1977 South African Grand Prix
283rd World Championship race, 14th World Championship South African Grand Prix, 11th World Championship race at Kyalami
Fact File
| Date: | Saturday, 5 March 1977 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Niki Lauda  Ferrari |
| Pole position: |  James Hunt McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| Fastest lap: | John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
| Circuit: | Kyalami, 78 laps |
| Round: | 3 of 17 |
Race Result
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +2 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 78 | 1hr 42m 21.600s | 9 |
| 2 | +3 |  Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +5.200s | 6 |
| 3 | +1 |  Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +5.700s | 4 |
| 4 | -3 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +9.500s | 3 |
| 5 | +8 |  Jochen Mass | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +19.900s | 2 |
| 6 | +5 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 78 | +20.200s | 1 |
| 7 | +7 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +23.600s | |
| 8 |  Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 78 | +26.700s | ||
| 9 | +7 |  Clay Regazzoni | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +46.200s | |
| 10 | -1 |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +1m 11.700s | |
| 11 | +8 | Hans Binder | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 77 | +1 lap | |
| 12 | -2 |  Gunnar Nilsson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 77 | +1 lap | |
| 13 | -11 | Carlos Pace | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 76 | +2 laps | |
| 14 | +9 |  Brett Lunger | March-Ford Cosworth (P) | 76 | +2 laps | |
| 15 | +7 |  Larry Perkins | BRM | 73 | +5 laps | |
| R | Alex Ribeiro | March-Ford Cosworth | 66 | DNF | ||
| R | Hans-Joachim Stuck | March-Ford Cosworth | 55 | DNF | ||
| R | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 43 | DNF | ||
| R |  Boy Hayje | March-Ford Cosworth (P) | 33 | DNF | ||
| R | Tom Pryce | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 22 | DNF | ||
| R | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 22 | DNF | ||
| R | Renzo Zorzi | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 21 | DNF | ||
| R | Ronnie Peterson | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 5 | DNF |
Starting Grid
- Highlight: race winner
- Highlight: second place
- Highlight: third place
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:15.960 |
| 2 | Carlos Pace | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:16.010 |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 1:16.290 |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.330 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.350 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.380 |
| 7 | Ronnie Peterson | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.440 |
| 8 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:16.540 |
| 9 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.640 |
| 10 | Gunnar Nilsson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.650 |
| 11 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:16.710 |
| 12 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:16.740 |
| 13 | Jochen Mass | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.990 |
| 14 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.080 |
| 15 | Tom Pryce | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.110 |
| 16 | Clay Regazzoni | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.210 |
| 17 | Alex Ribeiro | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.440 |
| 18 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.490 |
| 19 | Hans Binder | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.070 |
| 20 | Renzo Zorzi | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.420 |
| 21 | Boy Hayje | March-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:19.590 |
| 22 | Larry Perkins | BRM | 1:21.770 |
| 23 | Brett Lunger | March-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:24.350 |
Qualifying Result
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:15.960 | |
| 2 | Carlos Pace | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:16.010 | 0.050 |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 1:16.290 | 0.330 |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.330 | 0.370 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.350 | 0.390 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.380 | 0.420 |
| 7 | Ronnie Peterson | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.440 | 0.480 |
| 8 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:16.540 | 0.580 |
| 9 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.640 | 0.680 |
| 10 | Gunnar Nilsson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.650 | 0.690 |
| 11 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:16.710 | 0.750 |
| 12 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:16.740 | 0.780 |
| 13 | Jochen Mass | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:16.990 | 1.030 |
| 14 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.080 | 1.120 |
| 15 | Tom Pryce | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.110 | 1.150 |
| 16 | Clay Regazzoni | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.210 | 1.250 |
| 17 | Alex Ribeiro | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.440 | 1.480 |
| 18 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.490 | 1.530 |
| 19 | Hans Binder | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.070 | 2.110 |
| 20 | Renzo Zorzi | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.420 | 2.460 |
| 21 | Boy Hayje | March-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:19.590 | 3.630 |
| 22 | Larry Perkins | BRM | 1:21.770 | 5.810 |
| 23 | Brett Lunger | March-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:24.350 | 8.390 |
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jody Scheckter | 15 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | 13 |
| = | Niki Lauda | 13 |
| 4 | James Hunt | 9 |
| 5 | Carlos Pace | 6 |
| 6 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 6 |
| 7 | Patrick Depailler | 4 |
| 8 | Mario Andretti | 2 |
| = | Gunnar Nilsson | 2 |
| = | Jochen Mass | 2 |
| 11 | Clay Regazzoni | 1 |
| = | Renzo Zorzi | 1 |
| = | John Watson | 1 |
Statistics & Milestones
- Last start
- Driver: Carlos Pace, Tom Pryce
- Constructor: BRM
- Milestone race start
- Driver: 50th for Patrick Depailler
- Wins
- Driver: 13th for Niki Lauda
- Constructor: 66th for Ferrari
- Podiums
- Driver: 24th for Niki Lauda, 16th for Jody Scheckter, 10th for Patrick Depailler
- Constructor: 223rd for Ferrari, 57th for Tyrrell, 2nd for Wolf
- Poles
- Driver: 11th for James Hunt
- Constructor: 15th for McLaren
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 1st for John Watson (64th different fastest lap setter, 13th British driver)
- Constructor: 21st for Brabham
- Front row starts
- Driver: 16th for James Hunt, 7th and last for Carlos Pace