Formula 1 historical archive

James Hunt won the 1976 United States Grand Prix

James Hunt won the 1976 United States Grand Prix for McLaren, ahead of Jody Scheckter and Niki Lauda at Watkins Glen International.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
James Hunt
Team
McLaren
Top listed
James Hunt, Jody Scheckter, and Niki Lauda
Race date
October 10, 1976
Pole
James Hunt
Fastest lap
James Hunt
Classified drivers
27
Circuit
Watkins Glen International

The decisive result

James Hunt finished first for McLaren. Jody Scheckter is listed 2 for Tyrrell, with Niki Lauda 3 for Ferrari.

Grid to finish

Jochen Mass from P17 to P4 (+13), Brett Lunger from P24 to P11 (+13), and Alan Jones from P18 to P8 (+10) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. James Hunt started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 6 Finished, 4 +2 laps, 3 Suspension, 2 +1 lap, and 2 +5 laps. James Hunt holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:42.851 on lap 53. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1James HuntMcLaren1:42:40.7419
2Jody ScheckterTyrrell1:42:48.7716
3Niki LaudaFerrari1:43:43.0654
4Jochen MassMcLaren1:43:43.1993
5Hans-Joachim StuckMarch1:43:48.7192
6John WatsonPenske1:43:48.9311
7Clay RegazzoniFerrari+1 lap0
8Alan JonesSurtees+1 lap0
9Emerson FittipaldiFittipaldi+2 laps0
10Jean-Pierre JarierShadow+2 laps0
11Brett LungerSurtees+2 laps0
12Alex RibeiroHesketh+2 laps0
13Harald ErtlHesketh+5 laps0
14Warwick BrownWolf-Williams+5 laps0
NCHenri PescaroloSurtees+11 laps0
DNFTom PryceShadowEngine0
DNFJacques LaffiteLigierTyre0
DNFVittorio BrambillaMarchTyre0
DNFCarlos PaceBrabhamCollision0
DNFLarry PerkinsBrabhamSuspension0