Niki Lauda claimed pole during practice/qualifying, which had seen another huge crash by Patrick Depailler, although the Frenchman also escape uninjured, and made the race start. Ronnie Peterson, meanwhile, put the new Lotus 76 onto the front row, while Championship leader Clay Regazzoni shared row two with Emerson Fittipaldi. Rain on race day meant there would be a universal decision to start with full wet tyres, with Peterson slithering off the line fastest to take the lead. Lauda and Regazzoni claimed second and third behind the Lotus, while Jacky Ickx leapt into fourth ahead of Fittipaldi.