The car featured the rubber suspension which Postlethwaite had pioneered on the preceding 308B model and a Ford-Cosworth DFV engine.

However, Zorzi was replaced by Frenchman Michel Leclère for the remaining first half of the season because the Italian's sponsorship funds ran out.

[7] Both Drivers failed to qualify for the United States Grand Prix West because the Formula One Constructors Association had decided to limit the field to twenty starters for safety reasons, because of the narrow concrete canyons necessitated by the street layout.

Wolf–Williams had reduced their efforts to one car for Britain because Leclère left the team, Ickx failed to qualify and was fired after the race.

After this session, Brett Lunger's Surtees, Merzario and Otto Stuppacher's privately entered Tyrrell had failed to qualify.

John Watson's Penske and the McLaren's of James Hunt and Jochen Mass qualified in eighth ninth and tenth positions, but their times were later disallowed due to fuel irregularities.

Merzario withdrew due to brake problems) and promoted Mass, and later Guy Edwards Hesketh also decided to withdraw in order to let Watson race.

Amon suffered bruising to his legs and choose not to take part in the race and the Italian qualified 24th and retired with a crash.

In any case, later that day his sponsors withdrew their financing of the Wolf–Williams deal, and Frank Williams promptly replaced Kuwashima with Austrian Hans Binder for the second practice session and the race itself.

[8] At season's end, Wolf decided to restructure the team, removing Frank Williams from the manager's job.