following the finish. He regained consciousness momentarily. Depailler finished 2nd ahead of Hunt (who nevertheless secured the 1976 Drivers' Championship by finishing third) at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix, despite encountering tyre problems as the Fuji Speedway track dried from heavy rains. He skidded off the Interlagos track at Sao Paulo during the 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix. He was hospitalized with a leg injury. Depailler qualified in the 6th row, 12th position, for the 1977 United States Grand Prix West. In December 1977 Depailler was promoted to the number one driver for Tyrrell, when Ronnie Peterson left to drive for Lotus. At the same time Tyrrell revealed that it was quitting its experiment with six-wheeled Formula One cars. Depailler was 3rd in the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix in an Elf-Tyrrell. Peterson passed Depailler on the last turn of the last lap at Kyalami, to claim the 1978 South African Grand Prix. Depailler's car was running short of fuel, allowing Peterson to erase a 9-second gap to win. Depailler climbed from 12th starting place to end in 3rd position in the 1978 United States Grand Prix West. Depailler gained his first Formula One triumph by winning the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix. Piloting a Tyrrell-Ford 008, Depailler secured the 36th annual event. It was his first victory in 69 championship races, although he had been 2nd eight times. Ligier (1979) Depailler switched to the Ligier team for 1979. The team began to field cars with V-8 Ford Cosworth engines, rather than the French-built Matra V-12 engines of 1978. Depailler led the first 10 laps before his engine experienced problems in the 1979 Argentine Grand Prix. He was forced to make a pit stop but managed a 4th-place finish. Depailler came in 2nd to his victorious teammate, Jacques Laffite, in the 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix. Laffite was more than 5 seconds ahead at the end of the race. Depailler made contact with the fence at "Barbecue Bend" in the 1979 South African Grand Prix. Ligier team manager, Gerard Ducarouge, said that the Ligier JS-11 had been in the planning stages for some time. The JS-9 had been tested as a "wing car" following the 1978 United States Grand Prix West, but the wind tunnel tests proved unsatisfactory. The JS-11 was built and tested in December 1978, with positive results. The V-8 engine was lighter and the Cosworth exhaust system was modified so that