Mario Andretti won a thrilling 1977 United States Grand Prix West, passing Jody Scheckter late in the race before holding off Niki Lauda. The home victory at Long Beach was also the first championship success for the ground-effect Lotus 78.
Race Guide
Season: 1977 F1 World Championship
Race date: 3 April 1977
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC-08:00)
Circuit: Long Beach Street Circuit
Laps: 80 laps
Circuit length: 3.251 km
1976 winner: Clay Regazzoni
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Niki Lauda | Ferrari |
| Pole time | 1:21.630 | |
| Fastest lap | Niki Lauda | Ferrari |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:22.753 on lap 62 | |
| First | Mario Andretti | Lotus |
| Second | Niki Lauda | Ferrari |
| Third | Jody Scheckter | Wolf |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1977 | Friday morning timed practice | 90 minutes; delayed start |
| 1 April 1977 | Friday afternoon timed practice | Start time unconfirmed |
| 2 April 1977 | Saturday practice | Start time unconfirmed |
| 2 April 1977 | Saturday final qualifying | One hour; start unconfirmed |
| 3 April 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
Jody Scheckter arrived at round 4 leading the 1977 F1 World Championship on 15 points, with Carlos Reutemann on 13. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 22 points.
Race entries
The field arrived after the deaths of Tom Pryce at Kyalami and Carlos Pace in an aircraft accident. Alan Jones joined Shadow, while Hans-Joachim Stuck moved to Brabham. Jean-Pierre Jarier took the ATS-run Penske that Stuck had originally been expected to drive. Brian Henton joined March while Ian Scheckter recovered from injuries sustained in South Africa.
Friday morning timed practice
Preparing the city streets delayed the opening session, and early laps threw up dust before the surface improved. Scheckter was fastest, narrowly ahead of Andretti. Laffite showed impressive pace in the Ligier, while Lauda lost time with a broken rear anti-roll bar. Depailler struck a wall and briefly used Tyrrell’s spare, whose cockpit was configured for the taller Peterson.
Friday afternoon timed practice
Andretti moved to the top of the times as Scheckter’s challenge was interrupted by a broken fourth gear. Depailler returned to his repaired car, but neither Tyrrell driver was comfortable over the bumps. Jones’s first day with Shadow ended with an engine change required. Hunt and Mass struggled to find the pace they expected from the established McLaren M23.
Saturday practice
Teams continued adapting their cars to the narrow, bumpy streets. Jarier benefited from cockpit changes to the Penske and appeared increasingly comfortable on his return to racing. Stuck’s Brabham preparations were hampered by brake problems and oil leaks, while Nilsson’s adjustment to the shorter Lotus chassis was complicated by brake balance and damper trouble.
Saturday final qualifying
Lauda produced the decisive lap and parked with time remaining, confident that his effort would stand. Andretti improved to second, edging Scheckter onto the second row alongside Reutemann. Watson battled gearbox and alternator problems before traffic frustrated his final attempts.
Fittipaldi qualified an encouraging seventh, ahead of Hunt, while Jarier put the ATS Penske ninth. Mass lost the latter part of the session to a suspension-joint failure, and Nilsson clipped a barrier and damaged a suspension link. The front of the grid promised a close contest between three very different cars.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 1:21.630 |
| 2 | 5 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:21.868 |
| 3 | 20 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 1:21.887 |
| 4 | 12 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:22.260 |
| 5 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:22.296 |
| 6 | 7 | John Watson | Brabham | 1:22.372 |
| 7 | 28 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1:22.382 |
| 8 | 1 | James Hunt | McLaren | 1:22.529 |
| 9 | 34 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Penske | 1:22.611 |
| 10 | 3 | Ronnie Peterson | Tyrrell | 1:22.655 |
| 11 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | 1:22.659 |
| 12 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 1:22.675 |
| 13 | 22 | Clay Regazzoni | Ensign | 1:22.762 |
| 14 | 17 | Alan Jones | Shadow | 1:23.056 |
| 15 | 2 | Jochen Mass | McLaren | 1:23.231 |
| 16 | 6 | Gunnar Nilsson | Lotus | 1:23.384 |
| 17 | 8 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Brabham | 1:23.811 |
| 18 | 10 | Brian Henton | March | 1:24.036 |
| 19 | 18 | Hans Binder | Surtees | 1:24.173 |
| 20 | 16 | Renzo Zorzi | Shadow | 1:24.357 |
| 21 | 30 | Brett Lunger | March | 1:24.979 |
| 22 | 9 | Alex Ribeiro | March | 1:25.080 |
What happened in the 1977 United States West Grand Prix?
Scheckter made the best start and took the lead, with Andretti and Lauda giving chase. Reutemann ran wide at the first corner, and Hunt became airborne after contact before continuing with damage. The leading trio remained closely matched as the race settled down, although Lauda’s early locked brakes left him coping with tyre vibration.
Scheckter maintained a narrow advantage until a slow puncture began to compromise the Wolf. He stayed out and defended for lap after lap as Andretti searched for a way past. The Lotus finally took the lead under braking for the hairpin with only a few laps remaining, and Lauda also passed the struggling Wolf.
Andretti held off Lauda to win by less than a second, delighting the home crowd. Scheckter preserved third, ahead of Depailler and Fittipaldi. Jarier took sixth to give the ATS operation a point on its debut, narrowly denying the recovering Hunt. Lotus’s new car had converted its promise into a victory.
After the race, Niki Lauda headed the drivers’ standings with 19 points, followed by Jody Scheckter on 19. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 28, with Wolf – Ford on 19.
1977 United States West Grand Prix race results
The 1977 United States West Grand Prix was held on 3 April 1977.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 80 | 1:51:35.470 | 9 |
| 2 | 11 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 80 | + 0.773 | 6 |
| 3 | 20 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 80 | + 4.857 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 80 | + 1:14.487 | 3 |
| 5 | 28 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 80 | + 1:20.908 | 2 |
| 6 | 34 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Penske | 79 | + 1 Lap | 1 |
| 7 | 1 | James Hunt | McLaren | 79 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| 8 | 6 | Gunnar Nilsson | Lotus | 79 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| 9 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 78 | Electrical | 0 |
| 10 | 10 | Brian Henton | March | 77 | + 3 Laps | 0 |
| 11 | 18 | Hans Binder | Surtees | 77 | + 3 Laps | 0 |
| Ret | 3 | Ronnie Peterson | Tyrrell | 62 | Fuel System | 0 |
| Ret | 22 | Clay Regazzoni | Ensign | 57 | Gearbox | 0 |
| Ret | 8 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Brabham | 53 | Brakes | 0 |
| Ret | 17 | Alan Jones | Shadow | 40 | Gearbox | 0 |
| Ret | 2 | Jochen Mass | McLaren | 39 | Handling | 0 |
| DSQ | 7 | John Watson | Brabham | 33 | Illegal Push Start | 0 |
| Ret | 16 | Renzo Zorzi | Shadow | 27 | Gearbox | 0 |
| Ret | 9 | Alex Ribeiro | March | 15 | Gearbox | 0 |
| Ret | 12 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 5 | Accident | 0 |
| Ret | 30 | Brett Lunger | March | 4 | Accident | 0 |
| Ret | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | 0 | Accident | 0 |
1977 United States West Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 62 | 1:22.753 |
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 United States West Grand Prix.
1977 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
| POS | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niki Lauda | Austrian | Ferrari | 19 |
| 2 | Jody Scheckter | South African | Wolf | 19 |
| 3 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentine | Ferrari | 13 |
| 4 | Mario Andretti | American | Lotus | 11 |
| 5 | James Hunt | British | McLaren | 9 |
| 6 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazilian | Fittipaldi | 8 |
| 7 | Patrick Depailler | French | Tyrrell | 7 |
| 8 | Carlos Pace | Brazilian | Brabham | 6 |
| 9 | Gunnar Nilsson | Swedish | Lotus | 2 |
| 10 | Jochen Mass | German | McLaren | 2 |
| 11 | Clay Regazzoni | Swiss | Ensign | 1 |
| 12 | John Watson | British | Brabham | 1 |
| 13 | Renzo Zorzi | Italian | Shadow | 1 |
| 14 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | French | Penske | 1 |
| 15 | Vittorio Brambilla | Italian | Surtees | 0 |
| 16 | Ingo Hoffmann | Brazilian | Fittipaldi | 0 |
| 17 | Jacques Laffite | French | Ligier | 0 |
| 18 | Brian Henton | British | March | 0 |
| 19 | Hans Binder | Austrian | Surtees | 0 |
| 20 | Brett Lunger | American | March | 0 |
| 21 | Larry Perkins | Australian | BRM | 0 |
| 22 | Ian Scheckter | South African | March | 0 |
| 23 | Tom Pryce | British | Shadow | 0 |
| 24 | Alex Ribeiro | Brazilian | March | 0 |
| 25 | Ronnie Peterson | Swedish | Tyrrell | 0 |
| 26 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | German | March / Brabham | 0 |
| 27 | Alan Jones | Australian | Shadow | 0 |
| 28 | Boy Hayje | Dutch | March | 0 |
1977 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 28 |
| 2 | Wolf – Ford | 19 |
| 3 | Lotus – Ford | 13 |
| 4 | McLaren – Ford | 9 |
| 5 | Fittipaldi – Ford | 8 |
| 6 | Brabham – Alfa Romeo | 7 |
| 7 | Tyrrell – Ford | 7 |
| 8 | Ensign – Ford | 1 |
| 9 | Shadow – Ford | 1 |
| 10 | Penske – Ford | 1 |
| — | Surtees – Ford | 0 |
| — | Ligier – Matra | 0 |
| — | March – Ford | 0 |
| — | BRM | 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
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