Niki Lauda hit back at his critics in the best possible fashion by taking a second World Championship before quitting Ferrari at seasons' end. After a barren spell Lotus were back with a vengeance with their Lotus 78 'wing car'. Mario Andretti took four wins and his team-mate Gunnar Nilsson notched another.

A glimpse of the future arrived in mid-season when Renault introduced their turbo-charged car. This would be the form of propulsion for the leading marques throughout the eighties.

It was a year when the wins were shared amongst eight drivers. Jody Scheckter put his new Wolf team on the map with a debut win in Argentina and added two more for good measure. Carlos Reutemann, largely overshadowed by Lauda, won but a single race in Brazil, whilst first time victories went to Jacques Laffite (Ligier) and Alan Jones (Shadow).

The year was clouded by the loss of Carlos Pace in a light aeroplane accident, and a freakish incident at Kyalami when Tom Pryce was killed after hitting a marshal crossing the track.