Background This was the only
Formula One Grand Prix in which multiple
female racers (
Lella Lombardi and
Divina Galica) were entered. Neither qualified for the Grand Prix. This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Galica - the third woman driver to enter into Formula One. The Brands Hatch layout had been modified from the previous year. Paddock Hill, Bottom Straight (renamed
Cooper Straight) and South Bank (renamed
Surtees) had all been slightly modified. The pit lane was extended and many of the corners were renamed, all after racing drivers and teams.
Race At the start, Hunt made a relatively poor start and allowed Lauda to pull away. By contrast,
Clay Regazzoni starting from fourth made a good start from the second row, and attempted to take the lead from Lauda at the first corner. Regazzoni made contact with his Ferrari team-mate which resulted in a broken rear wheel on Lauda's car, and him spinning his own car. Regazzoni's car was then hit by cars behind, resulting in damage to several more cars including those of Hunt and
Jacques Laffite. Due to the amount of debris covering the track as a result, the race was stopped. The McLaren, Ferrari and Ligier teams set about preparing the spare cars for Hunt, Regazzoni and Laffite respectively in the belief that there was insufficient time for their original cars to be repaired. However, the race stewards announced that no driver would be allowed to take part in the restarted race unless they were in their original car, and that they had finished the first lap of the original race. This meant that the spare cars could not be used, and the drivers that had returned to the pits at the end of the first lap would not be allowed to restart. Some debate then ensued, during which time the McLaren mechanics managed to repair Hunt's damaged McLaren which he had used in the original start. Despite having failed to complete the first lap, Hunt was now at least not in a replacement car, and with the crowds chanting "We Want Hunt" with bottles and other litter thrown to the track with the potential of crowd trouble with the British fans, the stewards relented and allowed Hunt to take the restart. In the event, both Regazzoni and Laffite also took the restart, although both in replacement cars, with the two teams opting to compete anyway and face possible exclusion after the race. At the second attempt to start the race, Lauda again led the field, with Hunt second, Regazzoni third and Scheckter fourth. Laffite retired on lap 32 and Regazzoni on lap 37 due to suspension problems and low oil pressure respectively. crossed the finish line in first position, but was disqualified after the race. Lauda led the race for the first 45 laps, until gearshift problems allowed Hunt to overtake him. Hunt continued to build up a lead from Lauda for the rest of the race, and crossed the finish line in first position.
Post-race Immediately following the race, the Ferrari,
Tyrrell and
Copersucar teams protested the result to the stewards. The three teams believed that as Hunt had not completed a lap following the accident, under the then-regulations, he should not have been allowed to take the restart. Following a three-hour meeting, the officials dismissed the protests and announced the original result would stand. Ferrari then protested the result to the FIA, which resulted in a tribunal being convened to hear Ferrari's appeal. The tribunal was held in Paris on 25 September, where Ferrari put forward their belief that Hunt's car had been pushed by his mechanics before the race had been halted, breaking the regulation prohibiting outside assistance during the race. McLaren maintained that they had only pushed the car after the race had been stopped. Indeed, then-McLaren Team Manager
Alastair Caldwell has since stated that the rules at the time stated cars should come to a halt where they were when a red flag is shown. Other drivers continued to complete the first lap at racing speed, attempting to encourage the red flag to be withdrawn as had happened on previous occasions, while McLaren were able to show TV footage proving that Hunt's car had stopped at the red flag, and only after then received outside assistance to return to the pits. In Caldwell's view, the only car which correctly complied with the red flag rules and should have been safe from disqualification from this incident was in fact Hunt's. The decision reached by the tribunal was to uphold the appeal by Ferrari, and disqualify Hunt from the race. This in turn resulted in all the other drivers moving up one position, and hence making Lauda the winner of the race. == Classification ==