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On Sunday, March 14, 1976, Ferrari, with driver Niki Lauda, will participate in the Race of Champions at the Brands Hatch circuit, an event that is not a part of the Formula 1 World Championship. On this occasion, the Austrian driver will debut the 312 T2, the second version of the single-seater that dominated the 1975 season and the first two Grands Prix of 1976. Audetto admits:
"We would have liked to test the T2 these days at Fiorano, but the snow has cancelled our program. We still have some doubts about the use of the De Dion rear axle. We will see how it goes at Brands Hatch. Probably, in the morning Lauda will run with the 312 T2 with traditional suspensions, and in the afternoon he will make comparative tests with the same car equipped with the De Dion axle".
In the Race of Champions there will be a second Ferrari, not official but private: the 312 T of the Everest team. The car will be driven by Giancarlo Martini. This interesting initiative is made possible thanks to the help and understanding of Enzo Ferrari. Shortly before, on Tuesday, March 9, 1976, on the Silverstone circuit, Tyrrell brings the 34/2 project on track, the modified six-wheel car: it is twenty-five centimetres shorter than the 34/1 and has a monocoque with triangular sections. The front is wider, the thickness of the radiators is increased, as well as the capacity of the fuel tanks, which is now one hundred and five liters. The disc brakes are ventilated, and the car weighs about three pounds less than the initial version. Ken Tyrrell hopes to bring this car to debut at the Spanish Grand Prix, but first he would like to further test it on April 11, 1976, on the Silverstone circuit. Saturday, March 13, 1976, on the first and only day of practice for the Race of Champions that is the preview of the European Formula 1 season, the South African Jody Scheckter is the fastest, lapping in 1'20"42. This time is the new record at Brands Hatch, not because it improves the previous one - although it is close -, but only because it was obtained on the new layout that, after the modifications made during the winter, is slightly shorter. Even taking into account that the Ferrari driven by Niki Lauda had won the first two races of the World Championship and that the McLaren driven by James Hunt was the fastest in practice both at Interlagos and Kyalami, Scheckter's performance is not a surprise. At Brands Hatch the South African had already left his mark two years earlier, ahead of the unfortunate Lauda, and had then come close to victory in the same race the year before. Scheckter is the fastest in the morning, which earns him the hundred bottles of champagne offered by a London newspaper to the fastest driver in the two practice sessions.
In the afternoon the fight for pole position intensifies, also because the track, initially wet and slippery, becomes faster with the temporary improvement of the weather conditions. While Scheckter's best time in the first practice session is 1'25"27, he improves it to 1'20"42 by the end of the day. The sudden return of rain in the afternoon - even though it stops almost immediately - causes several cars to go off-track, the most spectacular of which involve Vittorio Brambilla's March. In the spin, the car, which will be rather damaged on the left side, blocks part of the track, so that the session must be suspended for a quarter of an hour to avoid further accidents. The debut of the new Ferrari 312 T2, driven by Niki Lauda, is highly awaited, but with the tests restricted to a single day, sporting director Daniele Audetto and engineer Mauro Forghieri prudently opt for the usual independent suspensions, renouncing to test the De Dion axle. After some difficulties, started with the tyre choice, Lauda succeeds in the final phase of the first session to bring his new car to third place in the classification, behind Scheckter and Hunt. Hunt, having demanded too much from his McLaren, ruins two engines and is then overtaken by Lauda, who can start from the first row. The most spectacular surprise comes from Sweden's Nilsson, who, in only his second Formula 1 race, sets the third-best time of the day. Driving the same Lotus 77 that had been so disappointing in both Brazil and South Africa, he earns a spot on the second row next to Ickx's Williams. Hunt will have to settle for the third row, together with Alan Jones on the new Surtees. Giancarlo Martini, at his debut on the Ferrari 312 T of the Everest team, laps in 1'27"75, a time almost three seconds less than Vittorio Brambilla, who has to give up the final phase of the session; the two Italian drivers will start from the last row. On Sunday, March 14, 1976, the eleventh edition of the Race of the Champions, opening race of the European Formula 1 season but not valid for the World Championship, is won by the McLaren M23 driven by James Hunt.
With this victory, his first since leaving Hesketh, the Englishman confirms the brilliant performances already provided in tests both at Interlagos and Kyalami. Hunt, who runs on a spare McLaren, takes the lead in the middle of the race and does not give it up until the arrival. The new McLaren standard bearer also obtains the fastest lap, precisely the eleventh, at an average speed of 180.49 km/h.
"I really wanted to win this race, and fortunately I did it. It wasn't easy, firstly because the track was very slippery at the start and secondly because Jones was trying so hard not to be overtaken. My McLaren was much faster than the Surtees: in fact, as soon as I took the lead, I created a gap without any problem. Niki was right behind me, but I doubt he could have passed me. The only real danger was making a mistake myself, which was not difficult given the challenging track and the many people around who were not used to Formula 1 racing".
Eighteen seconds behind the winner is the Australian Alan Jones on the new Surtees TS 19, completed only on Saturday morning, a few hours before the start of the race. The twenty-nine year old Australian, who comes from the F 5000 and has competed in eight races so far, finishing fifth in the 1975 German Grand Prix driving the brand new single-seater designed by John Surtees, the only racer to have won the World Championship on both four and two wheels, is the revelation of the race, which took place on a very cold and wet day, in front of about 35,000 spectators.
"Jones' performance was incredible, especially on this difficult track. I was worried for twenty laps that I wouldn't be able to pass him, and not because he was holding me up".
James Hunt admits, while John Surtees states:
"The first good reason to smile in two years. What a professional approach Jones has taken, I'm delighted by it".
And Jones himself says:
"I set up the car and then I went on track. And there I was in the lead. I knew better than anyone who was right behind me, and once he made the pass, there wasn't much I could do, especially since I was starting to have understeer problems around that time".
The long-awaited debut of the Ferrari 312 T2 is not a happy one, and once again Lauda really has no luck at Brands Hatch. The Austrian driver prefers to start the race cautiously, waiting for the track to be dry before pushing the car to the limit. Obviously Lauda doesn’t want to risk too much in the starting phase, taking into account that this is not a race valid for the world championship and also in view of the much more challenging United States Grand Prix West, scheduled at the end of the month in Long Beach. On the third lap, Lauda takes the third place, which he keeps until the seventeenth lap, when the hose that brings the fluid to the rear breaks and the reigning World Champion is forced to retire. The Austrian returns to the box, where no one makes any dramas despite some disappointment.
"The 312 T2 is undergoing an experimental phase, it would have been risky to expect an exceptional result immediately. We are not in a hurry, we are playing it safe. I believe, however, that we will be able to fine-tune the car very soon, certainly in time for the Spanish Grand Prix, when it will be necessary to have it for the world championship. Basically, the car confirmed what I had suggested in the Fiorano tests, namely that it is a good car that has no particular problems with road holding or handling. Today I held Hunt's pace easily, in fact if I hadn't retired I would have attacked the McLaren. The track was drying up and I felt that the T2 would have allowed me to go even faster".
Even more unlucky is the Ferrari 312 T of the Everest team, which already in practice suffered three punctures to the tyres and brake problems. During the formation lap, when the track is still slippery, Giancarlo Martini loses control of his car, going off the track. In the collision, three of the four wheels are damaged, forcing the driver from Ravenna to retire, at his first Formula 1 race, without being able to run even one lap.
"I was trying to warm up the tyres so I was going slower than expected, because I was zigzagging on the track, when before the curve I touched the brake pedal. The nose suddenly deviated to the left and I crashed against the guardrail".
Vittorio Brambilla gives a remarkable performance: he starts in the last row, but he is already in fourth place after twelve laps. However, after a slight collision with the Lotus of the impetuous Nilsson, the driver from Monza loses two places and then he recovers in the last laps, ranking fourth, despite the minute of penalty for not having respected the start signal. The Brabham-Alfa Romeo of Carlos Pace suffers from new fuel problems, and after just seven laps the engine stops working, while the South African Jody Scheckter, who on Saturday had set the best time in practice and therefore started on the front row, maintains the lead with his Tyrrell until the second lap, before going off the track; the South African driver is fortunately unharmed. At the end of the Race of Champions, on Tuesday, March 16, 1976, Bernie Ecclestone is received in the offices of Autodelta in Settimo Milanese by Vincenzo Moro, Carlo Chiti, Mario Mazzi, Ferraris and Pierluigi Corbari. The British manager complains about the low power of the Alfa Romeo engine (five hundred horsepower against the five hundred and twenty-nine promised) and the excessive weight. But, above all, he wants to modify the terms of the contract signed on January 2, 1975. Ecclestone doesn't want to carry the financial burden of a relationship that has proven entirely negative. The team sustained a loss of £150.000. Of that total, £100.000 was spent on a new chassis designed for the Alfa engine, and the remaining £50.000 represents the prize money and engagement fees they missed out on by not using the Cosworth engine. The British manager isn't interested in the free transfer of five engines or the prize money Alfa proposed for car development: five million lire for a win, two and a half million for second place, and one million for third. The money must come from Alfa or from the sponsor Martini&Rossi, says Ecclestone during the meeting. Then he goes back to London.
Almost two weeks pass before the Formula 1 circus is back in action: on Friday, March 26, 1976, the long Californian summer has already begun and it is quite impressive to be plunged into it straight from the Canadian winter. A flight from Montreal to Los Angeles takes about the same amount of time as one across the Atlantic to Europe. The sun is hot, but upon descending into Long Beach, the sea breeze provides an immediate and much purer cooling effect than the towers dominating the bay, despite their intended function. The city has a dual identity. On one side, Ocean Boulevard caters to tourists who seem to overlook its architectural flaws, while on the other, a large industrial port serves as the terminal for Alaskan oil. In the middle, the Grand Prix: Long Beach has marketing problems, since it is full, overflowing even, twelve months a year, but it does not have the elite clientele that one would like, since Hollywood is fifteen miles down the highway, and another dozen attractions, from Disneyland to Marineland, the largest aquarium in the world, have sprung up all around. Over time, the average age of tourists here has increased, leaving the younger demographic behind. The city now attracts a mix of people, primarily those who are over fifty. They form a mass of people who spend their pocket money, but that's not enough for a city trying to relaunch itself. This is a city with enough capital to invest - even to the point of giving away its docks and piers to those who will convert the old Queen Mary into a hotel and museum - but it still expects a tenfold return. Long Beach is a city of 375,000 inhabitants: Pook, an Englishman who had emigrated to the U.S. thirty-three years earlier and was in charge of a tourist agency, thought that the roaring single-seaters might be ideal for relaunching tourism. The Formula 1 Grand Prix is one of the promotional initiatives aimed at changing Long Beach's image. It may be the least expensive, but it's certainly the most visible. Regardless of the race's outcome, its success is already guaranteed.
The entire West is talking about this event, embracing it as their own and promoting it in some bizarre ways - like television dedicating entire news segments to billionaires hosting parties in their hillside villas. On Thursday, a jury composed of old actors selects the most beautiful car after a show that attracts thousands of people to Pine Avenue. There were two orchestras, both composed of legendary musicians, along with loudspeakers. The cars arrived in a line, each with their mechanics perched on top, before lining up to showcase their beauty. For two hours, the Italian journalists play with Cuoghi and Borsari, Lauda and Regazzoni's chief mechanics, who have fun every now and then starting up the twelve-cylinder car and making it roar loudly, overriding trombones and horns. The prize is awarded to Frank Williams, a well-deserved recognition for his car that, up to this point, has earned little else. Ferrari, however, receives its usual wave of popularity. As the undisputed number one team, they are seen as the true Italian national team - despite having Austrian and Swiss drivers - and are celebrated by the many countrymen watching from the other side of America. It's because of this difference in crowd popularity that Alfa Romeo looks on with a certain envy, as they are trying to change their image. The circuit as such does not exist, but has been created in the city on the usual avenues and roads. The track features some long straights, a variety of curves, and steep sections. The steep parts include 100-meter descents with a drop of twenty or thirty meters, followed by equally steep climbs. There are also a couple of high-speed corners. The city's strict grid layout makes this track a mere imitation of Monte Carlo, with no room for creative trajectories. On the other hand, the average speed is higher because the long final straightaway allows speeds that are comparable to those at Monza. And here lies the risk: every meter of the circuit is surrounded on the outside and inside by a concave concrete wall. Starting at one meter high, the barrier continues upward with a slanted net at a height of about four meters. This is designed to contain any cars that might go off-track or skid, and it's surrounded by a couple of escape routes.
This is the first time that this race is run, defined as a race of the West to distinguish it from the older US Grand Prix, that of Watkins Glen, in New York, that is the race of the East. In a country as rich in racetracks as the United States, a street circuit has been chosen to imitate Monte Carlo: from the shores of the Mediterranean to those of the Pacific Ocean. An idea that is rather useless and that is clearly linked to reasons of spectacle, business and publicity. The organizing committee, chaired by Christopher Pook with former drivers Dan Gurney and Phil Hill as experts (Hill will also be the race director), has spent half a million dollars, or over 400 million Italian liras, to set up a sufficiently good track, with adequate safety measures. The Long Beach Grand Prix Association and the Formula One Constructors’ Association foresaw a price of $265,000 for the engagement, plus another $245,000 for the transport of personnel and equipment from Europe with a charter-jet, resulting in an expense of $510,000, the same price paid by Brazil and South Africa for their respective races. An additional $245,000 is used to charter three British Caledonian Airways charter jets a week before the race. One will carry 225 members of the Formula 1 circus (drivers, mechanics, car owners, officials and about forty European trade journalists). The other two charters, carrying twenty-six cars, with an estimated value of $3,000,000, leave London on March 22 and 23, 1976. Each flight will pass through customs at Bangor, Maine, before arriving at Long Beach Municipal Airport. Along the track are 91,500 seats. A long list of former drivers have been contacted to promote the event - Dennis Hulme, Jack Brabham, and Juan Manuel Fangio. It is clear that, in a city with streets and avenues much wider than those of the Principality of Monaco, Pook and his associates are able to build a valid circuit in an inhabited center, despite the fresh tragedy of Barcelona the previous year, when Rolf Stommelen went off the track taking four spectators with him, and the controversy about Monte Carlo and the promises of the CSI and its ineffable president, Von Metternich, not to promote this type of facilities. Driving a Lancia Beta, Ferrari's sporting director Daniele Audetto makes a lap inside this particular circuit; a track about which Lauda says:
"It's better here than in Monte Carlo, because you have room to make mistakes. If you touch the wall you're on the track, while if you hit the guardrail you retire. Now I want to see how it goes with the real car. And then I'll make a final judgment".
There follows a rather curious scene when Niki is about to splash out on the track, but in the meantime an evil voice reaches him:
"You're defending this circuit just because they pay you a lot of money".
The Austrian turns around and exclaims:
"I have taken the money as always, I have a contract with Ferrari. If Ferrari accepts, I'll race; if it doesn’t, I'll stay at home".
Then, suddenly he bursts out laughing:
"I race to win. This is the biggest prize for me: to win so much and have people say bravo Niki, not just brava Ferrari".
Ducarouge and Robin of Ligier, who are on the circuit with their car to see what it is like, are run over by a service truck coming in the opposite direction. Ducarouge's leg is bruised, while Robin's head hits the windshield and he ends up in the hospital for stitches to his scalp, just past his right ear. As if that wasn't enough, the two will also receive reprimands, for circulating on the closed circuit due to work. The spirit and mentality here are different, as well as the approach to the business of sporting events. This is because the country is willing to accept anything as long as it provides an opportunity to have fun and spend money. Long Beach has organized this event by leveraging exclusively on money. The design, arrangement, and modification of the barriers and bay piece, to connect the upper and lower parts, have cost several hundred thousand dollars. Then, more dollars were spent to host a Formula 5000 race at a cost that rivaled a Grand Prix. Finally, even more money was paid to everyone with even the slightest connection to the world of racing, just to secure the event. They reached their goal, despite all the obstacles they found in their path, and the thousands of good reasons they had for not running this adventure. There was so much fighting not to run outside the fixed facilities, and now they are ready to run on this street circuit that even mocks in its slogan:
"The Monte Carlo of California".
It's a track where you have to know how to drive well, that has spectacular but relatively slow passages, and fast but relatively safe points. Here everything is relative, because for better or worse you always run in a trench, between two concrete walls one meter high topped by a retaining net. Eight flashing yellow lights are also installed in the critical blind corners of the track. All curves are sheltered by old tyres tied together and ranging in height from eight to ten. Also placed in the curves are 1,600 oil drums filled with sand that weigh 300 pounds each. On the first day of testing, all kinds of acrobatics are seen, with touches along the wall, bouncing in the curves protected by the tyres, cars going off-track everywhere. It is even said that one of the drivers - Depailler - achieved the best time by making a very special trajectory in the curves, including a passage on the sidewalks. Jarier achieved a personal success by arriving at the end of the pit straight and ending up in a spin; to restart in the right direction he gave a great acceleration with steered wheels, turning on himself, amidst the shouts of triumph from the public. The times, which are expected to change in the upcoming Californian afternoon sessions, are all quite close. This has made the initial results misleading, as even Lauda, who was consistently the fastest, was ultimately overtaken at the end of the tests after his car's engine broke, forcing him to continue with the mule car. The growth of Fittipaldi, who brought Copersucar quite far ahead, although still far from absolute competitiveness, confirms that this is a circuit where one must be able to drive well and have solid cars. The March cars break all the driveshafts used by Brambilla, Peterson and Stuck, while Merzario breaks the engine. The two Ferraris appear - as always - in perfect efficiency, and Niki Lauda gives the impression to have assimilated better than everyone the characteristics of the track, before breaking the engine, and Regazzoni seems to like it very much for its eminently technical characteristic.
The Ferraris stay composed on flat curves that challenge other cars to perform acrobatic maneuvers; being more solid and compact, they don't need to be driven that way, which is an advantage since repeated skidding puts a strain on a car's mechanical components. The McLarens, with James Hunt in particular but also with Jochen Mass, appear to be the most relevant adversaries: their single-seaters require an American driving style, and Hunt does not seem to be able to perform controlled skids and quick countersteering. Mass, who drives cleaner, is somewhere behind in terms of performance. Of the European cars, the Tyrrell sets excellent times with Depailler, but we must not forget that the same car with Scheckter has rather serious problems with the rear suspensions. At Long Beach the two American cars, the Penske of Watson and the Parnelli of Andretti, find sudden efficiency. The first one has some problems with grip on the long distance, while the Parnelli driven by an expert man like the Italian-American could aim at an excellent final result, thanks above all to the handling of the car well supported by the driver. Beyond that, what's worth noting is the progressive growth of Fittipaldi's Copersucar and the concrete improvements of the Brabham-Alfa Romeo driven by Pace and Reutemann. In particular, the Argentinean driver, before the start of the weekend, praises Ferrari by saying:
"Ferrari is going through an exceptional moment, it will be very difficult to beat its men and its engine, which are the result of many years of work and experiments. Only a technical problem in the race will give us the chance to overtake them, but this team has advantages in all areas. Their engine produces power from 6.000 to nearly 12.000 rpm, while the Ford Cosworth's torque range is from 8,000 to 10,500 rpm. Therein lies the internal advantage of their engine. The organization is impeccable and the cars are well prepared. Lauda said at Interlagos that on the Monaco circuit he only has to shift into first gear on one corner and he does the rest in high gear, so he saves the gearbox and gains precious tenths of a second. The other teams will try to put more gears in their gearboxes, but time will still be lost when the maneuver has to be made. Then the Prancing Horse team has six cars always ready, a director and two chief mechanics who go to all the races, working with two different teams of mechanics. One goes to one race and the other to the next. So when they return to Maranello, those who have been at the track find that the other team has already prepared the cars and is about to leave. It is said that with the air intakes starting from the Spanish race, the cars will be less fast, but Lauda has already tested the new Ferrari with the modification and it turns out that it goes two tenths of a second faster than the current one".
As far as the Anglo-Italian team is concerned, however, some accidents are astonishing, such as the one that happened during the first free practice to Reutemann, who, starting from the pits, loses the left rear wheel. Big troubles for the March, rather light in the constructive technique and struggling with broken joints: the driving style of Brambilla, Peterson, Stuck and Merzario, all men with a temperament to attack beyond measure, is not ideal to save the cars and make them arrive at the end. Out of any result are the Lotus, the returning Surtees, and the Shadow, while Chris Amon has a fair chance with the Ensign, so far better than expected. However, there is a good fifty percent probability that some unpredictable elements will come into play. For example, if after the start all the cars pile up at the bottom of the downhill curve, it becomes impossible to make any predictions, and there's a real chance of that happening. After the first obstacle, two U-turns followed by the entrance to the straight can still cause new accidents, particularly when the pack is all together. From a safety point of view, however, the problems in these points are not many, since the speed is reduced to 80 km/h in the first curve and 60 km/h in the others. Of course, running at three hundred kilometers per hour along these continuous curves in the middle of the double wall is scary, and woe betide if a mechanical problem should happen in this section. Lauda, clocked at top speed, managed to exceed 288 km/h but the others are not far behind. Yet the drivers all agree that:
"This is better than Monte Carlo, and also better than running at Zeltweg on wet asphalt or at the Nurburgring with the track dirty with soil".
The Long Beach circuit measures 3,251 meters, has a maximum elevation difference of twenty-one meters between sea level and Ocean Boulevard, eleven curves, a single straight and the long seaside boulevard that includes two curves that are taken at full throttle. On one of the two lanes of Ocean Boulevard runs the finishing straight, on the other are the pits, the only technical element about which no objections can be raised. As soon as they start, the drivers have to face a ninety-degree turn that leads to the lower part of the circuit: it is a right turn that takes a road with a steep slope, and the driver accelerates again to straighten the car at the exact moment when the wheels lose grip due to the slope. In addition, whoever is exiting the pits can find themselves in the path of those who are running, with mutual damage. Eighty or ninety meters and you turn ninety degrees to the left again: this time while braking, due to the slope, you risk touching the asphalt with your nose. Another turn to the right, and then a flat but faster slope that leads to the southern part of the new avenue to the sea. A few hundred meters and you take the U-turn to return along the road built specifically to complete the circuit, and that runs where until three years ago there was a small lagoon, now reduced to the role of a lake. Although the circuit is a technical, boomerang-like layout, this section still allows for maximum speed. At the end of the road there's a new U-turn to go back a little, along the other lane, and start gaining height again. The lower part of Pine Avenue features a small maze, followed by a left and a right turn. Finally, after a short but steep climb, a tight turn leads into the finishing straight. The track's safety measures include a total of five miles of pre-stressed concrete barriers placed along the track, specifically at the escape routes of the tightest turns, where they serve as the final obstacle. Each of these blocks is about four feet long, one foot high, and weighs four tons.
Inside are strung two metal uprights that support a strong net that brings the height of the protective barrier to four and a half meters. The cost of setting up the circuit is $561.000, which the organizers expect to amortize over the course of six years. This means that the US Grand Prix West can be cancelled no earlier than in 1981. Copersucar returns to enter a second car, still driven by Ingo Hoffman, and so does Surtees with Alan Jones, who has been missing since the 1975 German Grand Prix. Another comeback is that of the Italian Arturo Merzario, who has been missing since the 1975 Italian Grand Prix, at the wheel of a private March, managed by Ovoro Team March. In the first practice session, James Hunt sets the best time, preceding the Ferrari duo Clay Regazzoni-Niki Lauda. The high temperatures and the condition of the street circuit, with big ups and downs and slow turns, cause problems to the drivers who are looking for the best setup of the car. Many cars suffer from carburetion problems, while Arturo Merzario is the protagonist of an accident without consequences. In the second session of the first day, the fastest time is set by Patrick Depailler on the Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth. The Frenchman is rewarded by his driving style, which involves cutting corners. On the second day, Clay Regazzoni takes pole, the fifth in his career in the Formula 1 World Championship, as well as the eightieth for the Scuderia Ferrari. The Swiss driver is followed on the front row by Patrick Depailler, who only in the last few minutes manages to get the placement, also due to problems with the starter. The second row is conquered by James Hunt and Niki Lauda, who in the initial parts of the session lead the time classification. Regazzoni's return to pole position is the first stage of a comeback that the Swiss driver had already planned since the previous year, as Daniele Audetto admits:
"In Brazil and South Africa Clay had done two excellent races, it was only a moment of bad luck, a wheel first, then the engine that gave way while he was recovering. All it takes is for everything to go right and Clay is ready and on time to be among the best, maybe first among all".
Clay is less categorical: he has changed a lot in the last few years, he has become more thoughtful and you can see it in the race. Less adventurous, but with the usual determination in facing the most difficult parts of the track.
"Formula 1 has changed a lot. When Moss passed a rival, he would raise his arm to salute: he almost wanted to apologize for being faster or better, and pay homage to the beaten. Now if you're in trouble and you don't get out of the way right away to get passed, they show you their fists, these young lions".
The Ferrari driver seems to dislike his new and younger teammates, but no, he just understands the change and everyone's difficulty:
"The one behind risks more than I do, with cars that don't go forward or held together on a bet. I can win or lose, but I know how much Ferrari makes and what it's worth, I don't need to guess the good numbers to keep it on the road or to keep it going. This creates such a leveling of the field that the competition in practice is fiercer than in the race. For instance, I might be two or one and a half seconds ahead of the first driver not to qualify, but Scheckter, who starts in the fifth row, is less than a second ahead of him".
The conversation continues: the difficulties of young people to make their way, the money, too much money needed to race, the exasperation of some and the adventurism of others. Soon the race starts, but Clay is the same, serene and relaxed as always:
"Here we start at eight meters. Nilsson, down there at the end, doesn't even see me. Like I said, the biggest challenges are for them; at worst, I just don't win".
But on Sunday, March 28, 1976, Clay Regazzoni starts the race well and takes the lead, ahead of James Hunt who manages to pass Patrick Depailler after a good fight; his teammate Niki Lauda is fourth. Coming out of the first turn, Vittorio Brambilla closes Carlos Reutemann against the wall; both are forced to retire. Then, on the straight of the Port, Gunnar Nilsson breaks the suspension of his Lotus, ending up against the wall at 250 km/h, but fortunately he gets out unharmed from the cockpit. Still on the first lap, Depailler takes the opportunity to pass Hunt. At the exit of the hairpin bend that leads to the straight, the McLaren engine turns off for about three seconds due to the presence of steam in the fuel system that prevents the proper flow of fuel, after having turned off the electric pump. Generally, the cars start the race with the electric fuel pump on, in order to feed the engine until it reaches a sufficient speed - 3.000 rpm - to make the mechanical pump work, and it is no coincidence that in the following Grand Prix Hunt will turn off the electric pump before the start, maintaining a high number of revs. On the third lap, John Watson, tenth, crashes into Laffite's Ligier, breaking the nose of his Penske. Laffite is the victim of a spin as a result of the collision and drops from ninth to fourteenth position.
On the fourth lap, Hunt is behind Depailler, fighting for the second place: the British driver tries to overtake the Tyrrell at the bend just before the straight, but Depailler closes the trajectory, forcing Hunt to widen his trajectory to the left. When they come out of the corner side by side, Depailler gets in the middle of the track, driving the McLaren over the barriers. Hunt gets out of the car alone, sure that he is no longer able to restart, showing his fist to Depailler every time the Frenchman will pass again on the point of the collision. After the race, the McLaren mechanics will go to pick up the car and will be able to drive it to the pits. In the meantime, Lauda overtakes Depailler, taking the second position: the Austrian is seven seconds behind Regazzoni, who seems unreachable. The classification now see, behind the two Ferrari drivers, Depailler, Tom Pryce, Ronnie Peterson, Jody Scheckter and Jean-Pierre Jarier. On the sixth lap Peterson attacks Pryce, without being able to pass him. The battle between the two drivers favors Scheckter, who finds himself fourth. In the meantime, Italian-American Mario Andretti is able to move up to ninth position from fifteenth in his Parnelli VPJ 4B-Ford, also setting a fast lap in the early stages of the race, but his race ends when his radiator begins to leak as it has a hole in it, although he continues until lap fifteen, when his engine burns out.
"Bad luck continues to haunt me. I know the track very well, I was able to get the fourth time and the engine blew. Luckily my mechanics changed it in two and a half hours instead of four, otherwise I couldn't qualify. The circuit is tiring for the cars, and the brakes, together with the gearbox, are the parts subjected to the greatest strain. I don't think it's difficult for the drivers".
This would be the last appearance for the American Vel's-Parnelli car, which in three seasons had run sixteen races with Mario Andretti as its sole driver. Before his retirement, Andretti had been approached by a journalist who asked him:
"What do you think of your last race in Formula 1?"
But Andretti had replied:
"What are you talking about?"
And the reporter had added:
"That's what Vel told me".
But Andretti had replied:
"It will be his last, not mine".
Andretti ends his relationship with Vel Miletich and Parnelli Jones, but the following morning, by chance, he meets Colin Chapman - the Lotus boss - for breakfast in a Long Beach bar, and the two sign an agreement. At the same time of Andretti's retirement, Patrick Depailler is the author of a spin that costs him several positions, until he falls back to seventh place. Regazzoni leads the race with a 13-second margin over Lauda, who in turn is ahead of Jody Scheckter and Tom Pryce. On lap 20, Depailler overtakes Jean-Pierre Jarier and, six laps later, Ronnie Peterson as well. Thanks to the breakage of Pryce's transmission and the problem of his teammate Scheckter, the Frenchman recovers the third position on lap 34. Regazzoni always leads, ahead of Lauda, Depailler, Peterson, Jarier and Mass. Peterson, penalized by a braking system that is now out of order, is forced to make a pit stop that drops him to tenth position. In seventh position is Jacques Laffite on the Ligier-Matra, who also passes Jochen Mass on lap 45, as the German McLaren driver suffers a gearbox problem, and Jarier on the following lap. On lap 56, Jarier gives up his position to Mass, due to a malfunctioning third gear. With twenty laps to go, Lauda suffers gearbox problems and decides it is better not to force to attack Regazzoni. Jarier goes down to sixth place behind Mass due to gearbox problems. On the penultimate lap, Jarier, with only first and fifth gear, is overtaken also by Fittipaldi. Regazzoni takes his fourth victory, completing a grand chelem with pole, fastest lap and leading from the first to the last lap. Lauda is second, forty-two seconds behind, with Depailler completing the podium. In the points for the first time there are the Ligier with Laffite and Emerson Fittipaldi with his car, separated by the McLaren of Jochen Mass.
The first Grand Prix at Long Beach is a success, so much so that former team manager Rob Walker states:
"I think the introduction of a Grand Prix at Long Beach is the greatest success of the decade for motorsport".
Third consecutive success for Ferrari in the Formula 1 World Championship: after Lauda's victories in Brazil and Argentina, Clay Regazzoni wins the US Grand Prix West at Long Beach, while Lauda, who finished second, strengthens his position as leader at the top of the standings with 24 points compared to Depailler's 10. Regazzoni, after the checkered flag, continues to drive slowly, an arm raised to greet the public and then in the curves and on the straights he plays with the car, faking skids and changing direction, for the joy of the spectators that until this moment have only seen him and Lauda go away clean and precise at every lap.
When he arrives at the pits, Clay jumps out of the car, hugging everyone with genuine emotion. He has a different light in his eyes, like a flash of happiness. All in a hurry, he has to make a phone call, kiss his girlfriend, and answer interviews.
"Did you see the Ferrari they gave me today? With the same car as Lauda's, I proved that I know how to beat the World Champion".
In the meantime, Lauda arrives and gets out of the car surrounded by the crowd. He looks around with a detached attitude, and then says in English:
"There's a mistake, I didn't win today".
His face is tense, although he is smiling, and he looks much more tired than Clay. His teammate, in fact, explains:
"Running like this you don't even sweat, there's no tension. Always in front, with the car as precise as a Swiss watch, of course".
Niki takes a breath before telling the Ferrari technicians that his 312 T began to feel strong vibrations four laps from the end. He is courteous to all who congratulate him, but he doesn't join the party because he feels like a foreign. Sitting in a hidden corner for a few minutes of relax, he says to his colleague Pruder, speaking in German:
"The World Championship, this damn standings… you have to race to get there all the time, then you're afraid of the slightest noise, you try to go fast but then you lift your foot because you think you're asking too much from the car. It would be nice to be able to race just to win. It would be nicer and easier, and then at least you wouldn't get on your nerves like it's happening to me".
After the prize-giving ceremony on the podium, Niki sprints away to a helicopter that takes him directly to the Los Angeles airport, where he flies from Pan-Am to Frankfurt. He left his personal plane in Germany for the last trip to Salzburg. The rest of the Ferrari team is on the phone. Audetto calls the Commendatore in Maranello and, as always happens on these occasions, something goes wrong. It takes minutes - which seem like hours - before he is able to speak:
"Commendatore, we have made a 1-2. Have you seen it too? Perfect. No, it wasn't difficult, it was all right for us, and the others were fighting each other".
All around are a large number of journalists in a huddle, listening:
"Of course Commendatore, everyone did well, as always. See you on Tuesday and we'll talk again. I'll tell you everything, you'll see, just everything".
Three Grands Prix, three victories: each time Audetto's phone call was marked by success, and this time by triumph. He shrugs his shoulders and says:
"I have nothing to do with it, but it's nice to win and it's also useful. You know what it means to be the great Ferrari, especially here in America, where they throw money out of the window. The two cars that Niki and Clay have been using these days, already updated with the new regulations, have literally gone up for auction. And then there's the Fiat and Lancia production. Winning can mean getting out of trouble, especially at a time like this".
The evening ends with a party aboard the ever-present Queen Mary Pagano. For twenty dollars, you can have the honor of dining with the champions, though the service has a distinct American class: you can only be served once, not twice. The ceremony also gives more attention to the organizers than the competitors. To top it off, an orchestra plays the song 'Volare' in Regazzoni's honor, and you can see it all, from the ladies' dresses to the faces already flushed from too much Californian Chablis. A cup, a plaque, a model of the ship. We're quickly off to Beverly Hills for a real Italian-style party, with the goal of celebrating until dawn: because winning is happiness. It is a triumphant 1-2, which confirms the value of the Maranello team, whose cars have offered an unforgettable proof of competitiveness at Long Beach. Regazzoni and Lauda, as perfect teammates, dominated the race from start to finish: the Swiss driver proved to be a consistently great driver, while the Austrian driver showed he could be content, especially when the rival he was competing against was in another Ferrari. The Grand Prix of Long Beach had no history. Regazzoni took the lead at the start, always maintaining it, while Lauda, in fourth position, took advantage of a collision between Depailler and Hunt to move into second place. At the end of the race, Depailler exclaims:
"Hunt is solely responsible for what happened. He must accuse himself. I think he should learn to race, especially in the first laps, taking into account that he is not alone".
James Hunt replies:
"It was your fault. You pushed me out deliberately, no more stories. And don't say you didn't see me. I saw you looking at me in the right rear-view mirror; you braked and moved to the left, closing the trajectory. Next time, at Jarama, I will throw you off the track already during practice".
But Patrick says:
"You probably noticed that I had problems with the brakes in the laps before. I had to brake a little bit earlier but, when I started to brake, you were very far away. Then suddenly I saw you on my right, very close, but I couldn't imagine that you wanted to overtake me, because at that point it was impossible. You could tell that I widened my trajectory to the right before going left. How would you have gone through the hairpin? Instead, you brought yourself in an area where it was impossible to turn".
Depailler is done, and walks away, so the Brit continues:
"Patrick made a mistake. And it was totally stupid. I don't want to argue about his right to close the trajectory, but his maneuver could have put us both out of the race. He was very lucky not to put his wheels on mine".
And about the controversial action against Depailler during the race, Jody Scheckter admits:
"I couldn't believe my eyes when at the end of the corner before the hairpin I found myself in front of Hunt who was running right in my trajectory, something crazy".
But David Benson has his own interpretation of the facts:
"James Hunt has collapsed under the weight of the failure of his marriage and his defeats in the three world championship races. His psychological problem is that he has always been the aiming point of British hopes in Grands Prix, but in three seasons he has won only three Formula 1 races including only one for the world championship. He has allowed recent events to overwhelm him and is now looking for excuses. This is a pattern he has shown before, like last year in Monte Carlo when he claimed someone had thrown him into the barriers. Instead of continuing the race, he stayed on the track to shake his fists at the other drivers".
Ferrari is always the absolute protagonist, object of much envy, point of arrival for all drivers. The most authentic impression on the eve of the US Grand Prix West is this kind of personalised confrontation: Ferrari is against everyone, and the struggle is not only to outdo the cars in the race, but to beat them, to free the image of the team from that prestigious role it holds. Besides, at Ferrari they know how to play the role well, from the drivers to the managers to all the mechanics. If Cuoghi meets Hunt, he plays with him and challenges him on behalf of his drivers, Niki and Clay, just as Ghedini teases Fittipaldi. The drivers remain a little outside, but Lauda, whom everyone defines as cold and flat, as soon as he saw Depailler's time in Friday's practice, went to ask the Frenchman, with the biggest smile, which shortcut he had taken. Very polemical but equally nervous, Daniele Audetto took Luca Montezemolo's place as sporting director: he did it with such discretion and continuity of action that nothing seemed to change. Both of them are thin, but the new one is long, almost lanky, and they have many characteristics in common, first of all an immediate communication skills: for Audetto the task seems more difficult because he inherited a winning team, but on the other hand it is always better to start from a good technical basis, rather than having to rely on future improvements. At Ferrari they are preparing to change cars, from the 312 T to the T2 that had an unfortunate debut in England. A brake line broke and the race ended hopelessly for Lauda and with good luck for Hunt, who found an easy win. The car is good, slightly better than the current one and, above all, already able to give full confidence. Audetto recriminates:
"I didn't like Lauda's reaction to the defeat and the insinuations about troubles and boredom disguised as brake failure at all; I said what happened. Lauda blew the engine in practice, and I don't get involved in alchemy. But if it's the brake line, it's just the brake line".
Around him there are those who talk about old mistakes to be paid for, and Daniele shrugs his shoulders, as if to say that if there have been any, it is not his fault. However, the basic issue is the competitiveness of the car, and Lauda has some doubts:
"After this American race a lot of things can change. Until today we were all more or less stabilized on a constant performance, and depending on the tracks we could go more or less faster than the others. With the new car everyone has to discover their own limits and hope that they are greater than those of their opponents. Look at the six-wheel Tyrrell, nobody took it seriously at the beginning, but now it runs at Silverstone in 1'18"1 against the record which is 1'19"7. In Spain there can be many surprises, and maybe even more in the following races".
The track, rather narrow, caused several collisions between the competitors: the first, immediately on the opening lap, puts Brambilla and Reutemann out of the race, with mutual exchanges of accusations, respectively with the March and the Brabham-Alfa. Then it was Watson's turn to collide with another fifty percent Italian car, driven by Carlos Pace; then, after the pit stop, due to alleged brake problems, actually caused by a problem with the sole of his shoe, Watson collided with Laffite. Everyone did a little bit of jabbing, encouraged by the fairly low speed of all the corners. But, obviously, once again the technical value of this type of race is questioned: the same protection wall, defined as safe, turned out to be quite harmful, since Nilsson's car, ending up against it, caught fire. The firemen intervened immediately, but the Lotus ended up half-destroyed and the driver with some light burns at the hospital. Even Scheckter, who went off the road, banging his side against the wall itself, suffered some light bruises.
However, the most spectacular incident was the one between Hunt and Depailler, who never gave up. They arrived side by side at the end of the straight, and neither of them gave way to the other. The result was a wheel spin, with Hunt's McLaren ending up in a half pirouette against the wall, smashing the front and all the suspensions. Also Depailler lost time and positions, but, ascertained that his Tyrrell was still in full efficiency, started to attack again, progressively overtaking Jarier on the 22nd lap, Peterson on the 27th, to find himself third on the 34th lap, after that Pryce had blown up the engine and Scheckter, with the other Tyrrell, finished off the track. Hunt, returned to the box, speaks to the television, interviewed by Stirling Moss, accusing Depailler of improper conduct. He uses rather heavy words, saying:
"He pretended not to see to the side to not let me pass; then, when we were wheel to wheel, he still hit me. He was driving just like a pirate".
And speaking of the championship, the Briton exclaims:
"If Lauda hadn't retired at Brands Hatch, it would have been a really good race. He's very lucky to have a perfectly tuned car in his hands. I don't exclude that he has a lot of skill, but the championship is not over yet".
Finally, talking about McLaren, Hunt admits:
"The innovation of the six-speed transmission is truly fantastic, and many teams will surely follow us soon. I'm thrilled to be part of the McLaren team that is developing a model that - modesty aside - will win the world championship".
Further back a happy comeback sees Laffite as the protagonist with his Ligier: he starts badly and then gets involved in the collision with Watson, but halfways through the race he is fourth, behind Depailler, and from this moment nothing changes. In the meantime, the March cars are retired, the one of Stuck on the fifth lap and the one of Peterson on the thirty-seventh lap, both with broken joints, as it had already happened often in practice. Regazzoni, in his solitary sprint, maintains a constant pace, always high, but such as not to compromise the performance of the car. His advantage over Lauda rises at every lap of three or four tenths, stabilizing in a dozen seconds after thirty laps, in twenty-four at three quarters of the race and a little more at the end. In turn, Lauda easily controls Depailler, who never manages to get close and become dangerous. In the last laps, as mentioned, Lauda has a few moments of fear:
"I felt strong vibrations in the rear of my car and I was afraid I had to stop. I slowed down a lot, losing about twenty seconds on Clay. But who cares? This was a wonderful achievement for Ferrari. I'm pleased for Regazzoni, I'm delighted for these six points that I got".
Regazzoni, for his part, explains that he did not have the slightest problem during the race.
"A victory that was needed. And I hope it's not the only one this year".
Luca Montezemolo followed the US Grand Prix West in a television studio, commenting live with commentator skills the 1-2 of Regazzoni and Lauda: the former head of the Italian team, who for some months now has taken up important positions in Turin in the Fiat Group, has remained tied to Ferrari and to Enzo Ferrari in particular, and the success of Long Beach has therefore satisfied him greatly. What were Montezemolo's feelings about experiencing the race in a television studio?
"I felt bad, but other times in the past few years I've felt worse on the circuits. Television plays down the race, the tension remains, but not as intense as when you are there, among the mechanics, waiting for the race to end".
The American director has followed the Ferraris very little, especially Lauda's. What did he feel while talking and following other cars on the track on the telescreen?
"I was scared. I thought about the time in 1974 when we lost races we had already won in the last laps. I thought to myself: here I am, caught up in academic discussions, while who knows what's happening. Do you remember the Carosio of the golden times? Everything was fine, then suddenly the others scored goals against the Italian team. For this reason I would have liked the two Ferraris to always be in the foreground".
What are your thoughts on this win?
"I would say it was exceptional. In Maranello they really make the best cars in the world. I would like to underline three points: in championship races, Lauda has not stopped for a year; Ferrari has been winning since Monza 1975; Regazzoni has imposed himself with an authoritative and clean drive on a city circuit, that is in a type of track that some say is not suitable to his driving style. I am therefore doubly happy for Clay".
On Monday, March 29, 1976, Regazzoni and Jarier attend a party where there are three hundred shareholders of the Grands Prix. During the course of the evening, however, the two ask to leave - to return to the hotel - to a person connected with the organization, which in turn shows them a car parked in front of the door, having the keys inserted in the dashboard. The car, however, had been rented, and the witnesses, seeing that it was taken by the two drivers, will help the driver, who in the meantime reports the disappearance. Regazzoni, in the meantime, leaves Jarier halfway to retrieve his Dino 308, and Jarier returns to the hotel to sleep. The next morning the police are unable to trace Regazzoni, but they find Jarier who is accompanied to the local police station. Then follows the explanation of the facts, with the payment by who had committed the misunderstanding of the sum of 370 dollars to the renter of the car, who claimed a loss of earnings. On Tuesday, March 30, 1976, in Long Beach the party is over for everyone, for the Californians who are dismantling their circuit, for the teams that return to Europe, and even for the Ferrari team, while from Maranello Enzo Ferrari declares:
"With yesterday's victory in the North American Grand Prix of the West, the 312 T has concluded its brilliant cycle. In the next Grand Prix, on May 2 in Spain, it will be the 312 T2 to face the increasingly fierce competition. This Formula 1, in compliance with the new international FIA rules, will keep the transversal gearbox that also yesterday passed an exasperated test, and the by now classic engine with now high utilization up to 13,000 rpm. It will be lighter, with reduced track widths and aerodynamically more profiled. I trust that this T2 will be a worthy heir of the T that will pass to the museum, and will allow Clay Regazzoni and Niki Lauda other successes".
The previous year, after Clay Regazzoni's success at Monza and Niki Lauda's simultaneous conquest of the world title, the British commentators, a bit worried, wondered if by chance a Ferrari cycle had begun in Formula 1. What is happening now allows a positive answer, with a question for the near future. Not by chance, before the start of the race, Daniele Audetto, closer to Regazzoni than to Lauda because they spoke the same language and had a more intense social life due to Clay's personality, proposed the idea of letting Regazzoni win this time.
"Have you gone mad? Have you forgotten that these points could serve me for the World Championship?"
But Audetto dismissed his words with a disdainful wave of his hand, as if they had already won. In any case, Lauda explained to Audetto, before the race, that in the future, such ideas should be dismissed:
"Until the World Championship is decided, everyone must race for themselves".
Nevertheless, at Long Beach, the desired result by Daniele Audetto was seen: a 1-2 for Ferrari, with Regazzoni ahead of Lauda, not due to tricks, but because Lauda's car had encountered trouble. In Spain we will see two single-seaters a little different from the current ones, due to the new safety regulations, including the lowered air intake, and the different height and arrangement of the wings: will Ferrari keep the absolute predominance of today or will the situation, with the debut of the 312 T2 and the cars of the English teams, undergo some variation? We will have the time and opportunity to discuss the subject, but for now, we will note when the Italian work has established itself abroad.