1977 Austrian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Alan Jones claimed his first Grand Prix victory in the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, giving Shadow the only championship win in its history. A drying track rewarded his determined progress from 14th on the grid, and James Hunt’s late engine failure opened the way to victory. Niki Lauda finished second at home and extended his championship advantage.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Niki Lauda	Ferrari
Pole time	1:39.32
Fastest lap	John Watson	Brabham
Fastest-lap time	1:40.960 on lap 52
First	Alan Jones	Shadow
Second	Niki Lauda	Ferrari
Third	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
12 August 1977	Friday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
12 August 1977	Friday afternoon timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
13 August 1977	Saturday untimed practice	Start time unconfirmed
13 August 1977	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
14 August 1977	Warm-up	Around midday, delayed by rain
14 August 1977	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Niki Lauda arrived at round 12 leading the 1977 F1 World Championship on 48 points, with Jody Scheckter on 38. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 65 points.

Race entries

Arturo Merzario took over Riccardo Patrese’s Shadow for this event. Hans Binder joined Jarier in the second ATS Penske, while Ian Ashley returned in an independently backed Hesketh. A proposed Thursday pre-qualifying day was dropped after withdrawals reduced the entry. The Österreichring also featured a new chicane at the former Hella-Licht corner.

Friday morning timed practice

Hunt set a strong early benchmark on the revised circuit, with Lauda close behind. A seized throttle-linkage bearing interrupted Lauda’s running, but he switched to the spare Ferrari and immediately produced another competitive lap. The new chicane increased lap times substantially, so comparisons with the previous year required care.

Friday afternoon timed practice

Back in his repaired car, Lauda improved to 1min 39.32sec and watched the opposition try to respond. Hunt remained the closest threat, while Stuck joined the leading group. Jones suffered engine trouble, Keegan alternated between handling and misfire problems, and Jarier also lost useful running. Tambay again impressed, comfortably outpacing Regazzoni in the other Ensign.

Saturday untimed practice

Overnight rain left water flowing across parts of the circuit. Brambilla crashed heavily but escaped injury, then suffered a burst water pipe in the spare Surtees. Ribeiro hit Peterson’s Tyrrell from behind, damaging both cars. Several drivers tried spare machinery as the slippery conditions made preparation difficult.

Saturday final qualifying

Warmer sunshine made the circuit slower for much of the final hour, protecting Lauda’s Friday time. Hunt cooled his tyres between quick laps and mounted a late challenge, but fell just short. Andretti improved near the end to join Lauda, Hunt and Stuck on the first two rows.

Watson damaged his Brabham at the chicane and switched cars, while Nilsson and Jones also needed spares after engine problems. Brambilla’s difficult weekend continued when the spare Surtees suffered a front-suspension failure. Henton, Ashley, Rebaque and Ribeiro missed the grid.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	11	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	1:39.32
2	1	James Hunt	McLaren	1:39.45
3	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:39.74
4	8	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Brabham	1:39.97
5	12	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:40.12
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:40.22
7	23	Patrick Tambay	Ensign	1:40.29
8	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:40.40
9	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren	1:40.44
10	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:40.62
11	22	Clay Regazzoni	Ensign	1:40.74
12	7	John Watson	Brabham	1:40.92
13	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	1:40.93
14	17	Alan Jones	Shadow	1:41.00
15	3	Ronnie Peterson	Tyrrell	1:41.13
16	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus	1:41.24
17	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren	1:41.40
18	34	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Penske	1:41.70
19	33	Hans Binder	Penske	1:41.71
20	24	Rupert Keegan	Hesketh	1:41.92
21	16	Arturo Merzario	Shadow	1:41.92
22	27	Patrick Nève	March	1:41.96
23	28	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:42.15
24	10	Ian Scheckter	March	1:42.22
25	18	Vern Schuppan	Surtees	1:42.31
26	36	Emilio de Villota	McLaren	1:42.38
27	38	Brian Henton	March	1:42.43
28	39	Ian Ashley	Hesketh	1:42.52
29	25	Héctor Rebaque	Hesketh	1:42.75
30	9	Alex Ribeiro	March	no time

Sunday warm-up

Heavy rain delayed the final running by more than an hour. Drivers eventually ventured out on a soaked circuit as conditions eased, while the organisers retained the planned afternoon start. Brambilla took Schuppan’s race car and the Australian moved to the spare Surtees; Jones, Nilsson and Watson returned to repaired regular machinery.

What happened in the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix?

The race began on a wet track with drivers divided between slicks and wet-weather tyres. Andretti led early, while Nilsson and Jones made rapid progress from the midfield. The leading Lotus soon retired with engine trouble, promoting Hunt. As the circuit dried, Nilsson had to stop for slicks and Jones passed Stuck and Scheckter to take second.

Hunt appeared to have the race under control, but an engine failure ended his afternoon and handed Jones the lead. Nilsson had recovered strongly after his stop before another engine failure eliminated the second Lotus. Lauda’s Ferrari became more competitive as the track dried, allowing him to move into second.

Jones completed a composed drive to secure a breakthrough win for himself and Shadow. Lauda finished second and Stuck third, followed by Reutemann, Peterson and Mass. Scheckter spun out, so Lauda gained substantially on his principal rivals. The day belonged to Jones, whose progress through the changing conditions had put him in position to capitalise when Hunt retired.

After the race, Niki Lauda headed the drivers’ standings with 54 points, followed by Jody Scheckter on 38. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 71, with Lotus – Ford on 47.

1977 Austrian Grand Prix race results

The 1977 Austrian Grand Prix was held on 14 August 1977.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	17	Alan Jones	Shadow	54	1:37:16.49	9
2	11	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	54	+ 20.13	6
3	8	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Brabham	54	+ 34.5	4
4	12	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	54	+ 34.75	3
5	3	Ronnie Peterson	Tyrrell	54	+ 1:02.09	2
6	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren	53	+ 1 Lap	1
7	24	Rupert Keegan	Hesketh	53	+ 1 Lap	0
8	7	John Watson	Brabham	53	+ 1 Lap	0
9	27	Patrick Nève	March	53	+ 1 Lap	0
10	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren	53	+ 1 Lap	0
11	28	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	53	+ 1 Lap	0
12	33	Hans Binder	Penske	53	+ 1 Lap	0
13	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	53	+ 1 Lap	0
14	34	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Penske	52	+ 2 Laps	0
15	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	52	+ 2 Laps	0
16	18	Vern Schuppan	Surtees	52	+ 2 Laps	0
17	36	Emilio de Villota	McLaren	50	Accident	0
Ret	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	45	Spun Off	0
Ret	1	James Hunt	McLaren	43	Engine	0
Ret	23	Patrick Tambay	Ensign	41	Engine	0
Ret	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus	38	Engine	0
Ret	16	Arturo Merzario	Shadow	29	Gearbox	0
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	21	Oil Leak	0
Ret	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus	11	Engine	0
Ret	10	Ian Scheckter	March	2	Accident	0
Ret	22	Clay Regazzoni	Ensign	0	Accident	0
DNQ	38	Brian Henton	March			0
DNQ	39	Ian Ashley	Hesketh			0
DNQ	25	Héctor Rebaque	Hesketh			0
DNQ	9	Alex Ribeiro	March			0

1977 Austrian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	7	John Watson	Brabham	52	1:40.960

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1977 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix.

1977 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Niki Lauda	Austrian	Ferrari	54
2	Jody Scheckter	South African	Wolf	38
3	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Ferrari	34
4	Mario Andretti	American	Lotus	32
5	James Hunt	British	McLaren	22
6	Gunnar Nilsson	Swedish	Lotus	20
7	Jochen Mass	German	McLaren	18
8	Alan Jones	Australian	Shadow	12
9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	German	March / Brabham	12
10	Jacques Laffite	French	Ligier	10
11	Patrick Depailler	French	Tyrrell	10
12	John Watson	British	Brabham	9
13	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Fittipaldi	8
14	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	Brabham	6
15	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Tyrrell	6
16	Vittorio Brambilla	Italian	Surtees	5
17	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ensign	1
18	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	Penske	1
19	Renzo Zorzi	Italian	Shadow	1
20	Patrick Tambay	French	Surtees / Ensign	1
21	Rupert Keegan	British	Hesketh	0
22	Vern Schuppan	Australian	Surtees	0
23	Ingo Hoffmann	Brazilian	Fittipaldi	0
24	Alex Ribeiro	Brazilian	March	0
25	Patrick Nève	Belgian	March	0
26	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Shadow	0
27	Hans Binder	Austrian	Surtees / Penske	0
28	Harald Ertl	Austrian	Hesketh	0
29	Jackie Oliver	British	Shadow	0
30	Brett Lunger	American	March / McLaren	0
31	Brian Henton	British	March	0
32	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ensign	0
33	Ian Scheckter	South African	March	0
34	Gilles Villeneuve	Canadian	McLaren	0
35	Larry Perkins	Australian	BRM / Surtees	0
36	David Purley	British	LEC	0
37	Emilio de Villota	Spanish	McLaren	0
38	Arturo Merzario	Italian	March / Shadow	0
39	Tom Pryce	British	Shadow	0
40	Boy Hayje	Dutch	March	0
41	Hector Rebaque	Mexican	Hesketh	0
42	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	French	Renault	0

1977 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	71
2	Lotus – Ford	47
3	Wolf – Ford	38
4	McLaren – Ford	35
5	Brabham – Alfa Romeo	27
6	Tyrrell – Ford	16
7	Shadow – Ford	13
8	Ligier – Matra	10
9	Fittipaldi – Ford	8
10	Surtees – Ford	5
11	Ensign – Ford	2
12	Penske – Ford	1
—	Hesketh – Ford	0
—	March – Ford	0
—	LEC – Ford	0
—	BRM	0
—	Renault	0
—	McGuire – Ford	0

Drivers counted their best 8 results from rounds 1–9 and their best 7 from rounds 10–17. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.

1977 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1977 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	9 January
2	1977 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo de Interlagos, São Paulo	23 January
3	1977 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	5 March
4	1977 United States West Grand Prix	Long Beach Street Circuit, Long Beach, California	3 April
5	1977 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	8 May
6	1977 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	22 May
7	1977 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder	5 June
8	1977 Swedish Grand Prix	Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp	19 June
9	1977 French Grand Prix	Dijon-Prenois, Dijon	3 July
10	1977 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	16 July
11	1977 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	31 July
12	1977 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	14 August
13	1977 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	28 August
14	1977 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	11 September
15	1977 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	2 October
16	1977 Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport Park, Bowmanville	9 October
17	1977 Japanese Grand Prix	Fuji Speedway, Oyama	23 October