The 1977 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 October 1977 at Fuji. It was the 17th and final race of the 1977 Formula One World Championship. At the time, this was to be the last Japanese Grand Prix; this was due to issues with finance and travel (in those days, getting to Japan from Europe required going via Anchorage, Alaska, in the United States or via Hong Kong, for both the Soviet Union and China banned Western aircraft from flying in their airspace), and safety concerns with the Mount Fuji circuit. It was also the last Japanese Grand Prix to be held at Fuji Speedway until 2007. The race would return in 1987, held at the better-spectated and safer Suzuka Circuit.
Report Mario Andretti and James Hunt continued their late-season battle, with the American pipping Hunt to the pole; John Watson headed 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 along with Hans Binder and Noritake 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. The rules changed for the following year; thereafter, the podium celebration became 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, who had a working visa) and Japanese objections to the South African apartheid regime.
Classification
Qualifying Pos.DriverConstructorTime 1 Mario Andretti Lotus–Ford 1:12.23 2 James Hunt McLaren–Ford +0.16 3 John Watson Brabham–Alfa Romeo +0.26 4 Hans-Joachim Stuck Brabham–Alfa Romeo +0.78 5 Jacques Laffite Ligier–Matra +0.85 6 Jody Scheckter Wolf–Ford +0.92 7 Carlos Reutemann Ferrari +1.09 8 Jochen Mass McLaren–Ford +1.14 9 Vittorio Brambilla Surtees–Ford +1.14 10 Clay Regazzoni Ensign–Ford +1.29 11 Kazuyoshi Hoshino Kojima–Ford +1.32 12 Alan Jones Shadow–Ford +1.33 13 Riccardo Patrese Shadow–Ford +1.35 14 Gunnar Nilsson Lotus–Ford +1.43 15 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell–Ford +1.93 16 Patrick Tambay Ensign–Ford +1.99 17 Jean-Pierre Jarier Ligier–Matra +2.02 18 Ronnie Peterson Tyrrell–Ford +2.03 19 Noritake Takahara Kojima–Ford +2.13 20 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari +2.28 21 Hans Binder Surtees–Ford +2.50 22 Kunimitsu Takahashi Tyrrell–Ford +2.65 23 Alex Ribeiro March–Ford +2.78 Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 1 James Hunt McLaren-Ford 73 1:31:51.68 2 9 2 12 Carlos Reutemann Ferrari 73 + 1:02.45 7 6 3 4 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 73 + 1:06.39 15 4 4 17 Alan Jones Shadow-Ford 73 + 1:06.61 12 3 5 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 72 Out of Fuel 5 2 6 16 Riccardo Patrese Shadow-Ford 72 + 1 Lap 13 1 7 8 Hans-Joachim Stuck Brabham-Alfa Romeo 72 + 1 Lap 4 8 19 Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford 71 + 2 Laps 9 9 50 Kunimitsu Takahashi Tyrrell-Ford 71 + 2 Laps 22 10 20 Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford 71 + 2 Laps 6 11 52 Kazuyoshi Hoshino Kojima-Ford 71 + 2 Laps 11 12 9 Alex Ribeiro March-Ford 69 + 4 Laps 23 6 Gunnar Nilsson Lotus-Ford 63 Gearbox 14 22 Clay Regazzoni Ensign-Ford 43 Engine 10 7 John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo 29 Gearbox 3 2 Jochen Mass McLaren-Ford 28 Engine 8 23 Patrick Tambay Ensign-Ford 14 Engine 16 3 Ronnie Peterson Tyrrell-Ford 5 Accident 18 11 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 5 Accident 20 27 Jean-Pierre Jarier Ligier-Matra 3 Engine 17 5 Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 1 Collision 1 51 Noritake Takahara Kojima-Ford 1 Collision 19 18 Hans Binder Surtees-Ford 1 Collision 21
Notes Japanese driver Kunimitsu Takahashi made his Formula One World Championship debut in this race. This race saw the fifth-fastest lap set by a South African driver. This race marked the 299th and 300th podium finishes for a Ford-powered car. This race saw the final F1 victory by James Hunt, and the last by a British driver until John Watson won the 1981 British Grand Prix. This was the final F1 race for Swedish driver Gunnar Nilsson.
Final championship standings
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Niki Lauda 72 2 Jody Scheckter 55 3 Mario Andretti 47 4 Carlos Reutemann 42 5 James Hunt 40Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 95 (97) 2 Lotus-Ford 62 1 3 McLaren-Ford 60 1 4 Wolf-Ford 55 5 Brabham-Alfa Romeo 27Source:
Bold text indicates the 1977 World Champions.
References