Formula 1 1977

[SportscarBruce]

Submitted to youtube, a retrospective look at 1977 Formula 1 USGP West, Long Beach. CLick on the link below to watch the 5 part series in sequence, run time approx 8 min total.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvyYN0EaxY&feature=PlayList&p=82DB27D9A0A11684&index=0&playnext=1

I have other material up on youtube, this shot of CART one is the most watched thus far

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nZKs4O26g4

[Zsolt]

What a 3 car race the 77 LB GP was! I'll have dig out that race & watch it tonight.

[futuretiger9]

Looking back, 1977 was a very competitive season. Although Lauda won the title, he was by no means dominant. Andretti and Lotus was arguably the fastest car/driver combination, and you also had Hunt, Scheckter, Watson, Nilsson, Reutemann, Stuck, Depailler etc.

Those were the days...

[Zsolt]

I wish I had a better copy of this race. Was Schecketer kind of a wild driver? He had the speed, but seemed to lose it in some races that I have.

[ArrowsFA1]

Was Schecketer kind of a wild driver? He had the speed, but seemed to lose it in some races that I have.
Much of the "wild" reputation comes from the 1973 British GP where his accident caused a multi-car pile-up.

[Zsolt]

That wasn't the GP that had a lot of rain, was? Or was that 1975? I wish I didn't have dial up otherwise i'd be on Youtube all day looking at racing clips. lol.

[BDunnell]

That wasn't the GP that had a lot of rain, was? Or was that 1975? I wish I didn't have dial up otherwise i'd be on Youtube all day looking at racing clips. lol.

That was 1975. The race in '73 is primarily remembered for the multi-car pile-up at the start of the second lap, caused by Scheckter losing it and going into the pit wall.

[Zsolt]

Was that at Brands Hatch or Silverstone?

[ArrowsFA1]

Silverstone

[futuretiger9]

Much of the "wild" reputation comes from the 1973 British GP where his accident caused a multi-car pile-up.


After his early wild and woolly outings for McLaren in 1972-1973, Jody matured into a consistent and intelligent driver. Working under the tutelage of Uncle Ken Tyrrell from 1974-76 must have aided this process immensely.

[ArrowsFA1]

Working under the tutelage of Uncle Ken Tyrrell from 1974-76 must have aided this process immensely.
That's probably true, although Jackie Stewart's influence was still evident at Tyrrell in many ways and perhaps it wasn't until Jody joined Wolf that he really found his own feet in a team built around him.

[ClarkFan]

That's probably true, although Jackie Stewart's influence was still evident at Tyrrell in many ways and perhaps it wasn't until Jody joined Wolf that he really found his own feet in a team built around him.

Actually, Shecketer was the Mr. Reliabilty of the Cosworth-engine drivers in 1977, which put him 2nd in the championship. Andretti was faster (or the Lotus 78 was), but blew more engines and wound up 3rd.

I do remember Rob Walker (he wrote the race reports for Road & Track then) recounting a joke inside the team about Sheckter. The Wolf had dispensed with most of the guages, replacing them with one red warning light. The mechanics joked that the layout was especially for Sheckter.

ClarkFan

[futuretiger9]

That's probably true, although Jackie Stewart's influence was still evident at Tyrrell in many ways and perhaps it wasn't until Jody joined Wolf that he really found his own feet in a team built around him.


In many ways, Tyrrell was like finishing school for Jody, with Ken and Jackie to learn from. He then took everything he had learned to Wolf, and smoothed off the remaining rough edges before his world title with Ferrari in 1979.

Of course, one of the reasons Jody left Tyrrell was his frustration at the six-wheeler, whereas Depailler relished it. Ironically of course, Tyrrell ditched the P34 in 1978, anyway.