Niki Lauda stated that "We were big rivals, especially at the end of the season, but I respected him because you could drive next to him—2 centimetres, wheel-by-wheel, for 300 kilometres or more—and nothing would happen.
Niki Lauda declarou que "Eramos grandes rivais, sobre todo ao final da tempada de 1976, pero eu respectábao porque podía conducir ao seu lado a 2 centímetros, roda con roda, a 300 quilómetros ou máis, e non pasaría nada.