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,World Championship of F1 Drivers 1978 & International Cup for F1 Constructors 1978, 1979 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 86–87 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.
Mario Andretti won the Drivers' World Championship, driving for JPS-Lotus. He remains the last American driver to win the World Championship. His victory at the Dutch Grand Prix is also the last for an American driver. Ronnie Peterson was awarded second place in the Drivers' standings posthumously, having died from medical complications after an accident at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix. Lotus won the International Cup for F1 Constructors, for the last time.
Championship defendants Niki Lauda and Ferrari had parted ways late in , and both parties struggled to repeat the successes they had enjoyed the previous seasons. Carlos Reutemann finished third in the championship in the lead Ferrari, while Lauda finished fourth with Brabham. Apart from Peterson's death, the year saw another tragedy when Peterson's Swedish compatriot Gunnar Nilsson died from cancer, having been forced to cut his career short after the previous season because of the disease.
Drivers and constructors The following drivers and constructors contested the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the International Cup for F1 Constructors. Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyres No Driver Rounds Parmalat Racing Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT45CBT46BT46BBT46C Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12 1 Niki Lauda All 2 John Watson All 66 Nelson Piquet 16 First National City Travelers Checks Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell-Ford 008 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 3 Didier Pironi All 4 Patrick Depailler All John Player Team Lotus Lotus-Ford 7879 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 5 Mario Andretti All 6 Ronnie Peterson 1–14 55 Jean-Pierre Jarier 15–16 Marlboro Team McLaren Löwenbräu Team McLaren McLaren-Ford M26 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 7 James Hunt All 8 Patrick Tambay 1–5, 7–16 33 Bruno Giacomelli 6, 9–10, 13–14 ATS Racing Team F&S Properties ATS Racing Team ATS-Ford HS1D1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 9 Jochen Mass 1–13 Michael Bleekemolen 14–16 10 Jean-Pierre Jarier 1–5, 11 Alberto Colombo 6–7 Keke Rosberg 8–10, 15–16 Hans Binder 12 Michael Bleekemolen 13 Harald Ertl 14 SEFAC Ferrari Ferrari 312T2312T3 Ferrari 015 3.0 F12 11 Carlos Reutemann All 12 Gilles Villeneuve All Fittipaldi Automotive Fittipaldi-Ford F5A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 14 Emerson Fittipaldi All Équipe Renault Elf Renault Elf RS01 Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t 15 Jean-Pierre Jabouille 3–16 Villiger Shadow Shadow-Ford DN8DN9 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 16 Hans-Joachim Stuck All 17 Clay Regazzoni All Durex Team Surtees Beta Team Surtees Surtees-Ford TS19TS20 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 18 Rupert Keegan 1–13 "Gimax" 14 René Arnoux 15–16 19 Vittorio Brambilla 1–14 Beppe Gabbiani 15–16 Walter Wolf Racing Wolf-Ford WR1WR3WR5WR6 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 20 Jody Scheckter All 21 Bobby Rahal 15–16 Team Tissot Ensign Ensign-Ford N177 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 22 Danny Ongais 1–2 Lamberto Leoni 3–4 Jacky Ickx 5–8 Derek Daly 9–10, 12–16 Nelson Piquet 11 23 Lamberto Leoni 1–2 Bernard de Dryver 6 Brett Lunger 15 Sachs Racing Harald Ertl 11–14 Mario Deliotti RacingN175 Geoff Lees10 Olympus Cameras with Hesketh Racing Hesketh-Ford 308E Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 24 Divina Galica 1–2 Eddie Cheever 3 Derek Daly 4–6 Team Rebaque Lotus-Ford 78 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 25 Héctor Rebaque All Ligier Gitanes Ligier-Matra JS7JS7/9JS9 Matra MS76 3.0 V12Matra MS78 3.0 V12 26 Jacques Laffite All Williams Grand Prix Engineering Williams-Ford FW06 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 27 Alan Jones All Centro Asegurador F1 McLaren-Ford M25/M23 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 28 Emilio de Villota 7 Patrick Nève March-Ford 781S Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 29 Patrick Nève 6 BS Fabrications Liggett Group with BS Fabrications McLaren-Ford M23M26 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 29 Nelson Piquet 12–14 30 Brett Lunger 1–14 Automobiles Martini Martini-Ford MK23 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 31 René Arnoux 3, 5–6, 9–13 Theodore Racing Hong Kong Theodore-Ford TR1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 32 Eddie Cheever 1–2 Keke Rosberg 3–7 Wolf-Ford WR3WR4 11–14 Team Merzario Merzario-Ford A1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 34 Alberto Colombo 14 37 Arturo Merzario All Arrows Racing Team Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team Arrows-Ford FA1A1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 35 Riccardo Patrese 3–14, 16362 Rolf Stommelen 3–16 Interscope Racing Shadow-Ford DN9 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 39 Danny Ongais 4, 13 Melchester Racing McLaren-Ford M23 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 40 Tony Trimmer 10
Team and driver changes Reigning champion Niki Lauda had parted with Ferrari before the end of the season.Tom Rubython: In the Name of Glory – 1976 Myrtle Press, 2011, , p. 187 Gilles Villeneuve replaced him at his home race and stayed for the 1978 season.Donaldson (2003) pp.95–104Donaldson (2003) pp.107–108 Lauda replaced Hans-Joachim Stuck at Brabham, who subsequently moved to Shadow. He would join Alan Jones, were it not for the Australian's new contract with Williams. Williams would enter their first self-made chassis for 1978. Clay Regazzoni moved to Shadow from Ensign, while his 1977 teammate Patrick Tambay was signed by McLaren. This left Ensign in a search for two new drivers and they found Danny Ongais from the folded Penske team and the inexperienced Lamberto Leoni. Ex-McLaren driver Jochen Mass found a seat at ATS, built on the remains of Penske and March. Ronnie Peterson made a surprising switch to Lotus, replacing fellow Swede Gunnar Nilsson. Peterson's seat at Tyrrell was filled by debutant Didier Pironi. Nilsson signed with newcomer Arrows, but was diagnosed with terminal testicular cancer and retired before the season started. Ex-Shadow driver Riccardo Patrese and veteran Rolf Stommelen eventually drove for Arrows. Three teams (besides Williams and Arrows mentioned above) debuted with their self-made chassis: Martini, Merzario and Theodore. BRM had folded.
Mid-season changes
Eddie Cheever's debut with the Theodore team turned out to be preliminary and he returned to Formula Two. His seat was taken by future champion Keke Rosberg, until he moved to ATS. When Theodore retired their self-made chassis in favour of a private Wolf chassis, Rosberg returned, yet ended the season with ATS. Bruno Giacomelli drove a third McLaren car whenever his schedule allowed. He went to become the 1978 Formula Two champion. Hesketh Racing folded after six races. When the Martini team folded with three races to go, their driver René Arnoux found a new home at Surtees. At the start of the Italian Grand Prix, James Hunt tried to avoid Riccardo Patrese and collided with Ronnie Peterson. In the ensuing melee, eight other drivers crashed, Peterson's Lotus went hard into the barriers and caught fire. He was rescued from the wreck with minor burns but severe leg injuries. That night in hospital, he was diagnosed with fat embolism, and a subsequent kidney failure was fatal. In the crash, Vittorio Brambilla had been hit in the head by a tyre and sat unconscious in his car. He recovered to return to Formula 1 a full year later. Jean-Pierre Jarier took the seat at Lotus, Beppe Gabbiani fell in at Surtees. Nelson Piquet entered the last race of the season in a third Brabham car, before his full-season debut in 1979.
Calendar Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 Argentine Grand Prix Autodromo de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 15 January 2 Brazilian Grand Prix Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro 29 January 3 South African Grand Prix Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand 4 March 4 United States Grand Prix West Long Beach Street Circuit, Long Beach 2 April 5 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 7 May 6 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder 21 May 7 Spanish Grand Prix Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, Madrid 4 June 8 Swedish Grand Prix Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp 17 June 9 French Grand Prix Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet 2 July 10 British Grand Prix Brands Hatch, Kent 16 July 11 German Grand Prix Hockenheimring, Hockenheim 30 July 12 Austrian Grand Prix Österreichring, Spielberg 13 August 13 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Park Zandvoort, Zandvoort 27 August 14 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 10 September 15 United States Grand Prix Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course, New York 1 October 16 Canadian Grand Prix Île Notre-Dame Circuit, Montréal 8 October
Calendar changes The Brazilian Grand Prix was moved from Autodromo de Interlagos in São Paulo to Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro for 1978. The Spanish Grand Prix was moved from early May to early June, with the slots of the Monaco and Belgian rounds being moved up The French Grand Prix was moved from Dijon-Prenois to Circuit Paul Ricard, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. Likewise, the British Grand Prix was moved from Silverstone to Brands Hatch. The Canadian Grand Prix was moved from Mosport Park to the Île Notre-Dame Circuit because of track safety and organization problems with the hilly and scenic Mosport Park track. The Japanese Grand Prix was originally scheduled on 16 April at the Suzuka Circuit after Fuji's contract was torn up, but it was cancelled for safety and financial reasons. The race would take place during the 1987 season
Season report The 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the International Cup for F1 Constructors were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series.
Race 1: Argentina The 1978 season started at the varied Parque Almirante Brown circuit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Mario Andretti took pole in his Lotus, with home favourite Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari joining him on the front row and Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus third on the grid. The start was uneventful, with Andretti and Reutemann easily keeping first and second, with John Watson in the Brabham taking third from Peterson. Watson took second from Reutemann on the seventh lap, but Andretti was uncatchable. Reutemann ran third for a while but then began to drop down the order due to tire problems, so reigning world champion Niki Lauda took third in his Brabham, which became second with ten laps left when Watson's engine blew up. Andretti motored on to a crushing victory, with Lauda second and Patrick Depailler's Tyrrell taking the final spot on the podium. This had been an unusual Argentine Grand Prix- although the summer weather had been usually hot (although not as hot as the previous year), the attrition rate hadn't been as high, nor had the polesitter retired.
Race 2: Brazil