ESPNF1

October 24, 1976: Third place at a rain-lashed inaugural Japanese Grand Prix was enough to secure James Hunt his first and only world title, a tense finale to a season of almost unprecedented on-track fluctuations and off-field drama

October 10, 1976: James Hunt's victory in the US Grand Prix ensured the title race would be decided at Suzuka

October 3, 1976: James Hunt won the Canadian Grand Prix but actually lost ground on Niki Lauda in the drivers' championship as it had earlier in the week been announced his victory at Silverstone had been overturned by the FIA.

September 12, 1976: Ronnie Peterson's wretched luck with his March was put to one side for a day as he won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, his third victory in the race in four seasons. But all the media attention before and after the race surrounded the remarkable return of Niki Lauda

August 29, 1976: James Hunt celebrated his 29th birthday with victory at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, and in so doing closed the gap on Niki Lauda in the drivers' championship to three points with four races remaining

August 15, 1976: With Niki Lauda in hospital, James Hunt failed to seize his opportunity fully as John Watson won the Austrian Grand Prix, the first win for him and also the fledgling Penske team

August 1, 1976: James Hunt won the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring but no-one remembers that. Instead, the abiding memory of the race is a burning Ferrari with an unconscious Niki Lauda trapped within

July 18, 1976: For the second time in the season James Hunt won a race only to be disqualified in the aftermath

July 4, 1976: The seemingly effortless procession of Niki Lauda and the Ferraris, which had wobbled in Sweden, came off the rails completely at Paul Ricard

June 13, 1976: Niki Lauda's domination of the season was put on hold as Jody Scheckter gave the innovative Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler its maiden grand prix win in Sweden

May 30, 1976: Niki Lauda's successful season continued in Monte Carlo as he clinched the Monaco Grand Prix - his fourth win in six starts - with the six-wheeled Tyrrells second and third

May 16, 1976: Niki Lauda's third win of the season at Zolder (at the time it was reported as his fourth as he had been awarded the Spanish Grand Prix following James Hunt's disqualification) gave him a commanding 27-point lead in the drivers' championship

May 2, 1976: The European season began at Jarama and although James Hunt won the Spanish Grand Prix, his first win for McLaren, he was then disqualified a few minutes later as stewards decided his car was too wide

March 28, 1976: Ferrari dominated the new Long Beach Grand Prix, although it was Clay Regazzoni who led home team-mate Niki Lauda

March 6, 1976: Niki Lauda's second win of the season laid down a marker for the year, and his victory at the South African Grand Prix came in the old 1975 Ferrari