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.

1978 South African Grand Prix
Race 3 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season
Race details
Date 4 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 United States Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford
Time 1:17.09 on lap 2
Podium
First Lotus-Ford
Second Tyrrell-Ford
Third Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Lap leaders

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

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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

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 1   Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo 1:14.65
2 5   Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 1:14.90 +0.25
3 7   James Hunt McLaren-Ford 1:15.14 +0.49
4 8   Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford 1:15.30 +0.65
5 20   Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford 1:15.32 +0.67
6 15   Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault 1:15.36 +0.71
7 35   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:15.48 +0.83
8 12   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:15.50 +0.85
9 11   Carlos Reutemann Ferrari 1:15.52 +0.87
10 2   John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo 1:15.62 +0.97
11 6   Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 1:15.94 +1.29
12 4   Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 1:15.97 +1.32
13 3   Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford 1:16.38 +1.73
14 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:16.40 +1.75
15 14   Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 1:16.47 +1.82
16 9   Jochen Mass ATS-Ford 1:16.60 +1.95
17 10   Jean-Pierre Jarier ATS-Ford 1:17.12 +2.47
18 27   Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:17.16 +2.51
19 30   Brett Lunger McLaren-Ford 1:17.30 +2.65
20 19   Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford 1:17.32 +2.67
21 36   Rolf Stommelen Arrows-Ford 1:17.49 +2.84
22 25   Héctor Rebaque Lotus-Ford 1:17.50 +2.85
23 18   Rupert Keegan Surtees-Ford 1:17.57 +2.92
24 32   Keke Rosberg Theodore-Ford 1:17.62 +2.97
25 24   Eddie Cheever Hesketh-Ford 1:17.83 +3.18
26 37   Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford 1:18.15 +3.50
27 31   René Arnoux Martini-Ford 1:18.21 +3.56
28 17   Clay Regazzoni Shadow-Ford 1:18.30 +3.65
29 22   Lamberto Leoni Ensign-Ford 1:18.38 +3.73
30 16   Hans-Joachim Stuck Shadow-Ford 1:18.45 +3.80

*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6   Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford G 78 1:42:15.767 12 9
2 4   Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford G 78 +0.466 11 6
3 2   John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 78 +4.442 10 4
4 27   Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 78 +30.986 18 3
5 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra G 78 +1:09.218 13 2
6 3   Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford G 77 +1 Lap 14 1
7 5   Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford G 77 +1 Lap 2
8 10   Jean-Pierre Jarier ATS-Ford G 77 +1 Lap 17
9 36   Rolf Stommelen Arrows-Ford G 77 +1 Lap 22
10 25   Héctor Rebaque Lotus-Ford G 77 +1 Lap 21
11 30   Brett Lunger McLaren-Ford G 76 +2 Laps 20
12 19   Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford G 76 +2 Laps 19
Ret 35   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford G 63 Engine 7
Ret 20   Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford G 59 Spun Off 5
Ret 8   Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford G 56 Accident 4
Ret 12   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 55 Oil Leak 8
Ret 11   Carlos Reutemann Ferrari M 55 Spun Off 9
Ret 1   Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo G 52 Engine 1
Ret 18   Rupert Keegan Surtees-Ford G 52 Engine 23
Ret 9   Jochen Mass ATS-Ford G 43 Engine 15
Ret 37   Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford G 39 Suspension 26
Ret 15   Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault M 38 Engine 6
Ret 32   Keke Rosberg Theodore-Ford G 15 Clutch 24
Ret 14   Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford G 9 Transmission 16
Ret 24   Eddie Cheever Hesketh-Ford G 8 Oil Leak 25
Ret 7   James Hunt McLaren-Ford G 5 Engine 3
DNQ 31   René Arnoux Martini-Ford G
DNQ 17   Clay Regazzoni Shadow-Ford G
DNQ 23   Lamberto Leoni Ensign-Ford G
DNQ 16   Hans-Joachim Stuck Shadow-Ford G
Source:[1][2]

Notes

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  • This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Finnish driver and future World Champion Keke Rosberg and for French driver and future Grand Prix winner René Arnoux.
  • This was the Formula One World Championship for French constructor Martini.

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  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. ^ a b "South Africa 1978 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.


Previous race:
1978 Brazilian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1978 season
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1978 United States Grand Prix West
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1977 South African Grand Prix
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1979 South African Grand Prix