James didn't exactly begin the weekend on a high. He had retired from two of the previous three races, but managed one second place, and that was having secured two poles. His main rival for the title, Niki Lauda, had two wins and a second place to his credit and was looking like he might become the first back-to-back Ferrari champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Worse still, James's teammate at McLaren, Jochen Mass, was fourth in the WDC standings, and James was fifth, with one point between them. This wasn't good. Mass was considered a solid, safe pair of hands. James, like his nickname at Hesketh, was supposed to be a superstar in waiting. But Mass was driving for number one status - he didn't consider himself a second driver.

(Photographer not known, image from LAT)

In James's favour, Niki had a bit of an accident with a sit-on lawn mower between races and broke his ribs - he was lucky it wasn't more serious, but there was a question over his fitness to race in Spain. He wsa, after an injection of painkillers, but it was potentially a chance for James to make some gains while Niki wasn't at 100%. The Italian press had been calling for a reserve Italian driver to take Niki's place. James had also won the two non-championship races between the US Grand Prix West and Spain, but no points for those, as the names imply.

The Spanish Grand Prix had moved to Madrid permanently in 1976, following the crash at Montjuïc the previous year in which four people were killed - detailed article here.

In advance of the weekend, the regulations on car height and width had changed. Interestingly, the width was set by measuring the McLaren M23, as it was the widest car on the grid. Remember this for later...

(Film director Sidney Pollock chatting with James and Carlos Reutemann. Photo by David Phipps)

It's long been believed that James and Niki enjoyed racing each other because of mutual professional truth - they could race hard and know the other wouldn't do anything misguided. Contemporary sources support this.

James took pole over Niki by three-tenths, but Niki passed him early. James bided his time, aware that Niki likely couldn't drive at full capacity for the entire race, and took the lead on Lap 32. (commentators in the decades since have often said Niki was calculating and smart, while James was passionate and hotheaded. It's worth remembering that Niki thought James was very smart and tactical, as an opponent). Jochen Mass overtook Niki behind James, and was following closely but was instructed to hold position. James was expecting an overtake from his teammate if he made any kind of mistake, but Jochen had engine trouble, so James finished the race almost 31 seconds ahead of Niki in second place.

James Hunt and Jochen Mass at the Spanish Grand Prix, 1976. Photo by Rainer Schlegelmilch

Niki left the track without participating in the podium ceremony, with both his favoured journalist Heinz Prüller, MotorSport Magazine's Denis Jenkinson, and Autosport's Pete Lyons saying he looked pale and unwell (Lyons added "paler than usual", in case anyone might get the impression Niki was liked). Meanwhile, James and Patrick Depailler were presented with their laurels by King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

(LAT Images and Keystone)

Following the race, a consultant on technical regs for FOCA (the teams' association) noticed that the McLaren's tyres were bulging and ordered that the width of the car be checked. Interestingly, interviewed by Autosport for their issue a few days later, the scrutineer (Peter Jowett) said he wished he hadn't said anything. The McLaren was found to be 1.8cm, or 5/8 of an inch too wide. James was disqualified from his race win, and his points awarded to Niki. McLaren protested hard, but the result stood.

Contrary to popular belief, Ferrari didn't seek an investigation or protest. The measurement issue was discovered without Ferrari input. Luca Montezemolo was present for the measuring and was reported to look stony-faced, which he is quite good at.

The result was controversial for a few reasons.

The McLaren had been scrutineered before the race and found to be legal. The point was made that if it had been found illegal then, the team could have applied for, and likely would have got, permission to race anyway, on the grounds that the extra width conferred no performance advantage. There were those who felt the lack of performance advantage meant that no penalty should apply.

James with McLaren Managing Director, and direct successor of Bruce McLaren, and lawyer (usefully), Teddy Mayer, at the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix. Photo by David Phipps

Another issue was that the technical breach was the team's fault, but the driver's championship standing was also affected. James had no ability to change the width of the car. It was suggested that the team could pie a fine and lose Constructors' Points while James retained his driving points, but Niki naturally enough responded to this, saying that if the only punishment for breaking regulations was a fine, they would all be broken.

This race is also believed to have been the first time in F1 history that a driver was stripped of a race win on a literal technicality, and it wasn't popular.

Following the race, Niki had 33 world championship points, more than three times that of his closest challenger, Patrick Depailler, with 10. Behind Clay Regazzoni and Jochen Mass, James had six points, and was fifth in the championship standings.

Long way to go til Fuji..