1976 Italian Grand Prix

Championship standings

After the Dutch Grand Prix, Hunt trails Lauda by just two points. Three consecutive wins for Hunt have closed what had been an enormous gap.

Previous race

Hunt won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on his 29th birthday. Regazzoni ran second and Andretti third. Ferrari were back with Regazzoni after skipping Austria, though Lauda remained absent.

Between-race developments

Lauda is making an astonishing return to racing — just six weeks after his near-fatal crash at the Nürburgring. Ferrari are running three cars to accommodate him: Lauda, Regazzoni, and Carlos Reutemann, who had been brought in as Lauda’s replacement. Reutemann’s vacated Brabham seat has been taken by Rolf Stommelen.

Watson, Hunt, and Mass had their qualifying times disallowed at Monza due to alleged fuel irregularities — an allegation later withdrawn. Their Friday times counted instead, placing all three at the back of the grid. A sequence of withdrawals — Merzario, then Edwards — eventually restored all three to the field.

Track changes

Monza has been modified. Two consecutive left-right chicanes forming the Variante del Rettifilo have been added before the Curva Grande, and a left-right chicane called the Variante della Roggia has been added before the first Lesmo curve.

Milestones

This is Ligier’s first pole position.