1978 South African Grand Prix

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	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Time	1:14.65
Fastest lap
Driver	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:17.09 on lap 2
Podium
First	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford
Second	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell-Ford
Third	John Watson	Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Lap leaders

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.

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

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

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]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Mario Andretti 12 2 Ronnie Peterson 11 3 Niki Lauda 10 4 Patrick Depailler 10 5 Carlos Reutemann 9 Source:[3]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 21 2 Brabham-Alfa Romeo 14 3 Tyrrell-Ford 11 4 Ferrari 9 5 Fittipaldi-Ford 6 Source:[3]

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

References