By the second half of 1976, Formula One’s championship was no longer being settled on the circuit alone.

In Part Two of this special anniversary review, we examine what happened once control had already slipped away: a title fight shaped by absence, protest, enforcement, and interpretation. With Niki Lauda sidelined and then courageously returning sooner than expected, results took on meanings far beyond points. Victories were questioned, penalties reshaped weekends before they began, and even participation itself became a form of argument.

From Ferrari’s withdrawal in Austria, to McLaren’s fuel controversy at Monza, to a finale at Fuji defined by judgement rather than speed, this episode explores how 1976 became a season argued as much as it was raced.

This is not the story of a rivalry resolved — but of a championship whose legitimacy fractured, whose meaning was contested, and whose legacy reshaped how Formula One would be followed, debated, and remembered.

Cover Image: By Martin Lee - James_Hunt_British_GP_1976, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

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Music by #Mubert Music Rendering