1978 South African Grand Prix

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1978 South African Grand Prix
Race 3 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season
Kyalami 1961 - 1988 Layout.png
Race details
Date4 March 1978
Official name XXIV Citizen and Asseng Grand Prix of South Africa
Location Kyalami
Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance 78 laps, 320.112 km (198.908 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Time 1:14.65
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford
Time 1:17.09 on lap 2
Podium
First Lotus-Ford
Second Tyrrell-Ford
Third Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Lap leaders
  • 1978 South African Grand Prix

The 1978 South African Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Citizen and Asseng Grand Prix of South Africa) 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.

Contents

The Ferrari (312T3) and Brabham (BT46) teams had new cars in Kyalami for the race. The event also saw the return of Renault with its unique turbocharged car.

Summary

Ronnie Peterson, in the Lotus 78 with its Colin Chapman-inspired ground effect aerodynamics, battled Patrick Depailler in his Tyrrell on the last lap to take a dramatic victory. John Watson finished third for Brabham. Young Italian, Riccardo Patrese got his Arrows into the lead before retiring with a blown engine. Pole sitter and reigning world champion Niki Lauda, in his first season with Brabham, retired with engine failure and the Ferraris of Carlos Reutemann and Gilles Villeneuve exited on lap 55. James Hunt, who had qualified third on the grid in his McLaren M26, only lasted five laps when his engine failed, while his new teammate Patrick Tambay, who qualified fourth, crashed out mid race.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
11 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo 1:14.65
25 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 1:14.90+0.25
37 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt McLaren-Ford 1:15.14+0.49
48 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford 1:15.30+0.65
520 Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford 1:15.32+0.67
615 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault 1:15.36+0.71
735 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:15.48+0.83
812 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:15.50+0.85
911 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Ferrari 1:15.52+0.87
102 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo 1:15.62+0.97
116 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 1:15.94+1.29
124 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 1:15.97+1.32
133 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford 1:16.38+1.73
1426 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:16.40+1.75
1514 Flag of Brazil.svg Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 1:16.47+1.82
169 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass ATS-Ford 1:16.60+1.95
1710 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier ATS-Ford 1:17.12+2.47
1827 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:17.16+2.51
1930 Flag of the United States.svg Brett Lunger McLaren-Ford 1:17.30+2.65
2019 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford 1:17.32+2.67
2136 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen Arrows-Ford 1:17.49+2.84
2225 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque Lotus-Ford 1:17.50+2.85
2318 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rupert Keegan Surtees-Ford 1:17.57+2.92
2432 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg Theodore-Ford 1:17.62+2.97
2524 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Hesketh-Ford 1:17.83+3.18
2637 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford 1:18.15+3.50
2731 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Martini-Ford 1:18.21+3.56
2817 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Shadow-Ford 1:18.30+3.65
2922 Flag of Italy.svg Lamberto Leoni Ensign-Ford 1:18.38+3.73
3016 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck Shadow-Ford 1:18.45+3.80

*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
16 Flag of Sweden.svg Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford G 781:42:15.767129
24 Flag of France.svg Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford G 78+0.466116
32 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 78+4.442104
427 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 78+30.986183
526 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra G 78+1:09.218132
63 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford G 77+1 Lap141
75 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford G 77+1 Lap2
810 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier ATS-Ford G 77+1 Lap17
936 Flag of Germany.svg Rolf Stommelen Arrows-Ford G 77+1 Lap22
1025 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque Lotus-Ford G 77+1 Lap21
1130 Flag of the United States.svg Brett Lunger McLaren-Ford G 76+2 Laps20
1219 Flag of Italy.svg Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford G 76+2 Laps19
Ret35 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford G 63Engine7
Ret20 Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford G 59Spun Off5
Ret8 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford G 56Accident4
Ret12 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 55Oil Leak8
Ret11 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Ferrari M 55Spun Off9
Ret1 Flag of Austria.svg Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 52Engine1
Ret18 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rupert Keegan Surtees-Ford G 52Engine23
Ret9 Flag of Germany.svg Jochen Mass ATS-Ford G 43Engine15
Ret37 Flag of Italy.svg Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford G 39Suspension26
Ret15 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault M 38Engine6
Ret32 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg Theodore-Ford G 15Clutch24
Ret14 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford G 9Transmission16
Ret24 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Hesketh-Ford G 8Oil Leak25
Ret7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Hunt McLaren-Ford G 5Engine3
DNQ31 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Martini-Ford G
DNQ17 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Clay Regazzoni Shadow-Ford G
DNQ23 Flag of Italy.svg Lamberto Leoni Ensign-Ford G
DNQ16 Flag of Germany.svg Hans-Joachim Stuck Shadow-Ford G
Source: [1] [2]

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. "1978 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  2. "1978 South African Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 4 March 1978. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 "South Africa 1978 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
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