#266 1976 South African Grand Prix

On Monday, February 9, 1976, Ronnie Peterson announces his return to the March team, also thanks to count Zanon’s auspices and to sponsor Polar, a company that produces caravans: after three years, the Swedish driver breaks the contract that binds him to Lotus, to marry the project of Max Mosley and Robin Herd's March, with which he had already raced five years before, finishing second in the world championship. Years later, Max Mosley will say:

"When he returned to March in 1976, he was still the same Ronnie as before, but much more thoughtful as a racing driver. His last year in Lotus had really demoralised him. He was much more used to the fact that things could go wrong and willing to wait for them to turn around".

In order to make room for Peterson, March will no longer be able to keep Lella Lombardi, who had obtained discreet results in her first performances in Formula 1. Now the Piedmontese champion, always supported by Lavazza, will have to look for another seat, since Peterson's debut with the March will take place in the next race of the World Drivers’ Championship, on March 6, 1976, at Kyalami, in South Africa. This is the press release from Lavazza, which has since withdrawn its commitment to sponsoring March:

"After having seen the decision taken by March regarding the replacement of Lella Lombardi with Ronnie Peterson on the March Formula 1 team, Lavazza, alongside Vittorio Brambilla, although understanding the sporting reasons that led to this choice, must announce with regret that it does not agree with the procedure used by the March team. Lavazza thanks Lella for her collaboration and hopes to provide her with an alternative solution".

Lella Lombardi, thirty-four years old, fifty-eight kilos, one meter and sixty-three centimetres of height, under the zodiac sign of Aries, begins to race in 1965 on the Formula Monza, making her debut on the Lombardy racetrack. Then she competes in Formula 850, Formula Ford, Formula 3, Formula Mexico and Formula 5000, from which she passes to Formula 1, in 1975. Yet Lella won’t take part in the South African Grand Prix. How did she feel when she found out that she had been sidelined?

"A great disappointment, then anger. But I don't give up".

How did you find out?

"Coming back from Brazil, I read about it in the newspapers and that's what hurt me the most, also because I had never noticed anything. They didn't act correctly, even though I can understand that getting Peterson could be the dream of March. They were already hoping to get him last year, but Peterson could not break the contract. All these things were reported in the newspapers. However, I could not get involved because I had a contract with Lavazza, and they were asked if they wanted to continue sponsoring me".

What was Lavazza's attitude towards you?

"Impeccable, since they could have continued to sponsor March and Peterson. Instead, I stayed with them, who are perhaps more favourable than March to the World sports prototype championship, even if I hope that they will reconsider their decision. On my side, I would have perhaps already decided about my future in Formula 1, but do not ask me yet with whom. I would have already found the sponsors, I still need a little money to conclude the agreement, hoping to find someone with a generous heart and wallet".

Was it hard for you to get into Formula 1?

"No, it had come by itself, doing some good results in Formula 5000. The step was short. I'm struggling now: many would be interested in sponsoring me but they have already closed their advertising budgets and are talking about 1977, which is fine with me as long as I don't leave the scene now".

What was your first impression of making your debut among the sacred monsters of Formula 1?

"Very excited. I started at Kyalami with the old car and with the time I set, 1'19"68, I would have left many drivers behind this year. Apparently not even the great Peterson set an exceptional time in practice. I also had a swollen leg due to a nerve irritation, so I was not in perfect shape. I would have liked to race in this Grand Prix that had marked my debut".

She has always obtained good results by completing almost all the races, but mediocre for the purpose of the classification. What do you think is the cause of that?
 

"Look at the rookie rankings, especially in past seasons when there were always thirty or more cars in qualifying, and you'll find worse. From first to last there were ten seconds, today they're all bunched up to say the least in three or four seconds. Then, if I'd had the car more taken care of, I would have done better".

Do men have some qualities that make them better at driving a Formula 1 car?

"Physically I have nothing less than one of them, since it's not only a matter of physique but also of will, especially when I'm trained. Clearly, in a foot race with Vittorio Brambilla or Lauda I would collapse sooner. But maybe, as a woman driver, I'm a bit of an exception".

Have you ever been afraid?

"Not even when the brakes failed at Monza in the Italian Grand Prix last year".

The most beautiful satisfaction?

"I think the victory at Monza with the Alpine prototype. Six hundred kilometres in total without ever going down, two continuous shifts, one hundred laps all precise, varying only by five tenths more or less. Then I had to give the steering wheel to Marie Claude Beaumont".

Which of your male colleagues would you give the sympathy award to?

"Without a doubt Brambilla, who is always the most cheerful even if his car is destroyed. He doesn't even let his mechanics know about it".

And the dislike award?

"To Jarier. He hardly ever speaks, and when he does, he keeps his distance even with his teammates".

Do you consider yourself superior to any of your opponents?

"Neither superior nor inferior. I am equal to them and each circuit may be favourable or unfavourable to one rather than the other".

Are you a feminist?

"No, although I have some ideas on the subject myself. And a woman is not just an object for the home".

Have you ever thought about marriage?

"For the moment, no, I would have to stop racing".

Any predictions for the South African Grand Prix?

"Lauda will have to fight with Hunt, given his lap times in practice. And I had already seen Hunt do well in Brazil. The McLaren is improving and that will make the championship less monotonous, even though I am Italian and so I am rooting for Ferrari and Vittorio Brambilla. I would still bet on Lauda, because he is less likely to make mistakes. Then, knowing Vittorio's character, I'm sure he won't let himself down. Would you like to bet that on the first lap Vittorio, who always has a great start, takes third place?"

In the meantime, the sale of Brabham material to RAM continues. On Saturday, February 14, 1976, at the Excelsior in London, those present to clarify the situation between RAM and Bernie Ecclestone include Flammini, Kessel, McDonald and Salli from RAM, Franco from Martini, and other minor characters who are not directly involved. McDonald speaks first as he is very angry with Ecclestone because he did not get the third car as per contract. It seems that Ecclestone had tried to get either Neve or Reutemann to race the BT44 in South Africa. The organisers of the event had received a mysterious inscription marked with an X from the Association. However, given that McDonald was adamant, Ecclestone hurried to get the car to RAM. During the evening Ecclestone, having taken a team member from another team, proposes a swap between Flammini and Reutemann, who is extremely unhappy with the Alfa Romeo engine: the Roman would have gone to Brabham-Alfa and the Argentine to RAM. The owner of Brabham, however, asks for all the money that Flammini brings, plus a settlement of fifty million liras, that is the difference between the value of the Italian driver and that of Reutemann. But since Flammini isn’t bringing any personal sponsor money, and whatever funds might arrive are from Omega for Kessel, who's Swiss, Ecclestone's focus later moves to the former Formula 2 driver. Kessel obtains the money on loan from a bank, with a promise to give it back within a couple of months. The latter would have had the word of the owner of Ambrozium to give him a substantial financial help, about 250,000 Swiss francs, in part to integrate the contract of last year that Ambrozium had with Kessel (and that was torn up by Kessel when Ambrozium had some misadventures in court) and in part to sponsor the new adventure with the Brabham BT44, now RAM, in Formula 1. Kessel himself has contacts with Omega (a decision should be made in a few days), in order to have, with the name Omega or with that of the sub-brand Tissot, the sum that is missing to reach the total amount to be paid to RAM within September. At this point, Flammini's position could become difficult, since he does not bring any money from personal sponsors and he trusts in the patronage of those who carried out the operation (who actually turned out to be figureheads). Bernie Ecclestone also notices this when, together with the Italian manager of Martini, he drafts a statement. After the NZ flight arrives in Milan at 7 pm, with only a few people left on board, Ecclestone goes up to Kessel and offers him an exchange:

"Since you're bringing the money, why are you letting Flammini, who doesn't bring a penny, run on your team? If you take Reutemann or Neve, I'll give you financial help from some sponsor".

In the meantime, McDonald speaks with someone from Ecclestone's entourage, who brings him Murray's drawings for the new air intake of the BT44, to put it in line with the new regulations. McDonald, not very convinced about the drawings, will have them developed, but at the same time he will have an air intake built according to his experience. After the initial promises, RAM seems to have realised that with Ecclestone it is necessary to have a particular way of behaving. The perfectly working and refurbished ten engines that Brabham had to give to RAM seem very far from being ready. Therefore McDonald, perhaps being afraid of having engines that are not perfect, decides to have Cosworth overhaul the engines, after McLaren's managers refuse the assignment because of too many commitments. The latest news about the intricate RAM-Ecclestone-Flammini-Neve-Kessel matter suggests that a Martini manager from Rome is trying to get Patrick Neve to take Flammini's place, and then possibly Reutemann, with the Italian driver moving to Brabham-Alfa. While Ecclestone tries to place his unhappy drivers elsewhere, on Thursday, February 19, 1976, the tests of the new Ferrari 312 T2 start at the Vallelunga circuit, near Rome. After Regazzoni, who runs during the morning, Niki Lauda goes on track. The Austrian driver, after twenty laps, realises that the engine performance is decreasing and he prefers to stop in the pits to replace it with the reserve one. The operations are carried out during the night to allow Lauda to resume testing on Friday, February 20, 1976, and to allow the technicians to determine the reasons for the failure. The presence of Niki Lauda attracts a large audience at Vallelunga. The tests of the technicians are above all centred on the adaptability of the De Dion rear axle, instead of the traditional suspensions; with this type of specification, Lauda marks a time of 1'08"3. After fifty minutes of disassembling the De Dion rear axle, Lauda goes on track in the afternoon with the car equipped with the normal suspensions, and sets a time of 1'08"0. On a bumpy circuit such as Vallelunga, the new system provides a satisfactory result overall. A few days later, in Bologna, on Saturday, February 28, 1976, the prize-giving ceremony for the Italian driving champions of 1975 takes place. On the occasion, the CSAI announces that the prize reserved to the constructors, worth twenty-five million of Italian liras, has been awarded to Ferrari for its exceptional season in Formula 1. But engineer Enzo Ferrari sends a telegram to the president of the CSAI, engineer Alberto Rogano, communicating his intention not to accept the prize and explaining his reasons. Here is the text of the telegram:

"Lawyer Montezemolo has informed me that the 1975 Constructors' Award has been awarded to Ferrari. Thanking you very much, I have to confirm the decision of April 10, 1975, communicated by your delegates Zagato and Moruzzi consisting in the impossibility to accept it after what was written and repeated before and after the CSAI annual convention held in Genoa on November 12, 1974. I'd like to express my wish that the funds be donated to the Automobile Club of Bologna. They could then organize a competition for aspiring Formula One drivers at the Dino Ferrari racetrack in Imola, with all proceeds going to the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, which has been conducting scientific research on muscular dystrophy for years. Gratefully acknowledging your favorable consent, best regards".

The reason for this refusal comes from a controversy that arose two years earlier at the CSAI Convention regarding the awarding of the Constructors' prize to Ferrari, when Enzo Ferrari faced petty accusations because the regulations allocated the CSAI contribution to his company. The decision is therefore logical and understandable, and the accompanying desire is very noble, both in its reflection on motorsport and on a moral level. The pain and anguish felt for the loss of his beloved son Dino have not been dulled by time. With the days leading up to the race weekend over, on Wednesday, March 3, under the sun of the hot South African summer, the Formula 1 circus is preparing to experience the second race of the World Championship, the South African Grand Prix. The race, which had been cancelled due to financing difficulties and rescheduled in extremis on January 6, 1976, is scheduled for Saturday, March 6, 1976, on the Kyalami track near Johannesburg. All eyes are on Ferrari and on world Champion Niki Lauda, who at the end of January opened the 1976 season with a brilliant success in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The single-seaters from Maranello are the cars to beat everywhere, and the English hope to succeed at least this time. In this regard, it seems that special financing is ready for Cosworth if more than fifty percent of the races should be won by Ferrari with its twelve-cylinder engine. Compared to the Brazilian Grand Prix, there are some changes within the teams at Kyalami: besides the already mentioned Ronnie Peterson who races with March, replacing the Italian Lella Lombardi who had to give up her seat, Andretti leaves Lotus and returns to Parnelli. In place of the two outgoing drivers, the English team signs Swedish Gunnar Nilsson - who should have already debuted in Brazil, but was blocked by an option of March - and Bob Evans, but only for two races. Renzo Zorzi is, perhaps only temporarily, replaced by Frenchman Leclère on the Wolff-Williams. The usual local team patrol is absent, partly because the local Formula 1 championship is no longer held. The sole entry is Ian Scheckter, driving a Tyrrell for the Lexington team. Moreover, Copersucar brings only Emerson Fittipaldi, while B.R.M., although entered, does not take part in the race as their chassis is not ready. Also notable are Lunger's presence with Surtees - now sponsored by Durex prophylactics, though still running in alternative colors at Kyalami - and the return of Hesketh, since Austrian Ertl has acquired a car from the former English Lord's team. On Wednesday, March 3, 1976, the first day of practice takes place; it is divided into two sessions, for a total of about two hours and a half. James Hunt, who this year has replaced the Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi at the wheel of the McLaren, is the fastest in the Copersucar, followed by Lauda and Vittorio Brambilla. Regazzoni gets the seventh time together with Jarier. Hunt laps in 1'16"59, against Lauda's 1'16"90 and Brambilla's 1'17"11. Hunt and Lauda are the only drivers to go under 1'17"0, a worse performance than that obtained in recent days in private tests. Both technicians and drivers confess:

"But it was much hotter today, and the performance of the engines could only be worse".

Hunt and Brambilla are victims of some driving mistakes: the first one after his feat, the second one at the beginning of the afternoon session. No damage for the Englishman and the Italian, but some dents for the McLaren and the March.
 

"It was a trivial mistake. In a curve I went out of the usual trajectory and I ended up on the dirt at the edge of the track. Suddenly I found myself out of the track. Nothing serious. The car behaved very well and I think that tomorrow I can improve this time".

Admits Hunt, while Lauda does not seem to be disappointed with the result of the first day of practice:

"We changed many details in the set-up of my car, but I could not do anything more than that".

Daniele Audetto, Ferrari's sporting director, adds:

"Last week we worked with Goodyear to choose tyres for the rest of the season: as you know, the regulations will change in Spain. We only did a few laps with the tyres for the South African Grand Prix, so today Niki and Clay had to gradually adapt their cars".

In the Anglo-Italian Brabham-Alfa Romeo team, the faces are moderately satisfied: Carlos Reutemann manages to get the sixth time, but his teammate Carlos Pace is blocked by the failure of the twelve-cylinder engine of the Milanese manufacturer. The debut of Nilsson is disappointing: the Swedish driver goes on the track, makes a lap and returns to the pits, but in the meantime his car catches fire; the flames are quickly tamed, but the car will not be ready before Thursday. Frenchman Laffite, for his part, remains for a long time idle because of the Ligier-Matra's gearbox problems. The following day, Thursday, March 4, 1976, James Hunt is confirmed as the poleman of the South African Grand Prix, while Niki Lauda is forced to settle for second place. Hunt and Lauda, therefore, will be on the front row. 

During this second day of official practice, condensed into just one hour, the McLaren driver, who uses a six-speed gearbox, improves the time set on Wednesday by 0.7 seconds, making the chronometers stop at 1'16"1. The World Champion marks a time just ten hundredths faster, dropping from 1'16"9 to 1'16"2. A result that anticipates how balanced and exciting Saturday's challenge can be. This is not the first time that Hunt and Lauda have faced each other in a wheel-to-wheel duel: in addition to the one that took place in Brazil, in 1975 the Englishman and the Austrian were the protagonists of two memorable challenges, in Holland, where Hunt won ahead of Lauda, and in France, where Niki took a brilliant revenge. Fittipaldi, on the other hand, in a car that is still young and clearly uncomfortable on the Kyalami track, obtains only the 21st best time: 1'18"4, more than two seconds behind the Englishman and the Austrian, showing how Emerson and his technicians still have a lot of work to do on the Copersucar. In the ranking of the best drivers, John Watson, with the American Penske, and Jochen Mass, with the second McLaren, are another demonstration of the competitiveness of these cars at Kyalami. Vittorio Brambilla, who on Wednesday was third, drops to fifth position. A good result, especially considering that the Italian was the fastest of the March team: Peterson will start from the fifth row, and Stuck from the ninth. Next to Peterson is the second Ferrari driver, Clay Ragazzoni: the Swiss driver gains a few hundredths of a second compared to the first day of practice, but is unable to make any feat.

"Niki also had problems setting up the car with the tyres for the race, but he had been at Kyalami much longer than I had, as he stayed in Italy until last Sunday for a series of other tests. I couldn't do anything more".

In the Maranello team, however, the atmosphere is quite calm:

"What counts is to qualify well on Saturday, even if, obviously, it would have been nice to get pole position. However, the gap between Hunt and Lauda is minimal. The race is open to every possibility".

Brabham-Alfa Romeo, instead, has made a step back: on Wednesday Carlos Reutemann had obtained the sixth time, but in the last hour of qualifying he was pushed back, in eleventh, and Carlos Pace, with the other BT 45, did not go beyond the fourteenth place. Reutemann's time of 1'17"09 is almost a second slower than those of Hunt's McLaren and Lauda's Ferrari. After the Brazilian Grand Prix, in England at the Brabham headquarters they worked on improving the fuel filter, the pipes, the air intakes and the stiffening of the body, while in Italy, at the Autodelta headquarters, they attempted to remove weight from the engine. But the results remain unsatisfactory. During a meeting following the Brazilian Grand Prix, Reutemann and Pace had already complained about the weight of the engine and the lack of development, to the point that Reutemann advised Ecclestone to let only Pace run with the Alfa engine, asking for himself a return to the Cosworth engine. But the British manager prefers to continue with the collaboration in place with the Milanese car manufacturer, while not hiding in an interview with El Grafico newspaper that:

"The Alfa-Brabham has a serious problem: its weight. The problem is the engine, which is slow, has no flexibility and lacks the ability to react".

Certainly, Carlo Chiti does not miss the opportunity to answer, declaring:

"The experimental phase is very delicate and requires a considerable readiness for adaptations and modifications, and it is a pity that the technical and working potential of Autodelta cannot be used only because of Ecclestone's incomprehensible policy".

On Friday, March 5, 1976, the drivers rest, waiting to return to the track for the South African Grand Prix. Everyone expects a very tough battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and in this regard the British driver admits:

"My McLaren is very fast both on the straights and in the curves, and in the mixed section of the circuit it has fabulous grip. The only problem is the six-speed gearbox: I have to work more than usual with my right hand, or I fear that tomorrow, at the end of the race, it will be painful. Here, I can really say it, I fear neither Lauda nor Ferrari".

Lauda, on the other hand, is always very cautious and calm in his judgments and predictions:

"It's a race like many others, Hunt and I have a good chance to win, but at least five or six other drivers have just as good a chance. One thing is certain: this time I don't have the advantage that the 312 T offers me on other tracks. I hope, however, to still be able to take the lead and impose my pace in the race".

Based on previous results and recent practice sessions, McLaren seems to be on par with Ferrari at Kyalami, or even slightly ahead. The fact results from the combination of two factors: on one hand, the chassis of the British car performs excellently on this circuit; on the other hand, the performance of the twelve-cylinder engine is less effective due to the altitude and climatic conditions. However, it should be noted that in the space of a second there are twelve single-seaters. There is a certain general balance, and in the race those little details that each team adopts - with jealous secrecy - on their cars, and their reliability could make a difference. A cocktail that needs to be mixed with the usual tyre unknown. While waiting for the start of the Grand Prix, the drivers' association, the GPDA, which has been much talked about in recent years, especially in relation to safety issues, was dissolved by the decision of its own members, who decided to join forces with the manufacturers as of this year. Together they will establish a line of conduct. In particular, a safety commission is constituted within the constructors' association, composed of Lauda, Fittipaldi, Scheckter, Mass and Jarier. One of the first issues to be addressed seems to be Monza: there will be a request to move the Italian Grand Prix to Mugello. After a day of relaxation and rest, Saturday, March 6, 1976, at 1:35 pm, in front of an audience of 100,000 spectators, the South African Grand Prix gets underway. Niki Lauda immediately takes the lead followed by Jochen Mass, Vittorio Brambilla and James Hunt, while both Watson and Jacques Laffite find themselves at the back of the field due to an unfortunate start; Brambilla then passes Mass during the second lap. The local idol Ian Scheckter is hit at the entrance of the Barbeque curve, on the right rear wheel, by the Wolf Williams of Leclère, and finishes immediately in the barriers, after a few hundred meters, his only Grand Prix of the season. 

Hunt also passes his teammate Mass during the second lap, only to be involved in a tough battle with Vittorio Brambilla. Behind, Ronnie Peterson passes Patrick Depailler, taking fifth place. Lauda, meanwhile, takes advantage of his great start, which allows him to take the lead of the South African Grand Prix, imposing his pace on the race. On the same occasion Hunt loses, if not the race, certainly the possibility to fight with Lauda more closely. The Englishman gets caught up in the small group of the first pursuers of Lauda, giving way to his teammate Mass and Brambilla. During the sixth lap, Hunt takes advantage of a mistake by Brambilla to move into second place, and on the eighth lap, Mass also passes the Italian driver, who once again makes a mistake. From the back of the pack, Tom Pryce, eighth after the first lap, first passes Carlos Reutemann, then takes advantage of a contact between Peterson and Depailler to move up to fifth position; on the eighteenth lap, the British driver also passes Brambilla, who shortly afterwards is also passed by Clay Regazzoni. As the retirements begin to occur one after the other, Mass is third, Pryce is fourth, Regazzoni fifth and Brambilla sixth, while in the meantime James Hunt tries to reduce the gap to Lauda, whose Ferrari begins to have tyre problems; the rear ones, in particular, show an excessive wear. On lap 43, Pryce is forced to change tyres; Regazzoni climbs up to fourth position but, after being passed by Jody Scheckter, he is forced to retire because of an engine failure. Now the classification, behind the duo Lauda-Hunt, sees Mass, Scheckter, Brambilla and Watson. 

In the final laps, Hunt closes in on Lauda, who is struggling because of debris stuck in a tyre, while Brambilla is forced to make a pit stop due to a puncture, thus leaving the points zone. In the course of the last laps, while Fittipaldi, who is ninth, retires (but he will be classified in seventeenth place), and Brambilla stops in the pits, between Lauda and Hunt the gap gets thinner and thinner. The two cars are very close, and in the Ferrari box the tension is almost unbearable. It is at this moment that the World Champion shows all his class and determination: despite his 312 T being almost undrivable and Hunt pushing the McLaren to the limit, Lauda manages, by performing daring maneuvers and giving his utmost effort, to maintain just enough of a gap to secure victory. In the last laps, you can clearly see the driver's effort in the curves to control the car: very few of his colleagues would be able to do such a feat. At the end, Niki Lauda wins by just 1.3 seconds, and the Maranello mechanics explode in scenes of uncontainable joy, having obtained their 60th victory. The enthusiasm is shared by the spectators as well: thousands of Italians living in South Africa have come to watch the race. Mass completes the podium, ahead of Jody Scheckter and two drivers in American cars: John Watson in a Penske and Mario Andretti in a Parnelli. The national anthem is played, while tricolors and flags with Ferrari written on them multiply. Niki Lauda and Ferrari conquer another triumph: after winning the first race of the season, the Brazilian one, the Austrian beats James Hunt and Jochen Mass, both on McLaren-Ford. The other Ferrari driver, Clay Regazzoni, retires because of an engine failure. Once again the Swiss driver is unlucky and, as in Brazil, cannot gain even one point for the world championship. The Ferrari driver, who started from the fifth row - hence quite far back on the starting grid - manages to reach fourth position shortly after the halfway point of the race, but the twelve-cylinder engine of his 312 T fails. The same fate befell the two Brabham-Alfa Romeo drivers, both betrayed by the twelve-cylinder engine of the Milanese company, who also hoped in South Africa not to repeat the result of Brazil. But at Kyalami, things were even worse for the Anglo-Italian team.

The two drivers, after a bad start, were forced to retire, respectively on the eighteenth (Reutemann) and twenty-second lap (Pace) for oil leaks and various engine problems, while Vittorio Brambilla lost his fifth place in the final stages of the race, due to a pit stop to refuel his March. Even Emerson Fittipaldi, with the Copersucar, is unable to join the fight for the first positions. Starting from the eleventh row, forced to struggle wheel to wheel with cars and drivers that in the past years he did not even see, the Brazilian gave up on the seventieth lap due to the failure of the eight-cylinder engine of his car. But the problem is not so much in the engine, as in the general behaviour of the car, far from an acceptable level of competitiveness. The 1976 World Championship is just at the beginning, but it is already assuming a precise physiognomy: the march of Niki Lauda and the Ferrari seems unstoppable and, at the moment, it is not clear who can contrast it. The Austrian won in Brazil, and in South Africa he now has 18 points in the standings, accumulating a twelve-point lead over Depallier and Hunt. Precious points, which will perhaps be decisive in the following stages of the season: Lauda and Ferrari, if they are forced by circumstances, will have room to defend, while the others will always be forced to attack. It is significant that the World Champion and his red single-seater have established themselves at the Kyalami circuit, given that for years this track, situated at nearly two thousand meters altitude, has been considered Ferrari's nemesis: the altitude and heat have often been challenging for the Maranello engines, which have generally performed less well here. Moreover, Hunt, with the McLaren, on the eve of the Grand Prix, had conquered the pole position, which had triggered a thousand inferences and doubts about the competitiveness of Lauda and his 312 T, which had debuted in Kyalami in 1975, obtaining the fifth place. It has become an imperative for the Austrian and Ferrari to do better than everyone else, and when this does not happen, in Italy there are always those who are outraged, or doubtful, or shocked, or who looks for fantastic backstage stories, as if it were forbidden for man and car not to perform everywhere in the same way, as if losing a race is a capital sin.

"I won the race at the start, immediately taking the lead and leaving my opponents to deal with each other. I was a bit scared around lap 20, when I felt something wrong with the front end: I thought a tyre was sagging, then I saw that I could still control the car, even if I worked a bit more, and so I arrived at the end. Now, after two victories, I should be calm, but it's not like that. It's still too early, the championship is long, and this is a type of race where surprises are never lacking. But, at least, this year Ferrari has started off on the right foot".

Lauda, however, settles any discussion: the success over Hunt, with the difficulties that accompanied his race at the end, is a confirmation of his value as a driver. While, by contrast, Emerson Fittipaldi is in extreme difficulty: when the car is not working, the Brazilian does what he can. Ferrari, therefore, continues on its way, and the 312 T, as Enzo Ferrari underlines, continues to have a certain margin of advantage over the competition. Enzo Ferrari himself, having known and assessed many drivers during his fifty years in motorsport, says the following about Niki Lauda:

"He is a man with clear ideas, who knows what he wants and dedicates himself with fierce determination to achieve what he has set out to do. This gives him an advantage over the others".

In South Africa, on the Kyalami circuit, on the hills between Johannesburg and Pretoria, where gold was once sought, Lauda beats James Hunt and his McLaren, and he does so running for half the race with a rear tyre that slowly sags due to an imperceptible puncture. Controlling the Ferrari on the corners, driving down the straights at almost 270 km/h, observing the signals from the pits that indicate Hunt's inevitable comeback must not be an easy task. But it is precisely in such cases that the class of a champion comes out: strength must be accompanied by skill. Lauda, therefore, proved himself worthy of his title of Formula 1 World Champion, the most prestigious among those of motorsport. He won it on Sunday, September 7, 1975, at Monza; it had been eleven years since Ferrari had achieved it.

"It's a happy moment, but this title doesn't mean anything in particular. It only shows that I have achieved the result I had set for myself. A nice and pleasant result for me and for Ferrari, but normal, because it's the logical result of the work done. Everything will continue as before, maybe I'll have more commitments, maybe I'll earn a little more money".

Serene words, perhaps too much for the Italian Ferrari fans and for a certain journalism that has created around Lauda the myth of the driver-computer, a definition that Niki has always refused.

"At the very least it's inaccurate. I am not a machine, no one has programmed me, I have set my plans and chosen a path freely, with all the sacrifices that entails. I am just a person who has dedicated himself with commitment to a certain work, and who tries to do it in the best way. In order to be comfortable, it is enough for me to be convinced that I have done everything I could, despite the result".

Lauda began planning his life after his first races, after realising that he had natural talent that could be improved with experience. Born in Vienna on February 22, 1949, Niki learned to drive on the estates of his father, owner of several paper mills. A good family, with a lot of means, introduced in the best places of the capital, Lauda decidedly opposed the career of the scion, for whom others dreamed a career as manager. However, the young man remained unconvinced, cut ties with his family, secured a loan, and finally entered the realm of Formula 1 Grand Prix racing. He made his mark, and in 1974, Enzo Ferrari hired him to join Clay Regazzoni in the effort to redeem the Italian team. Hours, days, months of training and testing followed. The contribution of Lauda, who has an exceptional sensitivity, was decisive, and Ferrari resumed beating rival teams.

"It was a good job".

Lauda says when talking about that period. The Austrian driver always uses this word, work, because for him racing is neither a hobby nor a recreation, but a job, although he enjoys it.

"In driving there is the fun side, but also a lot of effort and concentration. There is no time to get excited or distracted. At most, there is the pleasure of driving a car perfectly under the most difficult conditions. This career is not meant for everyone. You have to know how to calculate even the smallest detail; inspiration and imagination count for nothing. I value risk above all. I go as far as I know I’m able to. And if it's true that racing is dangerous, knowing that is already an advantage".

For Lauda, the fun stuff lies outside of Grand Prix racing. Lauda's real passion is aircraft, so much so that he recently received his pilot's license and owns his own plane that he uses to travel around Europe. He does not drink alcohol, he smokes, sleeps ten hours a night, and likes tortellini. Every day he does at least twenty minutes of jogging so as not to exceed sixty-five kilos in weight, but before going to South Africa - this race is more tiring than the others because the Kyalami track is located at an altitude of almost two thousand meters - he has intensified his training under the guidance of German specialist Gunther Traub: running, gymnastics, cross-country skiing, weightlifting, ski descents, swimming and yoga.

"Lauda has very quick reflexes, a highly developed spirit of adaptation and intelligent reactions. He is not robust, but controls his physical condition very well. Niki is a man who thinks ten times before taking a step".

But even a man like Lauda can be unpredictable in his sentimental life. He was engaged to Mariella Reininghaus: they seemed inseparable, and rumours talked of marriage. And, instead, the Austrian broke up with Mariella, who left Salzburg and the splendid villa that should have welcomed them, after having found the company of Marlene Knaus, a model of Chilean origin, tall, beautiful and very sexy, launched into the international scene for having an affair with actor Curd Jurgens. As for Clay Regazzoni, it is clear that he has to resign himself to be Lauda's sidekick: the Swiss driver was unlucky, no doubt, but the points in the standings count more than any other consideration, at least in this Formula 1 championship that requires so much technical and financial commitment, and that has so many advertising implications all over the world. On the other hand, Brabham-Alfa Romeo has gone from bad to worse: from the modest results of the Brazilian Grand Prix to this very hard retirement in South Africa. It takes time, it takes patience and it is a mistake for certain managers, even at the highest level, to promise great successes right away. It also doesn't help the team, where harmony is lacking, when someone easily praises modest progress. The races themselves inevitably re-establish reality, and the disappointment for his fans becomes even greater. Perhaps, on one side, there's someone who needs to justify the money spent, and on the other, someone who has to sugarcoat bitter pills for the Biscione court to justify themselves. On Sunday, March 7, 1976, on arriving at Fiumicino airport, Niki Lauda returns to talk about the Grand Prix of the previous day at Kyalami:

"I knew that, in order to win, it was necessary to have a flying start that would allow me to take an immediate lead. It went well for me. I would say that, once I solved this problem, I knew I could do it. I was a bit scared after about twenty laps, when I realised that one of the tyres had started to deflate: in addition to the fact that the car moved slightly in the corners, I was afraid that I would have to stop at the pits to change it. However, I thought that as long as it held up, we had to go on".

Referring to the advantage gained in the championship with his two victories in Brazil and South Africa, Lauda goes on to say:

"In truth, I am still not at all calm. Undoubtedly, the work done last year has brought the car to an almost perfect level, and in my opinion there is no doubt that the Ferrari is currently the best Formula 1 car. But there are still too many races to be able to talk about winning the world championship. One thing that can be said, to our credit, however, is that this time, contrary to many other past editions, Ferrari got off on the right foot right away".

At Fiumicino, Lauda meets the pilot of his personal plane to reach Salzburg in the afternoon. On Tuesday, he will be back in Maranello to carry out tests ahead of the Race of Champions which will be held at Brands Hatch, and the third official appointment which will take place in the United States, at Long Beach.

"The one in Long Beach will be an absolutely new circuit, I have never seen it. I know it will be raced on city streets, so much so that Americans are already talking about it as the Monte Carlo of California. However, it is not a circuit that worries me, on the contrary: these are our favourites".