download

#278 1976 Canadian Grand Prix

2021-04-08 01:00

Osservatore Sportivo

#1976, Fulvio Conti, Translated by Michela Petrillo,

#278 1976 Canadian Grand Prix

Back from the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Niki Lauda once again has the spotlights and the cameras all to himself, for a program dedicated to him by Austrian

fotor-20231206122237.jpeg

Back from the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Niki Lauda once again has the spotlights and the cameras all to himself, for a program dedicated to him by Austrian television that airs on Monday, September 13, 1976. Smiling and very controlled as always, Lauda still has bandages on his head, while his face is clearly and deeply marked by the Nurburgring accident. During the course of the program, an interviewer tells him that he has heard some automotive experts express concern and criticism for the decision of the Scuderia Ferrari managers to enter a third car in Monza, the one entrusted to the Argentinean Carlos Reutemann, thus forcing Lauda himself to hasten his exit from his sickbed, before a proper recovery.

 

"It's all nonsense. I am not so crazy as to take the start without being ready, or even half ready, in such a difficult race. I love life enough to never do anything like that".

 

Lauda admits that he had to make an enormous effort of self-control over his own soul, forcing himself to return to racing after the terrible experience at the Nurburgring. During the first day of practice at Monza, the Austrian driver had said he felt like an airplane pilot coming back from a ground crash who, having returned to flight, finds himself plummeting back into an air pocket.

 

"You have to go on anyway: that's how one feels".

 

But before the actual race begins, all of that had already been overcome, and the reigning World Champion is back to his old self.

 

"I knew I was okay, so I systematically got my confidence back in the car. Gradually I increased the speed, until I regained maximum control of the vehicle".

 

The interview with the World Champion focuses more on Lauda's human aspects than on the strictly sporting ones, to the point that he is asked if his cliché of a hard and insensitive man is not actually a mean of self-defense against hostility or displeasure that might come from the people he meets. The Austrian driver answers yes, and takes the cue from this question to bring an example that allowed him to stigmatize what happened at the press conference a week earlier near Salzburg, when he announced that he was ready to go back in, in the race.

 

"A reporter jumped up to ask me a question about my unnatural face. It's a question you don't ask if you have any respect. I, at least, couldn't even think of asking it. I've even been asked if it was true that my wife might even file for divorce because of my appearance. In a situation like this, one either goes home and hangs oneself immediately, or gives the reporter an answer as stupid as his question. One must also defend oneself and accentuate the characters of hardness, just to have a personal protection".

 

The following day, Tuesday, September 14, 1976, Clay Regazzoni and Carlos Reutemann begin a series of selective tire tests at the Fiorano track, which will continue over the next two days. Ferrari's program for the Canadian Grand Prix will be decided at a meeting of the Board of Directors in Maranello on Thursday, September 23, 1976. Wednesday 15 September 1976 Roberto Nosetto goes with his wife to Maranello: he is waiting for the meeting with Enzo Ferrari, who confirms to the engineer the intention to engage him for the 1977 season, and invites him to look for an apartment in Maranello, that his wife likes. As for the analysis on the fuel taken at the end of the race at Monza, carried out on the cars of the first four classified teams, and precisely on the March of Ronnie Peterson, on the Ferrari of Clay Regazzoni, on the Ligier of Jacques Laffite and on the Tyrrell of Jody Scheckter, engineer Nosetto, technical commissioner of CSAI, to whom the technicians of the oil industry have provided during the morning of Tuesday the results of the analysis, communicates that the gasoline used by the cars in question fully corresponds to what is established by the regulation, both for the composition and for the number of octane. 

fotor-2023120611549.jpeg

None of them exceeds the maximum limit allowed of 101 octane. From London, meanwhile, we learn that a newly formed team with great ambitions will make its debut in the next Formula 1 season, with a car that will be specially created by one of the best British designers. The new single-seater will be driven by the South African Jody Scheckter, who will leave Tyrrell at the end of the season to move to the team that still bears the name of Frank Williams Racing, but from next year will be known as Walter Wolf Racing. Thirty-six year old Walter Wolf, who was born in Austria but later became a Canadian, has made a huge fortune with equipment for extracting oil from the seabed. He appeared on the automotive scene last December, when he signed a three-year contract with Frank Williams and became its sponsor. Despite the infusion of money, the Williams team, which had taken over the cars from Hesketh, did not provide Wolf with the desired results. The Canadian billionaire, whose ambitions in the automotive field know no limits, during 1976 tried to convince Lauda to leave Ferrari at the end of the season, to become constructor and driver of a new single-seater team financed by Wolf himself. As they say, the Austrian driver was at first attracted by the new venture, but preferred to renew his contract with Ferrari before the race held on the Nurburgring circuit. Not at all discouraged, Wolf has tried for other drivers, including Jody Schekter, who for some time has been in dispute with Tyrrell especially because of the financial treatment. The South African has now revealed, but without naming names, that he has received three other offers, one of which is higher than that of Wolf Racing. According to some indiscretions, the highest salary would have been offered by Brabham-Alfa, while the other two teams would be McLaren, for which Schekter had debuted in Formula 1, and March. Wolf Racing will race in the next Formula 1 World Championship with only one car, which will be built by Harvey Postlethwaite, who is also responsible for the Hesketh 308 with which Hunt won the Dutch Grand Prix last year; the sporting director of the new team will be Peter Warr, who after fifteen years leaves Lotus. However, it is curious to know that the new director of Walter Wolf's team, Peter Warr, who will assume this role after the Japanese Grand Prix, would have almost ended his career in a foggy morning in Hetel. He was about to leave with his family for a short vacation in Ibiza after the Italian Grand Prix and Colin Chapman kindly lent him the old Navaja company plane with pilot to take him down there. It was a foggy morning, but normally this was not a problem for the pilot who had already left Hethel in all weather conditions. Only this time he had set his altimeter incorrectly. With his eyes fixed on the instruments during takeoff, he believed he was at a much higher altitude than he actually was and flew directly into the trees at the end of the runway: 

 

"We thought the end had come, but somehow the plane stayed in the air despite having a big hole in the fuselage and pieces ripped off the wings and we managed to make an emergency landing on a nearby RAF airfield".

 

Warr then calls Chapman to tell him the bad news, and the British manufacturer immediately offeres the second plane to take their vacation. Scheckter's move is the third completed since September 1 as far as the driver-market is concerned. Bernie Ecclestone's interest in a young Brazilian driver, Alex Ribeiro, who had made a name for himself in Formula 2, was recorded after the 19-year-old Italian-American driver Eddie Cheever, backed by his manager Ron Dennis, decided to refuse the offer of the Brabham patron. It seems that Ribeiro drove the Brabham-Alfa for two days at Silverstone in a series of private tests. And since Carlos Pace is also Brazilian, Brabham-Alfa in '77 could have an all-Carioca team. All this, although Alfa Romeo would like to have an Italian driver in the team, also to calm the tension of certain internal currents that criticize the agreement and the relative costs with Brabham, and to satisfy the request coming from the Italian press. Therefore, on September 22, 1976 Carlo Chiti writes to Ecclestone:

 

"Dear Bernie, I confirm that I am really sorry that it is not possible to find a solution that is to the liking of Alfa Romeo and Autodelta with regard to the driver who will have to replace Reutemann. I confirm you that Alfa Romeo and Autodelta want at least one Italian driver to be tested in a race in 1976, in order to see his skills. You can judge whether to go for Merzario, Flammini or others".

 

But the next day Ecclestone sends a telex to Chiti, indicating that:

fotor-20231206102831.jpeg

"My approach to Formula 1 is totally different from his and Autodelta's. I have no personal preference regarding the nationality of a driver and I would only be happy to use an Italian driver who is up to the task, or one with little experience but great talent. But if there were Italian drivers who met these parameters, I am sure Ferrari would have already put them under contract".

 

Curiously, Ecclestone will talk to Gilles Villeneuve in Mosport, but he will not give him the car left free by Carlos Reutemann, which will be used by Larry Perkins. In the meantime there are persistent rumors that Brabham-Alfa has reached an overall agreement with Clay Regazzoni. When asked about this, the team manager of the Anglo-Italian team, Mike Blash, neither confirms nor denies the rumors. Chiti himself asked Alfa Romeo for the green light to hire him since September 17, 1976, after evaluating the costs of various drivers, including Scheckter, who, however, had requested $300.000. Regazzoni in Ferrari earns $150.000, the same amount earned by Carlos Pace. But a few days later for the Swiss driver there is an interesting prospect: the passage to McLaren, alongside James Hunt. Jochen Mass, current teammate of the English driver, would not be confirmed for next year. Moreover, it appears that Regazzoni is supported by the tobacco multinational company that finances McLaren. However, on Monday September 20, 1976, the news of Clay Regazzoni's alleged move to McLaren for the next season is not confirmed in London. The director of the team, the American Teddy Mayer, spends the day in a conference behind closed doors with the other Formula 1 constructors. It is one of the periodic meetings that the teams hold in the vicinity of London airport to discuss the problems of the moment. 

 

Away from prying ears, they talk about the upcoming trips to Canada, America and Japan. Here it is decided that free practice will only be possible at Watkins Glen on the Wednesday before the race, while in Canada and Japan such possibilities will probably not be granted because the circuits are not ready yet. They also talk about the reform of the FIA sporting code, but once again they find many difficulties in getting everyone to agree. Therefore a working group of technicians is formed, which includes Forghieri from Ferrari, Gordon Coppuck from McLaren, Robin Herd from March and Gordon Murray from Brabham. The first meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 27, 1976, even before the trip to Canada. This is an important step towards a clarification of the rules that have caused so much controversy in this season. Ferrari was represented at the constructors' meeting by its sporting director Daniele Audetto, who declared that he had only learned the day before, late in the day, during a phone call from his wife, what had been broadcast on Italian television: Regazzoni's transfer and his return to Turin to manage the Fiat team in the World Rally Championship next season. The two pieces of news surprised and amazed Ferrari's sporting director, who had heard about them for the first time. About Regazzoni, Audetto points out that Ferrari intends to announce the team for next year only after the Japanese Grand Prix, but he adds that - at the request of the Swiss driver - he has been granted full power to start negotiations with other teams. For his part, Regazzoni expressed a strong desire to be reappointed at Ferrari. However, no final decision has been taken yet. Audetto is completely unaware of his possible return to Turin. 

 

"Apart from the fact that I find myself very well at Ferrari, changing place so frequently takes away from a man the possibility to enter in an environment especially so complex as the Formula 1 one, where it is necessary to understand and assimilate many things in order to take advantage of these first experiences: I am convinced that I can give much more in the next season. My greater contribution to Ferrari will therefore also benefit the Fiat Group. I should have been the first to know about such decisions. Since I know absolutely nothing about it, I have to conclude that these rumors are completely unfounded. I hope to be able to continue my relationship with engineer Ferrari because I am thrilled to work with him, and because from him I can learn many things not only about racing but also about life".

 

In the meantime, on Sunday September 19, 1976, in Austria, on the occasion of the 200 miles of Salzburg Lauda meets Arturo Merzario, who was disappointed for the indifferent attitude that the Austrian driver had shown towards the Italian driver:

fotor-20231206102245.jpeg

"When we met again at Monza, he said absolutely nothing to me, neither hello, nor thank you, and he didn't even tell me off. Nothing".

 

Lauda introduced himself to him by making the gesture of taking the Rolex off his wrist and giving it to him as a gift.

 

"I took it and threw it away. I was angry at how he had treated me by ignoring me, after what I had done for him. The Alfa mechanics picked it up and came to me to lecture me on how I had behaved toward him".

 

On September 24, 1976, Ferrari's sporting director will be in Paris for the meeting of the FIA's international appeals tribunal in which the appeal lodged by the Maranello team for the events of the British Grand Prix will be examined.

 

"The elements we have in our hands are more than valid to justify a verdict in our favor. We think so, and precisely because we are aware of our rights we have brought forward a complaint that is the first as such in the history of Ferrari. We have many chances of success in this appeal, but we also know with which mentality the judges decide these cases, because unfortunately they do not live in contact with the sportsman".

 

In the meantime, on Wednesday September 22, 1976, the intervention of the CSI president, Pierre Ugeaux, who acquitted McLaren and Texaco of fraudulent intentions in the matter of the fuel used in the tests for the Italian Grand Prix, was greeted with great relief and satisfaction in London, especially at McLaren. In this regard Teddy Mayer states:

 

"We welcome the statement of the president of the CIS exonerating McLaren and Texaco. We will now consider whether it is appropriate to withdraw our protest against the stewards of the Italian Grand Prix. The CIS statement clearly recognizes the confusion that exists in the regulations, and the need of a drastic revision to avoid further controversy in the future. Although we believe that James Hunt's chances in the current World Championship have been unfairly prejudiced by the decision of the stewards at Monza, we feel that pursuing our protest action would not be in the best interests of the sport. We are convinced that the World Championship should be decided on the circuits and not in the appeal courts".

 

This statement by McLaren is probably an attempt at appeasement with Ferrari, perhaps in the hope that the Italian appeal to the international appeals tribunal for the facts of Brands Hatch will not be followed. Asking Mayer if he intends to reconsider his protest action before or after Ferrari's appeal in Paris is heard, we get this answer.

 

"Not before of course, I do not intend to continue in these quarrels because I only wish to compete in the race. However, if in Paris I should be taken by the throat, when there is no reason, I will obviously fight back because I do not intend to sacrifice our last chances in this World Championship".

 

Mayer adds that he does not understand on what elements Ferrari's appeal is based:

 

"After all, it was its cars that caused what happened at Brands Hatch. The race was then regular. However, let's put aside the polemics and let's try to give life to a truly sporting end of the season".

 

So, finally, the McLaren owner denies that his team has hired Clay Regazzoni for next season.

fotor-2023120611331.jpeg

"These are just rumors. Our team will not be decided until towards the end of the season".

 

In a promotional campaign organized by Labatt's and put in place to attract the large audience of fans to Mosport for the Grand Prix, James Hunt spends the entire week before the race in Canada, between Toronto and the track, very busy with press conferences, radio and television interviews, and of course private practice on the track, even though on Wednesday, September 22, 1976, Hunt and Watson's practice sessions (with the Penske, chassis 002) are a real waste of time because of the rain. Arrived on the track rather late, the two cars complete five laps, before at 11:30 a.m. it starts to rain heavily on the Mosport circuit for three hours. The mechanics spend the time chatting, until at 2:30 p.m. Hunt and Watson run a few laps in an attempt to dry the asphalt. Watson manages to run a few laps only after being towed by a rope for an entire lap, in an attempt to start the engine that just didn't seem to want to start. After three laps, Watson returned to the pits and indicated that the engine would not reach normal revs. The ignition transistor box is replaced and the car starts again. Once the tire, temperature, and carburation tests are over, Hunt talks about Ferarri's ongoing appeal:

 

"From the appeals that have been going on with the FIA appeals tribunal I never expect any positive result in my favor so that if something good comes unexpectedly it will be all earned. Worse for me and better for Lauda if they take away the nine points of England. It's clear, however, that Ferrari absolutely wants to win the world championship and certainly this period they will not have failed to conduct an intense political campaign: not being able to beat me on the track, they will try to do it on paper".

 

But McLaren did the same after the Spanish Grand Prix...

 

"They could not do otherwise, it is right that they gave us reason because in Spain the car was irregular, however it was such a small thing that it did not have any influence on the global performance of the car: certainly you cannot hang a person for the theft of an apple".

 

The appeal hearing at the FIA tribunal for the notorious British Grand Prix affair will be held on Friday, September 24, 1976 at 10:00 a.m. at the FIA headquarters in Paris, Place de la Concorde. The tribunal will be composed of six international judges. In its action against James Hunt and McLaren, Ferrari cites numerous witnesses, including Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni. Lauda because he was the first to complete the opening lap of the race and therefore to see the red flag given by the race director after the collision a few hundred meters from the start between Regazzoni, Hunt and Laffltte; Regazzoni because, last on the track, he overtook Hunt when the latter, in difficulty, was preparing to leave the track after not even a quarter of the first lap. Other witnesses are Ettore Balletto, an Italian living in England, former driver Charles Chricton Stuart, Italian journalist Gianni Rogliatti and colleague Zigliotto, who witnessed Hunt leaving the track and abandoning his McLaren behind the pit. Daniele Audetto, Ferrari's sporting director, is confident about the outcome of the appeal:

 

"We have confidence in the application of the rules, but the problem is that of the Interpretation of these rules and the acceptance of the various testimonies that have accumulated on this case".

 

For his part, attorney Kalb states:

 

"I think the first ruling is fragile in many respects and therefore attackable. We aim to prove this fact first, and then to finally clarify the truth about what happened in England".

fotor-2023120610411.jpeg

At issue is the decision of the race director, Delamont, who had decided to restart the race only to those drivers who, at the time of the flag's display, were still on the track and who could resume the race with the original car. This decision was challenged in the first instance by Ferrari on the same day of the race and then with an appeal to the English court, discussed and rejected on August 4, 1976. Meanwhile in Maranello, on Thursday September 23, 1976, the program of Ferrari for the last three Grand Prix of the season was defined, deciding also to let Regazzoni free after these three races with a relative communiqué:

 

"Ferrari has decided the program for the Canada-U.S.-Japan trip, enrolling only two cars for Lauda and Regazzoni. Ferrari has examined a request from Clay Regazzoni for a prompt definition of his future program. In order not to jeopardize the driver's immediate possibilities, in consideration of the three-year positive cordial relationship, Ferrari informed him to consider him free once the intercontinental trip was over, before the contract expired on December 31, 1976. Every other decision regarding the 1977 technical-sport program will be taken after the Japanese Grand Prix".

 

Some deductions can be drawn from the brief Maranello communiqué: Ferrari rightly considered it too burdensome to ship three cars and their spare parts to Canada, USA and Japan. This is a technical and economic effort that can be sustained for an Italian Grand Prix, which takes place 200 kilometers from Maranello, but certainly not for races so far away; Carlos Reutemann was sacrificed, hired as a reinforcement to help Lauda when it was not believed that the Austrian could return to the track so quickly. Now Niki helps himself, a car is his right: the title is near; Reutemann will remain in Fiorano to test and develop the new version of the 312 T2 in view of 1977. It is in this period that the foundations are laid for the successes in the next championship, and the work of the Argentinean will be precious. Regazzoni, however, exits defeated from the challenge with Reutemann: the Swiss driver has received a very polite dismissal. The following day, Friday, September 24, 1976, in Paris, Ferrari wins its battle for the British Grand Prix. After an interminable session, which ended late in the day, the International Automobile Federation's Court of Appeal agreed with Ferrari, accepting its arguments, and removed James Hunt and McLaren from the race classification. On the other hand, the petition regarding the Spanish Grand Prix was rejected. The FIA ruling determines a leap upwards for Niki Lauda in the Formula 1 World Championship ranking. The Austrian, who had come second at Brands Hatch, finds himself first, so he gets nine points and not only six; and at the same time, Hunt loses the nine points he received as winner of the British Grand Prix. Therefore Lauda goes to 64 points, Hunt goes down to 47, with a difference of seventeen points against the previous five. Daniele Audetto, Ferrari's sporting director, states: 

 

"I am happy for Lauda, Ferrari and all the men of Maranello, finally rewarded for their honest and passionate work. On the one hand, it is a pity that Ferrari had to resort to the judgement of the sports tribunal to obtain what it would have deserved on the field, if the British Grand Prix had been held in compliance with the regulations. We warmly thank the A. C. of Italy for the work done in this action of ours".

 

The long day began shortly before 10:00 a.m., when all the interested parties gathered at the headquarters of the Automobil Club of France in the building at 8 Place de la Concorde. After a first fleeting meeting with the judges, the witnesses arrange themselves in the lobby, where they wait and discuss the various issues of the day: there is also the new Regazzoni, who received a telex from Maranello the previous evening in which he was told to consider himself free to deal with whoever he wanted. Therefore he shows up at the appointment visibly saddened.

 

"I asked for clarification on my position, as the contract expired at the end of the season, and they told me to contact others. I must say that if on one hand I am happy, because I also had some bitterness during my stay at Ferrari, on the other hand I am sad to leave a nice environment, especially with regard to the technicians and mechanics with whom I have always found myself well. Maybe Reutemann is more useful than me for Fiat, which looks a lot at South America, or maybe Ferrari is not what it used to be, it has become too complicated, with a Board of Directors that I don't even know. Now I have to see what I'm up to between Brabham and McLaren".


instagram
twitter
youtube
whatsapp
tiktok
spotify