1976 French Grand Prix

The complete 1976 French Grand Prix with German commentary.

After a three week break the F1 teams reassembled at Circuit Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix. The previous
race (Swedish Grand Prix) raised eyebrows as the Tyrrell team finished 1-2 with their controversial P34 6-wheeled
cars. Here at the fast Circuit Paul Ricard, the Tyrrell team struggled for speed and drivers Patrick Depailler and
Jody Scheckter were 3rd and 9th on the grid respectively. The Ferrari Team qualified well with Niki Lauda second on
the grid and teammate Clay Regazzoni fourth, while the always colorful James Hunt (McLaren) was on pole. Hunt had
won the Spanish Grand Prix two months earlier but had his victory stripped from him due to a rules violation with his
car. Six of the first seven races had been won by a Ferrari, and Hunt was looking to get his season back on track.

At the start, Lauda jumped to the lead and Hunt settled into second place keeping a safe gap between him and the
Tyrrell 6-wheeler of Patrick Depailler in third. Hunt noticed something was amiss out the back of Lauda’s Ferrari, so
he decided to bide his time and wait to see if the Ferrari would have a mechanical issue. Sure enough, on lap 8 the
Ferrari’s engine blew handing the lead to Hunt. The other Ferrari, driven by Clay Regazzoni, put pressure on Hunt but
paid for his determination when he slid off the track into the fencing on lap 18. Now Hunt was being chased by the
Tyrrell P34 of Patrick Depailler while third place saw a battle between the Jody Scheckter (Tyrell P34) and Ronnie
Peterson (March). Scheckter’s 6-wheeler was slower than the chasing pack, but crucially had the straight-line speed
to hold them off. Peterson eventually got through, but by the time he had Patrick Depailler was more than ten seconds
clear and out of range. Peterson’s day would eventually end on lap 51 when his March expired.

James Hunt captured the win, and less than 24 hours later the FIA ruled his win in Spain would stand, overturning
stewards who had disqualified him. The results lifted Hunt into second in the drivers’ championship.

This is the complete race with German commentary. Very good footage of what
would be known as perhaps the greatest season ever in Formula 1.