After the preliminary meeting of the judges, and after listening to the arguments of the Csai representatives, Nosetto and Saliti, it is the turn of the representatives of the English Automobil Club, namely Delamont, race director at Brands Hatch, and the stewards, accompanied by their lawyer. Then it is the turn of the Ferrari drivers, Lauda and Regazzoni, and finally at 4:10 p.m., Zigliotto and Rogliatti. The large salon in bell'epoque style, illuminated by three crystal chandeliers, is occupied by a single large rectangular table at which the judges, lawyers and representatives of the parties in question are seated. Rogliatti's deposition concerns the possibility that Hunt may or may not have seen the flags that signaled the initial collision and imposed the stop of the race, and therefore decided to leave the race thinking that it would be suspended. On this point, Rogliatti is of the opinion that Hunt had decided to retire because the front end of his McLaren was seriously damaged and because, otherwise, he would have had to continue along the circuit until he reached the pits, as Regazzoni had done. The regulations impose the use of the track, and only the track as long as you are in the race. After the deposition the long wait continues, which Zigliotto and Rogliatti deceive by talking to Lauda about his accident, his feelings and his plans.
"I had a phenomenon of amnesia, which erased my memory of the first ten kilometers of the race and therefore also of the accident. The doctors explained it by the fact that my helmet was ripped forward when the car went under the nets and bounced. In doing so, it hit me on the neck at a point that causes the momentary lack of blood, in an area of the brain that has control of memory".
While Zigliotto and Rogliatti are with Lauda, a brief squabble breaks out between the Austrian driver and Mayer, because Lauda, talking about the case in question, repeats his now-famous phrase:
"Regulations must be respected".
But Mayer shouts back:
"Last year you Ferrari drivers were always irregular".
Without explaining what the irregularity consisted of. Then, he goes away saying that the appeal session has been well orchestrated. Niki Lauda now has a seventeen points lead over James Hunt, and his chances of regaining the Formula 1 World Drivers' title with Ferrari increase dramatically. There are only three races left to the end of the championship (Canada, United States and Japan) and the Austrian will only need a series of placings to avoid being reached by his McLaren rival. Upon his arrival during the night in Salzburg, Lauda declared to be very satisfied with the decision taken by the International Automobile Federation's Court of Appeal, which awarded him the victory in the British Grand Prix held at Brands Hatch. Interviewed at his home after returning from Paris, Lauda tells the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung:
"I am very satisfied. Not only because I was the beneficiary of the FIA's decision, but also because it was a fair decision in favor of the sport. What McLaren did this year was really too much".
Lauda promises that he will attack in the Canadian Grand Prix, scheduled for October 3, 1976, while in the last two rounds of the World Championship, in USA and Japan, on October 10, 1976 and October 24, 1976, respectively, he will take care of the situation.
"My goal remains the second consecutive world title. What I will do next I cannot say yet. I only know that I will continue to race as long as it pleases me".
While elsewhere the thinking is understandably opposite. Hunt, who is in Toronto, arrives late at the Squash Club to play a tennis match and practice. But there he finds a note from a Canadian journalist, urging him to call back to talk about the hearing, bracing himself for bad news. The British driver does not call back the journalist, understanding well what he meant, and throws himself into the field, where however his performance is conditioned by the thought of the outcome of the hearing in Paris. At the end of the match, Hunt is joined by journalists, who explain to him what happened in the Place de la Concorde.
"It was a disaster".
This is James Hunt's first comment on the ruling issued in Paris by the FIA.
"Those gentlemen have completely erased the World Championship, they have taken away all value, all meaning. Ferrari is a big and powerful enough company to get involved in the politics that suits them best and with this they have eliminated me from the race for the world title: I am sure, however, that the championship itself has lost all the interest it had aroused before. The FIA has really upset the plans of the organizers of the Mosport race and with this new fact they will certainly have twenty thousand or thirty thousand spectators less than expected".
Hunt makes these statements to British television, speaking on the phone from Toronto, Canada:
"By now nothing surprises me anymore in the world of motor racing, because the managers think more about politics than sport".
And finally he adds some harsh comments on Lauda's statements, after the TV report recorded in Austria came to light during the evening:
"I don't know how Lauda and Regazzoni could have testified against me, they don't even know if I had taken part in the race or not. I don't think Niki will be too pleased with the world he has been credited with. After all, however, I don't even think it makes any effect on him because for him the important thing is to win: it doesn't matter how. Lauda would do well to consider the sport instead of his person, but he is not a sportsman".
This concept is then taken up by Teddy Mayer, the McLaren manager:
"My first reaction was to think that the regulations have been torn up. However, it should be simplified, because otherwise the chaos will never end. The decision taken by the FIA will not force me to retire. I will continue, even if Ferrari has now won back the title, to try to always improve and beat him next year. Of course, now we could also consider the possibility of repeating our appeal for the Italian Grand Prix, in which Hunt was relegated to the last starting position for the number of octane above the limits".
Then he continues:
"In my opinion what happened in Spain was a mistake. In good faith, it should be obvious, without any ulterior motive, and the disqualification was a very severe punishment. Too much, in our opinion, and our appeal was upheld. I understand Ferrari's reaction, as they were convinced they could win the race, but I do not understand the arrogance they showed afterwards in claiming that they had never broken the rules. It's okay to say certain things, but to say them and really believe them...that's another matter".
Finally:
"We are all in the same boat, nobody respects the rules one hundred percent, not even those of their own country, because it is almost impossible. That's why Ferrari's moralism seems childish to me. The saddest part of all is the appeal against the British Grand Prix, because James had won unequivocally; there was no doubt about it, his car was perfectly legal. They wanted to exploit the rules to avoid fighting him, and I find that very sad, really. Okay, the rules are there and should be followed, but we race for the public and should be driving our cars on the track, not keeping them off on some obscure technicality. The sad thing about the Brands Hatch incident is that it was caused by the Ferraris, one of the drivers hit the other, and then they tried to take advantage of their own mistakes. To restart the race, obviously with a car that could win it, and then to hear Ferrari say that we shouldn't have even been in it because of their mistake, is really terrible. It means cheating the public".
Right in Toronto, the Formula 1 World Championship is on its last legs. The Canadian Grand Prix, on Sunday October 3, 1976 at Mosport, and those of the United States on October 10, 1976 at Watkins Glen, and of Japan on October 24, 1976 at Fuji, will decide the fate of this long, exciting and controversial season in which two men - Niki Lauda and James Hunt - and two teams, Ferrari and McLaren, have emerged above all. Lauda, after thirteen races, has 64 points, Hunt 47: seventeen points between the Austrian and the Englishman, a considerable gap, which does not leave much hope for the blond James.
"By now, Niki has won the title".
The mathematical consecration of this title - the second consecutive one for Lauda and Ferrari - could take place on Sunday at Mosport, the circuit seventy kilometers from Toronto, the great Canadian city that opens onto Lake Ontario, in the case of a success for the Austrian or a placing (up to fifth place is fine) with Hunt's retirement at the same time; otherwise, more likely, seven days later at Watkins Glen, in the State of New York. It is unlikely that it will be necessary to wait for the Japanese Grand Prix, and it is at least curious that it will be the two North American races or the Japanese one, this year for the first time included in the championship, to establish who will be champion. The Circus arrived in Canada with a trail of fury, anger and controversy that have little in common with sport. From May onwards, that is, from the Spanish Grand Prix and the entry into force of the new safety measures, there has been an endless series of accusations and counter-accusations, absurd verdicts and compromises. And in between, Lauda's terrible adventure at the Nurburgring, Ferrari's withdrawal, Ferrari's return and, incredibly, the Austrian. We can therefore say that the Lauda case was, in its dramatic nature, one of the few beautiful and generous moments of this world championship drowned in events that altered its technical and competitive significance. First with the splendid rescue of Niki by Merzario and his colleagues, then with the Austrian's fierce desire to live and heal, and finally with the early return of the Ferrari ace to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, which ends with a fourth place that brings him more sympathy and admiration than a victory. At Monza, Lauda manages to increase his lead over Hunt to five points, which then rose to seventeen following the ruling by which the FIA appeals court stripped the Englishman of his victory in the British Grand Prix and promoted the Austrian from second to first place. A victory by default that tasted like a mockery to Hunt, and from which came statements that further poisoned the atmosphere. With his usual coldness, Lauda let it be known that he did not intend to continue on this path.
"James, you can talk if you want to, but I'm all about racing".
Niki Lauda and James Hunt meet for the first time on Thursday 30 September 1976; it is a very faithful meeting in the hall of the hotel that hosts the Ferrari and McLaren teams, with a Hunt in a very bad mood and a very formal Lauda.
"Hi James, are you coming at 5:00 p.m. to the drivers' safety meeting at Mosport?"
Hunt:
"I don't care, I came to race, not to talk".
Lauda:
"But you're on the control committee".
Hunt:
"Enough, aren't you already happy with a seventeen point lead? I race, even if there were no guardrails".
Hunt tries to show himself to Lauda angry, to get a psychological advantage, but in reality he really skips the meeting with the organizers because he indicates to Peter Macintosh, secretary of the Formula 1 constructors' association, that he doesn't want to have anything to do with the safety committee, until they have guaranteed him that someone would have tried to fix the rules and regulations. The meeting, which was attended by Lauda, Fittipaldi, Scheckter and Pace, replacing Hunt, together with the organizers of the Grand Prix, lasted about two hours. At the end the drivers decide to run anyway, despite the bad conditions of the Canadian track. Niki Lauda, at the end of the meeting, declares:
"It's like the Nurburgring. I would not want to run, but if the majority decides for yes, I have to adapt".
In fact, arriving in Mosport the drivers have an unpleasant surprise: the circuit has not been modernized, it is always the same as two years before and, if anything, it is a little worse. The asphalt in many points is full of cracks and gibbosity, the guardrails are badly fixed. And let's not talk about the general safety conditions of the track, with trees, low walls and slopes behind the track and escape routes - the few existing ones - badly designed. The drivers obviously protest, and some even threaten not to race, but the organizers object, saying that they have carried out the list of works requested by the CSI delegate sent three months earlier to inspect the circuit. A few changes were missing, but they assured that everything would be completed by Friday, for the first day of practice. And so? It is doubtful that the Canadian Grand Prix can be harshly contested, both because if the CSI delegate made a mistake by not asking the organizers to make a greater number of improvements, the fault does not lie with them, and because too many drivers - for different reasons - intend to run. The Mosport circuit is entirely in bad conditions, being characterized by potholes, depressions, and more generally a disastrous surface, which makes one shudder thinking that on it delicate single-seaters capable of touching 290 km/h will have to run. In addition, the guardrails are too close to the roadway, there are trees, slopes, walls, and the escape routes are few and poorly designed. But you run anyway. Why? For two main reasons: first, because the owners of the circuit are formally in order, since they have waited for the works requested three months before by a CSI inspector. Second, because there are too many interests at stake. Therefore, on Friday October 1, 1976, the Canadian Grand Prix will begin, and the Lauda-Ferrari and Hunt-McLaren duel will take place again, this time on equal terms. A challenge that also brings to the fore certain technical and agonistic reasons that were swept away in the storm of the championship. A storm that never seems to pass, since on Thursday 30 September 1976, in Paris, a new case breaks out in the tormented world of Formula 1 just when all the drivers are on the eve of the third last Grand Prix of the season: the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain asks the International Sports Commission to declare the Italian Grand Prix null and void.
The RAC's request is based on the fact that, during the course of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, at a certain point the black flag with a white cross was shown which, according to the regulations, means the arrest of all competitors in the race. Only Fittipaldi and Jones stopped, while all the others ignored the signal put out because of the danger of rain. After the end of the race the winner, the Swede Ronnie Peterson, said that the situation was not dangerous enough to require the interruption of the race; for his part the Frenchman Laffite admitted that he had not understood the signal (used very rarely) and that he had only slowed down momentarily and then resumed his normal pace. However the secretary of the CSI Vvon Leon confirms that the RAC has presented the complaint, and that this will be discussed at the next meeting of the CSI to be held in Paris on October 12, 1976. However, he does not issue any inference as to whether the CIS itself will agree to discuss it or not. The CSI, meanwhile, pronounces itself contrary to the jury of the Italian Grand Prix in relation to the penalization of Hunt and Watson, because of the gasoline they used in practice (whose octane number was found to be higher than allowed), for which the two drivers were made to start last. The CSI now claims that the method used at Monza to ascertain the octane number did not comply with its own regulations, so the evidence of Hunt and Watson's fraud is dropped, but the news of the complaint against the Italian Grand Prix does not surprise Ferrari's sporting director, Daniele Audetto:
"We knew that the British had such an intention. It seems to me that they are exaggerating and that this is just an attempt to retaliate after the FIA ruling regarding the British Grand Prix. The English, under the pressure of McLaren, would like to take away from Lauda at least the three points that Niki earned in Monza with the fourth place. I don't think they can do it. And for many reasons, including the fact that the complaint should have been filed immediately, within an hour of the end of the race. Then Ferrari could remember that Mr. Hunt at Zandvoort, in Holland, overtook Peterson while the yellow flags were displayed forcing the drivers to keep their positions".
Ferrari's sporting director concludes by saying:
"McLaren does not know how to lose. They are quiet and think about winning races on the track, cleanly. If we had to go to court, it was to remedy an obvious injustice and to re-establish a certain fairness in this World Championship. They really did all sorts of things".
Niki Lauda, learning the news of the complaint, burst out laughing:
"Do you want to see that I will have to go back to Paris to discuss? I am not worried, for now I just want to think about the Canadian Grand Prix, and if possible to win it. I can say, however, that at Monza two mistakes were made: first, the black flag was shown, as it was not necessary because the track was not dangerous; second, the red stop flag was not shown after we had not stopped".
The news of the step taken by the Royal Automobile Club at the International Automobile Federation in Paris, against the Italian Grand Prix, bounced back to London, where it caused great surprise. The entire English press was unaware of the RAC's initiative. The explanation was provided the next morning by the RAC's director of motorsport division, Dean Delamont, dean of the International Sports Commission and race director of the controversial British Grand Prix, run at Brands Hatch.
"This is not a complaint we have formally submitted to the ISC, but a request that for the next ISC congress, on October 14, 1976, the recent Italian Grand Prix, the results of which, in our opinion, must be annulled for two reasons, be placed on the agenda. The first one concerns the stop order of the race, observed only by three competitors and respected only by Fittipaldi; consequently all the other participants must be excluded from the arrival order. The second is due to the fact that Hunt and Watson were unjustly damaged before the race, for having been erroneously relegated to the back of the starting grid. We do not necessarily want to blame the organizers for this, since the mistake was committed by the FIA, which gave erroneous directives to the Italian stewards. The CSI will now have to examine and decide on the measures to be taken regarding the Monza race".
Delamont points out that the CSI has the necessary authority to annul the results of a world race, since the championship is held under its jurisdiction, but after examining the legal aspects of the case, which in his opinion is unprecedented, he adds that Ferrari, or any other team competing at Monza that has reason to object to any decision by the CSI in this regard, may then appeal to the International Court of Appeal. The CSI has ridiculed the RAC for the events at Brands Hatch - one hears in London sporting circles - and in return the CSI will be embarrassed for not properly enforcing the regulations at Monza and for giving incorrect instructions. At least in Toronto, on October 1, 1976, the polemics about the Mosport circuit were quickly resolved: safety or not, the drivers intended to race. During the evening of Thursday, the special commission of the drivers in charge of examining the problem met (Lauda, Fittipaldi, Scheckter and Pace, who replaced Hunt) and, after some discussion, the agreement was found. However, on Friday morning the tests start half an hour late, because along the track teams of workers are intent on giving the last touches. And immediately James Hunt, with the McLaren, goes in search of the best time. The Englishman is furious about the disqualification he received from the International Automobile Federation at Monza and looks for a statement:
"The Italians have done everything to screw me over".
The first hour and a half of practice ends with Hunt ahead of everyone with a time of 1'13"381, followed by Andretti with his Lotus and Watson with the Penske, while Lauda and Regazzoni are relegated to twelfth and thirteenth place.
"The car is not right, the traction is poor and the road holding is precarious. We hope to put it right quickly".
Declares Lauda, who in the second part of the tests goes on track after having the inclination of the wing modified. For Regazzoni, modifications are made to the suspensions, and a front tire with a harder compound and an old type of wing is fitted. The tests are characterized by two interruptions, the first one to recover the Williams of Merzario, blocked in a dangerous point of the circuit for a problem to the electrical system, and the second one for a collision between Chris Amon and Harald Ertl. At the end of the training the Ferrari mechanics begin to smile: after numerous adjustments, Regazzoni makes an excellent performance, turning in 1'13"521 and taking the fifth absolute time of the day.
"Here it is very difficult to overtake and I found the right lap only in extremis. Now the car is going quite well".
While Lauda does not go beyond the ninth time:
"I'm still not satisfied. There is work to do".
But the big surprise comes from Vittorio Brambilla, who with his March manages to do even better than Hunt: 1'13"333. The Englishman remains with the 1'13"381 of the first session, so all the Italians who came to Mosport are smiling.
"I hope to remain first, because on this circuit it is important to start in a good position. Overtaking is a problem like in Monte-Carlo, and maybe worse. In practice it's impossible if those in front of you don't make a mistake, or if they don't move out of the way to make it easier for you. And you must always drive with extreme care: the roadway is dirty with dirt, if you put your wheels out of the way you risk turning around and hitting the guardrails".