1976 British Grand Prix

1976 British Grand Prix
Race 9 of 16 in the 1976 Formula One season
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Race details
Date 18 July 1976
Official name XXIX John Player Grand Prix[1]
Location Brands Hatch, Kent, England
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.206 km (2.613 miles)
Distance 76 laps, 319.656 km (198.588 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:19.35[2]
Fastest lap
Driver Austria Niki Lauda Ferrari
Time 1:19.91 on lap 41[3]
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Tyrrell-Ford
Third
Penske-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1976 British Grand Prix (formally the John Player Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 18 July 1976 at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, England, United Kingdom. The 76-lap race was the ninth round of the 1976 Formula One season.[4]

British driver James Hunt was involved in a first corner crash that brought out the red flags. Hunt drove his damaged car back to the pits, but did not complete a full lap of the track to do so, instead driving through an access road on the Cooper Straight. The officials declared that, since he had not been on the circuit when the red flag was waved, Hunt would not be allowed to take part in the restart. This news led to much angry feeling amongst the British crowd, who chanted Hunt's name until the stewards, fearing crowd trouble, announced that Hunt would be allowed to take the restart. Hunt duly won the restarted race. Immediately after the race, the Ferrari, Tyrrell and Fittipaldi teams protested against the inclusion of Hunt's car. In September, two months after the event, a decision was reached and Hunt was disqualified, giving Niki Lauda the race win.

  1. ^ "1976 British GP". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 131. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
  3. ^ Lang, Mike (1983). Grand Prix! Vol 3. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 134. ISBN 0-85429-380-9.
  4. ^ "1976 British Grand Prix Entry list".