After qualifying third in the hands of Tom Pryce, the DN8 finished fourth in its first race of the year, in the 1976 Dutch Grand Prix. After the promise of this first race, it reverted to a midfield runner for the rest of the season. This continued into the early part of the 1977 Formula One season. After Pryce was killed during the South African Grand Prix, the team brought in Alan Jones as a replacement. Jones finished in the points in Monaco and Belgium, and scored a win in the Austrian Grand Prix, from 14th on the grid. He had run second for much of the race and inherited the lead when James Hunt's car developed engine trouble. Jones finished third in Italy and fourth in Canada and Japan for 22 points and 7th in the Drivers Championship standings.