At the start, Andretti took the lead with Laffite following. Laffite gave chase to Andretti in the early stages but had to pit with a deflating tyre, leaving Andretti to romp to victory with Reutemann second. Hunt inherited third but ret...

Race 6: Monaco

In the elite Monaco race, Watson took his first career pole for Brabham with Scheckter also on the front row and Reutemann third. It was Scheckter who got the best start to beat Watson to the first corner, with Reutemann running third in the early stages until he was passed by his teammate Lauda. Watson ran second to Scheckter until mid-race when he had to retire with gearbox trouble, allowing Lauda to close in on Scheckter but the latter was flawless and held on to take his second win of the se...

Race 7: Belgium

Belgium was host to the seventh race of the season, and in qualifying at the Zolder circuit Andretti took a comfortable pole with Watson just beating the second Lotus of Gunnar Nilsson to second. The race was wet due to rain earlier in the day, and Watson took the lead at the first corner, but later in the first lap, Andretti ran into the back to him while attempting to retake the lead, resulting in both of them spinning out and Scheckter taking the lead. Scheckter led the early stages ahead of Nilsson, whereas Reutemann made an early charge but spun off. The track began to dry and everyone had to pit for tyres, and those who stopped early were the ones who benefited, as now Lauda was leading from Jochen Mass and Scheckter was down to fifth. Mass spun off from second, handing it to Nilsson who then went on to catch and pass Lauda before driving away to his first career victory. Behind second-placed Lauda, Ronnie Peterson completed the podium for ...

Race 8: Sweden

The Swedish race at the isolated Anderstorp Raceway was full of anticipation after Nilsson's win last time out, but once again in qualifying, it was his teammate Andretti leading the way from Watson, with Hunt heading the second row. At the start, again it was Watson who led into the first corner followed by Scheckter, but soon Andretti passed both of them and opened up a lead. Watson and Scheckter battled for second until they collided, with Scheckter having to retire and Watson pitting for rep...