Lauda was running fifth until handling issues dropped him out of the points , and Hunt had closed the gap to 8 points .
The top three of Hunt , Depailler and Andretti were unchanged for the rest of the race .
Lauda was running fifth until handling issues dropped Hunt out of the points , and Hunt had closed the gap to 8 points .
The top three of Hunt , Depailler and Andretti were unchanged for the rest of the race .