1978 British Grand Prix

Last updated

1978 British Grand Prix
Race 10 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season
Brands Hatch 1976-1987.svg
Race details
Date16 July 1978
Official name XXXI John Player British Grand Prix
Location Brands Hatch, Kent, England
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.206 km (2.613 miles)
Distance 76 laps, 319.656 km (198.588 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver Lotus-Ford
Time 1:16.80
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Time 1:18.60 on lap 72
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Third Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Lap leaders
  • 1978 British Grand Prix
James Hunt, in a McLaren M26, crashed out on lap 8. James Hunt 1978.jpg
James Hunt, in a McLaren M26, crashed out on lap 8.

The 1978 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXI John Player British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 16 July 1978. It was the tenth race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors. [1]

Contents

The 76-lap race was won by Argentinian driver Carlos Reutemann, driving a Ferrari. After starting from eighth position, Reutemann worked his way up the field and took the lead on lap 60, eventually winning by 1.2 seconds from Austrian driver Niki Lauda in the Brabham-Alfa Romeo. Lauda's Northern Irish teammate, John Watson, finished third.

Report

Qualifying

With a total of 31 cars on the entry list, it was decided to forbid the Martini of René Arnoux from taking part, thus leaving 30 cars for qualifying. [2]

As expected, the Lotuses filled the front row of the grid, although on this occasion Ronnie Peterson was ahead of Mario Andretti. Jody Scheckter in the Wolf and Niki Lauda in the Brabham made up the second row, while on the third were Riccardo Patrese in the Arrows and Alan Jones in the Williams. The top ten was completed by Jacques Laffite in the Ligier, Carlos Reutemann in the Ferrari, John Watson in the second Brabham and Patrick Depailler in the Tyrrell.

Race

At the start of the race, Andretti took the lead from Peterson, with Scheckter holding third and Jones moving up to fourth. The Lotuses quickly pulled out a large gap, and looked set to dominate, until Peterson retired on lap 7 with a fuel leak. Andretti continued to lead until a puncture forced him to pit on lap 24, before his engine failed five laps later.

Scheckter inherited the lead, closely followed by Jones, Lauda and Patrese. On lap 27, Jones's driveshaft failed, before Scheckter began to suffer gearbox problems. On lap 34, Lauda overtook the South African, who retired three laps later. This left Patrese in second, with Reutemann up to third, Watson fourth, Didier Pironi fifth in the second Tyrrell and Keke Rosberg sixth in the ATS. [3]

On lap 41, Patrese suffered a rear puncture which led to a suspension failure. Pironi also retired on this lap with gearbox trouble, promoting Rosberg to fourth. The Finn soon came under pressure from Depailler, who got by on lap 49.

Reutemann closed up to Lauda and passed him for the lead on lap 60, as the two were lapping the McLaren of Bruno Giacomelli. The Argentine held off the Austrian for the remaining laps, eventually taking his third win of the season by 1.2 seconds. Watson finished 36 seconds behind Lauda and 36 ahead of Depailler, while a suspension failure for Rosberg on lap 60 meant that the final points went to Hans-Joachim Stuck in the Shadow and Patrick Tambay in the McLaren.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.DriverConstructorTime/Gap
1 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson LotusFord 1:16.80
2 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti LotusFord +0.26
3 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Jody Scheckter WolfFord +0.57
4 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda BrabhamAlfa Romeo +0.62
5 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese ArrowsFord +1.48
6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones WilliamsFord +1.56
7 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite LigierMatra +1.64
8 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Ferrari +1.65
9 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson BrabhamAlfa Romeo +1.77
10 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler TyrrellFord +1.93
11 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi FittipaldiFord +1.98
12 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault +2.08
13 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari +2.19
14 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt McLarenFord +2.25
15 Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Daly EnsignFord +2.33
16 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli McLarenFord +2.99
17 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni ShadowFord +3.03
18 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck ShadowFord +3.18
19 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi TyrrellFord +3.19
20 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay McLarenFord +3.34
21 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque LotusFord +3.44
22 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg ATSFord +3.47
23 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario MerzarioFord +3.55
24 Flag of the United States.svg Brett Lunger McLarenFord +3.59
25 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla SurteesFord +3.90
26 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass ATSFord +3.91
27 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rupert Keegan SurteesFord +3.93
28 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen ArrowsFord +4.25
29 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Geoff Lees EnsignFord +4.61
30 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tony Trimmer McLarenFord +11.48
WD Flag of France.svg René Arnoux MartiniFord Withdrew
Source: [4]

*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
111 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Ferrari M 761:42:12.3989
21 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 76+ 1.2346
32 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 76+ 37.2594
44 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford G 76+ 1:13.27103
516 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck Shadow-Ford G 75+ 1 Lap182
68 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford G 75+ 1 Lap201
733 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli McLaren-Ford G 75+ 1 Lap16
830 Flag of the United States.svg Brett Lunger McLaren-Ford G 75+ 1 Lap24
919 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford G 75+ 1 Lap25
1026 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra G 73+ 3 Laps7
NC9 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass ATS-Ford G 65+ 11 Laps26
Ret10 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg ATS-Ford G 59Suspension22
Ret17 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Shadow-Ford G 49Gearbox17
Ret15 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault M 46Turbo12
Ret35 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford G 40Suspension5
Ret3 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford G 40Gearbox19
Ret20 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford G 36Gearbox3
Ret14 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford G 32Engine11
Ret37 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford G 32Fuel System23
Ret22 Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Daly Ensign-Ford G 30Wheel15
Ret5 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford G 28Engine2
Ret27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 26Transmission6
Ret12 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 19Transmission13
Ret25 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque Lotus-Ford G 15Gearbox21
Ret7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt McLaren-Ford G 7Accident14
Ret6 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford G 6Fuel Leak1
DNQ18 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rupert Keegan Surtees-Ford G
DNQ36 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen Arrows-Ford G
DNQ23 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Geoff Lees Ensign-Ford G
DNQ40 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tony Trimmer McLaren-Ford G
Source: [5] [6]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Grand Prix West</span> Formula 1 Grand Prix

The United States Grand Prix West was a race held at Long Beach, California, as a Formula 5000 race in 1975 and a Formula One World Championship event from 1976 to 1983 held in the same location throughout those years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Argentine Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 January 1978 at Buenos Aires. It was the first race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The 52-lap race was won from pole position by American driver Mario Andretti, driving a Lotus-Ford, with Austrian Niki Lauda second in a Brabham-Alfa Romeo and Frenchman Patrick Depailler third in a Tyrrell-Ford. This was the debut of multiple-time Constructors' Champions, Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Brazilian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 January 1978 at Jacarepagua. The race was run at the height of summer in Rio de Janeiro in 100 degree F temperatures, and it was won by Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann driving a Ferrari 312T2 in a flag-to-flag performance. The win also represented the first win for tyre manufacturer Michelin. Local driver Emerson Fittipaldi was second, scoring the first podium finish for the Fittipaldi team with Austrian Brabham driver Niki Lauda finishing third. French driver Didier Pironi took his first points in Formula One, finishing sixth, while Arrows made its F1 debut with Riccardo Patrese finishing tenth, four laps down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 South African Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1978 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 4 March 1978 at Kyalami. It was the third round of the 1978 Formula One season and the 300th World Championship Grand Prix held since the championship began in 1950. This was the debut race of the future world champion Keke Rosberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Austrian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1978 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 August 1978 at Österreichring. This was Ronnie Peterson's last win before his death at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. It was also the last victory for a Swedish Formula One driver, as of the end of the 2023 Formula One season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Dutch Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1978 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on 27 August 1978. It was the 13th race of the 1978 Formula One season. It was the final career victory for Mario Andretti, who went on to win the championship after Ronnie Peterson's fatal crash at Monza. It is also the last 1-2 finish for the original Lotus team, and also, the last win for an American Formula One driver, as of the 2024 Season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Italian Grand Prix</span> Formula One motor race

The 1978 Italian Grand Prix was the 14th motor race of the 1978 Formula One season. It was held on 10 September 1978 at Monza. It was marred by the death of Ronnie Peterson following an accident at the start of the race. The race was won by Niki Lauda, after both Mario Andretti (Lotus-Ford) and Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari), who had finished first and second, were given a one-minute penalty and dropped to sixth and seventh. Lauda's teammate John Watson and Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) completed the podium.

The 1978 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 8 October 1978 at Montreal. This was the 16th and final race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the International Cup for F1 Constructors. It was Ferrari Driver Gilles Villeneuve's first victory in Formula One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Dutch Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1981 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on 30 August 1981. It was the twelfth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Formula One World Championship</span> 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1981 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1981 Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers, which were contested over a fifteen-race series that commenced on 15 March and ended on 17 October. The 1981 South African Grand Prix, as a non-championship race due to difficulties from the ongoing FISA–FOCA war, was open to Formula One entrants but was not part of the World Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Formula One season</span> 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1979 Formula One season was the 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-round series which commenced on 21 January 1979, and ended on 7 October. The season also included three non-championship Formula One races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Formula One season</span> 32nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1978 Formula One season was the 32nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the International Cup for F1 Constructors, contested concurrently over a sixteen race series which commenced on 15 January and ended on 8 October. The season also included the non-championship BRDC International Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 Formula One season</span> 31st season of the FIAs Formula One motor racing

The 1977 Formula One season was the 31st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 28th World Championship of Drivers and the 20th International Cup for Formula 1 Constructors. The season commenced on 9 January 1977 and ended on 23 October after seventeen races, making it the longest Formula One season in the sport's history at the time. The season also included a single non-championship race for Formula One cars, the 1977 Race of Champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Formula One season</span> 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1976 Formula One season was the 30th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1976 World Championship of Drivers and the 1976 International Cup for Formula 1 Manufacturers. The two titles were contested over a sixteen race series which commenced on 25 January and ended on 24 October. Two non-championship races were also held during the 1976 season. In an extraordinarily political and dramatic season, the Drivers' Championship went to McLaren driver James Hunt by one point from Ferrari's defending champion Niki Lauda, although Ferrari took the Manufacturers' trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 Formula One season</span> 29th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1975 Formula One season was the 29th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1975 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1975 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently from 12 January to 5 October over fourteen races. The season also included three non-championship Formula One races and a nine race South African Formula One Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 Formula One season</span> 28th season of FIA Formula One motor racing

The 1974 Formula One season was the 28th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October. The season also included three non-championship races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 United States Grand Prix West</span> Motor car race

The 1976 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on March 28, 1976, in Long Beach, California. The race was the third round of the 1976 Formula One season and the first new race to be added to the calendar since the Brazilian and Swedish Grand Prix were added in 1973. It was the second Formula One race held in California, the first being the 1960 United States Grand Prix at Riverside, only 50 miles away. The race was held over 80 laps of the 3.251-kilometre street circuit for a total race distance of 260 kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 United States Grand Prix West</span> Motor car race

The 1980 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on March 30, 1980, at Long Beach, California. It was the fourth round of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was the fifth United States Grand Prix West and the sixth street race to be held at Long Beach. The race was held over 80 laps of the 3.251-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 260 kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 United States Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1977 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 2, 1977, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the fifteenth race of the 1977 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1977 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 3, 1977, in Long Beach, California. It was covered on American radio by Motor Racing Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 United States Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1978 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 1, 1978, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 2, 1978, in Long Beach, California.

References

  1. "1978 British Grand Prix Entry list".
  2. "What? - Martini". 8W. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  3. "Grand Prix Results: British GP, 1978". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  4. "Formula One 1978 British Grand Prix Classification | Motorsport Stats".
  5. "1978 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. "1978 British Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 16 July 1978. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Britain 1978 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
Previous race:
1978 French Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1978 season
Next race:
1978 German Grand Prix
Previous race:
1977 British Grand Prix
British Grand Prix Next race:
1979 British Grand Prix
Awards
Preceded by
1977 British Grand Prix
Formula One Promotional Trophy
for Race Promoter

1978
Succeeded by
1979 Italian Grand Prix