1977 Season

Driver changes

Ferrari replaces Clay Regazzoni with Carlos Reutemann. Regazzoni moves to Ensign, filling the seat vacated by Jacky Ickx, who departed after a crash at Watkins Glen and is expected to compete only sporadically in Formula 1.

Tyrrell signs Ronnie Peterson in place of Jody Scheckter. Scheckter moves to Wolf Racing, the new Canadian-owned team that split from Williams after the 1976 season. Frank Williams retains his operation as Williams Grand Prix Engineering, entering a customer March 761 for Belgian driver Patrick Nève.

The Penske team is acquired by ATS Wheels and rebrands as ATS Racing Team, signing Jean-Pierre Jarier from Shadow. Former Penske driver John Watson moves to Brabham. Shadow signs Renzo Zorzi to replace Jarier.

At March, Brazilian driver Alex Ribeiro joins the team with backing from a Brazilian bank and tobacco company, alongside Ian Scheckter — older brother of Jody. Vittorio Brambilla departs March for Surtees.

Calendar

The season runs to seventeen races, the longest Formula One season in history at the time. The Argentine Grand Prix returns after its cancellation in 1976 due to economic and political unrest. The Belgian Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix swap positions on the calendar, with Monaco now preceding Belgium. The French Grand Prix moves from Circuit Paul Ricard to Dijon-Prenois, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits; the British Grand Prix shifts from Brands Hatch to Silverstone. The German Grand Prix leaves the Nürburgring — safety concerns following Niki Lauda’s near-fatal accident there in 1976 make the circuit untenable — and moves to Hockenheimring for the first time since 1970. The United States Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix also swap places, with the Canadian round now following the American.

Regulation changes

For the first time, the FIA sets formal safety standards for racing helmets.