1976 British Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 16 in the 1976 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | 18 July 1976 | ||
| Official name | XXIX John Player British Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Brands Hatch, Kent, England | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.206 km (2.613 mi) | ||
| Distance | 76 laps, 319.656 km (198.588 mi) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:19.35 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Niki Lauda
|
Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:19.91 on lap 41 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Tyrrell-Ford | ||
| Third | Penske-Ford | ||
The 1976 British Grand Prix (formally the XXIX John Player British 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.
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.
This was the only Formula One Grand Prix in which multiple female racers (Lella Lombardi and Divina Galica) were entered. Neither qualified for the Grand Prix.
Brands Hatch's layout had been modified from the year previous. Paddock Hill, Bottom Straight (renamed Cooper Straight) and South Bank (renamed Surtees) were all changed slightly to moderately. The pit lane was extended and many of the corners were renamed, all after racing drivers and teams.
At the start, Hunt made a relatively poor start and allowed Lauda to pull away. By contrast, Clay Regazzoni starting from fourth made a good start from the second row, and attempted to take the lead from Lauda at the first corner. Regazzoni made contact with his Ferrari team-mate which resulted in a broken rear wheel on Lauda's car, and him spinning his own car. Regazzoni's car was then hit by cars behind, resulting in damage to several more cars including those of Hunt and Jacques Laffite. Due to the amount of debris covering the track as a result, the race was stopped.
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