The new season had seen many driver changes, the most significant was Piquet's arrival at Williams after seven years at Brabham, while Keke Rosberg joined McLaren and Elio de Angelis joined Brabham in the other major moves.
A nova tempada viu moitos cambios de pilotos, o máis significativo foi a chegada de Piquet a Williams logo de sete anos en Brabham, mentres que Keke Rosberg uniuse a McLaren e Elio de Angelis a Brabham, foron os outros movementos importantes.