1977 Japanese Grand Prix

Report

Mario Andretti and James Hunt continued their late-season battle, with the American pipping Hunt to the pole, with John Watson heading the second row. Hunt took the lead at the start, and Jody Scheckter and Jochen Mass jumped up to second and third, whereas Andretti had a terrible start and was at the tail of the top ten. On the second lap, Andretti was involved in a collision while trying to gain places, putting him out with Binder and Takahara. With Andretti out, Hunt had no challengers left and he built a large gap, with teammate Mass second and Watson passing Scheckter for third. However, both Mass and Watson had to retire within one lap of each other with engine and gearbox failures, and with Scheckter dropping back, Carlos Reutemann was second until he was passed by Jacques Laffite. Hunt went on and capped off the season with a comfortable win, whereas Laffite ran out of fuel on the last lap, handing over second to Reutemann and allowing Patrick Depailler to complete the podium.

A marshal and photographer were killed by debris following a collision involving Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari and Ronnie Peterson's Tyrrell P34 on lap six. They had both been standing in a prohibited area of the track when the accident occurred. The marshal was trying to clear spectators away from the area.

After the race concluded, both Hunt and Reutemann left the circuit immediately to catch a flight home, leaving only Depailler and his engineer on the podium. Rules changed for the following year, thereafter making the podium celebration mandatory for the first three drivers in the races (from the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix onwards).

March's driver Ian Scheckter was denied entry into and expelled from Japan due to only having a tourist visa passport (unlike his brother Jody Scheckter, who had a working visa) and Japanese objections to the South African apartheid regime.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Japanese driver Kunimitsu Takahashi.
• This was the 5th fastest lap set by a South African driver.
• This race marked the 299th and 300th podium finish for a Ford-powered car.
• This was the last F1 victory for James Hunt, and the last by a British driver until the 1981 British Grand Prix (with John Watson).
• This was the final F1 race for Swedish driver Gunnar Nilsson.

Final championship standings

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Constructors' Championship standings

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 8 results from the first 9 races and the best 7 results from the remaining 8 races were retained. Numbers without parentheses are retained points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
• Bold text indicates the 1977 World Champions.

References

| Previous_year's_race = 1976 Japanese Grand Prix | Next_year's_race = 1987 Japanese Grand Prix

References

1. "Japan 1977".
2. (11 June 2005). "Major incidents of fan deaths". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
3. (October 24, 1977). "2 Spectator Deaths Mar Hunt's Victory in Japan".
4. (2 September 2015). "Hunt and Reutemann's podium no-show, Japan 1977". Formula 1.com.
5. "Hunt wins but two die as Villeneuve crashes". ESPN.
6. Lawrence, Mike. (1990). "The Story of March". Motorbooks International.
7. "1977 Formula One Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying". [[Motorsport.com.
8. "1977 Japanese Grand Prix". formula1.com.
9. (23 October 1977). "1977 Japanese Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive".
10. "Japan 1977 - Championship".