The 1977 Belgian Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

motor race held at

Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, ...

on 5 June 1977. It was the seventh race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The 70-lap race was won by Swedish driver

Gunnar Nilsson Gunnar Axel Arvid Nilsson (20 November 1948 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Before entering Formula One, he won the 1975 British Formula 3 Championship. Nilsson entered 32 Formula One Grand Prix races, qualifying for all of t ...

, driving a Lotus-

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. Austrian driver

Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...

finished second in a Ferrari, while Nilsson's fellow Swede,

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing caree ...

, finished third in the six-wheeled Tyrrell-Ford. This was to be Nilsson's only Formula One victory, before his career was cut short by cancer and he died in October 1978.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Race

Report

In qualifying

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

took a comfortable pole position with John Watson just beating the second Lotus of

to second. The race was wet due to rain earlier in the day. Watson took the lead into the first corner, but later in the lap, Andretti locked up into the chicane and ran into the back of the Brabham, knocking both drivers out of the race with

Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afri ...

taking over the lead. Scheckter led the early stages ahead of Nilsson, whereas

Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor o ...

made an early charge but spun off. The track began to dry and everyone had to pit for tyres, and those who stopped early were the ones who benefited, as now

was leading from Jochen Mass and Scheckter was down to fifth. Mass spun off from second, handing it to Nilsson who then went on to catch and pass Lauda before driving away to his first career victory. Behind second-placed Lauda,

completed the podium for Team Tyrrell after Scheckter retired with an engine failure. This remains the only F1 race in which two Swedes shared the podium. David Purley stayed out later than most drivers and was running third by lap 21. After he finally pitted, he emerged in front of race leader Lauda. He was likely unaware that Lauda was a lap ahead and did not let him through, holding the leader up for a few laps. This may have cost Lauda victory and the two were involved in an argument after the race.

Classification

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings *

References

{{F1GP 70-79

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of ...

Belgian Grand Prix Grand Prix Circuit Zolder