1977 United States Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 17 in the 1977 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | October 2, 1977 | ||
| Official name | XX Toyota United States Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course Watkins Glen, New York |
||
| Course | Permanent road course | ||
| Course length | 5.435 km (3.377 mi) | ||
| Distance | 59 laps, 320.67 km (199.24 mi) | ||
| Weather | Rain with temperatures reaching up to 63 °F (17 °C); winds gusting up to 12.8 miles per hour (20.6 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:40.863 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Ronnie Peterson
|
Tyrrell-Ford | |
| Time | 1:51.85 on lap 56 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | Wolf-Ford | ||
The 1977 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 2, 1977, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 3, 1977, in Long Beach, California.
By holding off a charging Mario Andretti, James Hunt won at Watkins Glen for the second consecutive year, but the World Championship crown returned to Austrian Niki Lauda, whose fourth place clinched his second title in three years. Racing in cold and rain, Hunt took his second win of the year for McLaren, while Lauda's title was the culmination of a comeback from the life-threatening injuries he sustained at the Nürburgring in 1976.
For the first time, the American race was being held before the Canadian Grand Prix, which would follow a week later. Lauda led the championship with 69 points, while Jody Scheckter was second with 42 points. With 9 points being awarded for a win, Lauda needed only to score a point in any of the final three races to clinch the title, while Scheckter needed to win them all to have a chance.
From the start of practice on Friday, Hunt's McLaren was dominant, setting a track record of 1:40.863. Brabham teammates Hans-Joachim Stuck and John Watson were a quarter of a second back, followed by Andretti, Ronnie Peterson and the Ferraris of Carlos Reutemann and Lauda. On Saturday morning there was rain just before the end of untimed practice, and so the afternoon session served only as practice for a possible wet race on Sunday, as Friday's times determined the grid.
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