Round 8 · 1976
French Grand Prix
WinnerHUNMcLaren · from P1
PoleHUN
Fastest lap1:51.000Lauda · L4
Biggest gain+11Merzario P20→P9
Retirements8of 27 starters
Classification
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | +/− | Laps | Time / Status | Pits | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hunt HUN | McLaren | 1 | 0 | 54 | 1:40:58.600 | — | 9 |
| 2 | Patrick Depaille ANU | Tyrrell | 3 | +1 | 54 | +12.700 | — | 6 |
| 3 | John Watson WAT | Penske | 8 | +5 | 54 | +23.550 | — | 4 |
| 4 | Jose Carlos Pace CRL | Brabham | 5 | +1 | 54 | +24.820 | — | 3 |
| 5 | Mario Andretti ANI | Team Lotus | 7 | +2 | 54 | +43.920 | — | 2 |
| 6 | Jody Scheckter SCK | Tyrrell | 9 | +3 | 54 | +55.070 | — | 1 |
| 7 | March | 17 | +10 | 54 | +1:21.550 | — | ||
| 8 | Tom Pryce PRY | Shadow | 16 | +8 | 54 | +1:30.670 | — | |
| 9 | Arturo Merzario MEZ | March | 20 | +11 | 54 | +1:53.570 | — | |
| 10 | Jacky Ickx ICK | Wolf-Williams | 19 | +9 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 11 | Carlos Reutemann REU | Brabham | 10 | -1 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 12 | Shadow | 15 | +3 | 53 | +1 lap | — | ||
| 13 | Michel Leclere LEL | Wolf-Williams | 22 | +9 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 14 | Jacques Laffite LAF | Ligier | 13 | -1 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 15 | Jochen Mass MAJ | McLaren | 14 | -1 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 16 | Brett Lunger LUN | Surtees | 23 | +7 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 17 | Guy Edwards EDW | Hesketh | 25 | +8 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 18 | Patrick Neve NEV | Ensign | 26 | +8 | 53 | +1 lap | — | |
| 19 | Ronnie Peterson PEO | March | 6 | -13 | 51 | +3 laps | — | |
| — | Henri Pescarolo PES | Surtees | 24 | 19 | DNF · L19 | — | ||
| — | Clay Regazzoni REA | Ferrari | 4 | 17 | DNF · L17 | — | ||
| — | Fittipaldi | 21 | 21 | DNF · L21 | — | |||
| — | Niki Lauda LAU | Ferrari | 2 | 8 | DNF · L8 FL | — | ||
| — | March | 11 | 28 | DNF · L28 | — | |||
| — | Harald Ertl ERT | Hesketh | 27 | 4 | DNF · L4 | — | ||
| — | Alan Jones JOE | Surtees | 18 | 44 | DNF · L44 | — | ||
| — | Damien Magee MAE | Brabham | — | 0 | DNQ | — | ||
| — | Ingo Hoffmann HOF | Fittipaldi | — | 0 | DNQ | — | ||
| — | Gunnar Nilsson NIL | Team Lotus | 12 | 8 | DNF · L8 | — | ||
| — | Loris Kessel KES | Brabham | — | 0 | DNQ | — |
Session schedule
Grand PrixFinal
Championship after round 8
| Pos | Driver | Pts | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niki Lauda LAU | 52 | |
| 2 | James Hunt HUN | 26 | ▲2 |
| 3 | Patrick Depaille ANU | 26 | |
| 4 | Jody Scheckter SCK | 24 | ▼2 |
| 5 | Clay Regazzoni REA | 16 | |
| 6 | Jacques Laffite LAF | 10 | |
| 7 | Jochen Mass MAJ | 10 | |
| 8 | John Watson WAT | 6 | ▲4 |
Running totals from published race points.
Recent winners at Circuit Paul Ricard
Circuit DNA| Season | Event | Winner | Team | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | French Grand Prix | Niki Lauda LAU | Ferrari | 1 |
| 1973 | French Grand Prix | Ronnie Peterson PEO | Team Lotus | 5 |
| 1971 | French Grand Prix | Jackie Stewart STJ | Tyrrell | 1 |