1976 Season

Driver changes

Emerson Fittipaldi has left McLaren to join his brother Wilson’s team, Fittipaldi Automotive. His vacant McLaren seat goes to James Hunt, who arrives from Hesketh.

Jacky Ickx has left Lotus to drive for the newly formed Wolf-Williams Racing. Mario Andretti begins the season with the Parnelli team. John Watson has moved from Surtees to Penske Racing.

BRM will only enter the opening race of the season, following years of decline in both results and operational size. Embassy Hill have withdrawn entirely after the November 1975 plane crash near Paris which killed team owner Graham Hill, lead driver Tony Brise, and four other team members.

Team changes

Brabham have abandoned their Cosworth-powered cars and signed a deal with Alfa Romeo to use their large flat-12 engine. The engines are supplied for free but render the new BT45 — now in red Martini Racing livery — both heavy and unreliable.

Ligier make their Formula One debut. Team owner Guy Ligier has purchased Matra’s assets and hired Jacques Laffite from Williams to drive a Matra-powered car. They are the first French constructor to compete since Matra departed at the end of 1972.

Wolf-Williams Racing is a newly formed partnership. Shadow, which entered Formula One under an American licence in 1973, has switched to a British licence — becoming the first team to officially change its nationality.

Calendar

The season runs 16 races from 25 January in Brazil to 24 October in Japan. The Argentine Grand Prix at Buenos Aires, originally scheduled as the opening round on 11 January, has been cancelled due to economic and political concerns.

The United States Grand Prix West joins the calendar for the first time. The race will be held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California — the first new race added to the calendar since Brazil and Sweden in 1973.

The Spanish Grand Prix has permanently moved to the Jarama circuit near Madrid, following the fatal accident at Montjuïc Park in 1975 that killed five spectators.

The Belgian and Monaco Grands Prix have swapped places. Zolder takes the Belgian slot after the Nivelles-Baulers track surface deteriorated to the point where it could not host the race. The British Grand Prix moves from Silverstone to Brands Hatch under the two-venue sharing arrangement. The Dutch Grand Prix moves from mid-June to late August. The Canadian Grand Prix returns after being cancelled in 1975 due to a dispute between rival sponsor breweries. The Japanese Grand Prix hosts its first World Championship race, held at Fuji Speedway on a three-year contract.

Regulation changes

There are no impactful regulation changes over the winter. However, new rules come into force on 1 May — at the Spanish Grand Prix — restricting airbox height to no more than 850 mm and car width to no more than 215 cm. These regulations will apply from the Spanish Grand Prix onward.