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 . 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 78 1:42:15.767 12 9 2 4 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 78 +0.466 11 6 3 2 John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo 78 +4.442 10 4 4 27 Alan Jones Williams-Ford 78 +30.986 18 3 5 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 78 +1:09.218 13 2 6 3 Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford 77 +1 Lap 14 1 7 5 Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 77 +1 Lap 2 8 10 Jean-Pierre Jarier ATS-Ford 77 +1 Lap 17 9 36 Rolf Stommelen Arrows-Ford 77 +1 Lap 22 10 25 Héctor Rebaque Lotus-Ford 77 +1 Lap 21 11 30 Brett Lunger McLaren-Ford 76 +2 Laps 20 12 19 Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford 76 +2 Laps 19 35 Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 63 Engine 7 20 Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford 59 Spun Off 5 8 Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford 56 Accident 4 12 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 55 Oil Leak 8 11 Carlos Reutemann Ferrari 55 Spun Off 9 1 Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo 52 Engine 1 18 Rupert Keegan Surtees-Ford 52 Engine 23 9 Jochen Mass ATS-Ford 43 Engine 15 37 Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford 39 Suspension 26 15 Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault 38 Engine 6 32 Keke Rosberg Theodore-Ford 15 Clutch 24 14 Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 9 Transmission 16 24 Eddie Cheever Hesketh-Ford 8 Oil Leak 25 7 James Hunt McLaren-Ford 5 Engine 3 31 René Arnoux Martini-Ford 17 Clay Regazzoni Shadow-Ford 23 Lamberto Leoni Ensign-Ford 16 Hans-Joachim Stuck Shadow-Ford
Notes
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 debut for French constructor Martini (failed to qualify).
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Mario Andretti 12 5 2 Ronnie Peterson 11 1 3 Niki Lauda 10 1 4 Patrick Depailler 10 2 5 Carlos Reutemann 9Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 21 2 Brabham-Alfa Romeo 14 2 3 Tyrrell-Ford 11 1 4 Ferrari 9 1 5 Fittipaldi-Ford 6Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References