Niki Lauda was conspicuously absent from the starting grid of the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, and for good reason as the Ferrari driver was recovering from his horrendous Nurburgring crash which had occured just two weeks earlier. So local fans took a keen interest in another Austrian driver, Hans Binder, who was making his F1 debut with Ensign at Zeltweg. The 28-year-old rookie qualified 19th and ran as high as 9th in the race before retiring seven laps from the checkered flag. Binder would race in eleven more Grands Prix in 1977 with Surtees, but without ever scoring a point.
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