1978 Argentine Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Mario Andretti began the 1978 F1 World Championship with a commanding victory at the Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez. Lotus overcame Ferrari’s early qualifying advantage, and Andretti turned pole into a dominant race while reigning champion Niki Lauda finished second on his Brabham debut.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mario Andretti	Lotus
Pole time	1:47.75
Fastest lap	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:49.760 on lap 3
First	Mario Andretti	Lotus
Second	Niki Lauda	Brabham
Third	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
13 January 1978	Friday morning timed practice	10:00–11:30; interrupted
13 January 1978	Friday afternoon timed practice	One hour; start unconfirmed
14 January 1978	Saturday untimed practice	90 minutes; start unconfirmed
14 January 1978	Saturday final qualifying	One hour; start unconfirmed
15 January 1978	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

The new season opened with an unusually busy driver market and a renewed tyre contest. Niki Lauda carried the champion’s number to Brabham, Ronnie Peterson returned to Lotus and Ferrari adopted Michelin tyres. Ground-effect development was gathering momentum, but the teams arrived with a mixture of revised machinery and new designs.

Race entries

Niki Lauda joined John Watson at Brabham, Ronnie Peterson partnered Mario Andretti at Lotus and Patrick Tambay moved to McLaren alongside James Hunt. Didier Pironi made his debut with Tyrrell, which returned to four wheels. Alan Jones drove the new Williams FW06, while Eddie Cheever attempted to qualify for Theodore and Arturo Merzario entered his own car.

Friday morning timed practice

Cool, windy conditions gave way to rain during an interrupted opening session. Carlos Reutemann set the pace for Ferrari before the downpour, with Niki Lauda second; both Ferraris then continued on Michelin wet tyres. Mario Andretti lost time to a fuel-injection misfire, while Vittorio Brambilla damaged his Surtees after its gearbox jumped out of gear.

Friday afternoon timed practice

Mario Andretti recovered to lead the afternoon after Lotus traced his misfire to a faulty seal, though Reutemann’s morning lap remained quickest overall. Niki Lauda lost running to an ignition failure, and Ronnie Peterson continued despite gear-selection problems. Tyrrell struggled with small electrical and fuel-system faults, leaving both new cars well down the order.

Saturday untimed practice

Lotus fitted Ronnie Peterson’s car with a different gearbox after Friday’s selection difficulties. John Watson’s Brabham engine ran roughly during the morning, forcing him towards the spare for qualifying. Williams continued investigating Alan Jones’s reluctant engine, while the teams worked to turn promising individual laps into reliable running in the final session.

Saturday final qualifying

Mario Andretti snatched pole from Carlos Reutemann, with Ronnie Peterson third despite a blistering tyre and traffic. James Hunt improved to sixth, but neither Brabham bettered its Friday time. Patrick Depailler made a substantial jump once Tyrrell’s new car was running properly.

Alan Jones qualified 14th before Williams changed his engine for the race. Jody Scheckter struggled for balance at Wolf, and several drivers had to use spare cars after mechanical failures. Héctor Rebaque, Eddie Cheever and Divina Galica failed to qualify for the 24-car field.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:47.75
2	11	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:47.84
3	6	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:48.39
4	2	John Watson	Brabham	1:48.42
5	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:48.70
6	7	James Hunt	McLaren	1:48.72
7	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:48.97
8	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:49.13
9	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:49.74
10	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:49.69
11	10	Jean-Pierre Jarier	ATS	1:49.77
12	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	1:49.91
13	9	Jochen Mass	ATS	1:50.06
14	27	Alan Jones	Williams	1:50.11
15	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:50.35
16	17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	1:50.45
17	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:50.82
18	16	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	1:51.16
19	18	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	1:51.42
20	37	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	1:51.68
21	22	Danny Ongais	Ensign	1:51.71
22	23	Lamberto Leoni	Ensign	1:51.94
23	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:51.99
24	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren	1:52.27
25	25	Hector Rebaque	Lotus	1:52.52
26	32	Eddie Cheever	Theodore	1:53.25
27	24	Divina Galica	Hesketh	1:56.69

What happened in the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix?

Mario Andretti led away and immediately began opening a gap. Carlos Reutemann held second initially, but John Watson passed him and became the leading pursuer. The Brabham could not close on Andretti, whose Lotus remained comfortably in command.

Reutemann’s tyres faded and his home-race hopes receded, while Niki Lauda moved into third. Watson’s engine failure late in the race promoted the reigning champion to second. Patrick Depailler brought the new four-wheeled Tyrrell forward to claim the final podium place.

Andretti completed an emphatic opening victory, with Lauda and Depailler behind him. James Hunt finished fourth, Ronnie Peterson fifth and Patrick Tambay sixth. Ferrari had shown Michelin’s potential in practice, but Lotus left Argentina with the victory and the first championship lead.

After the race, Mario Andretti headed the drivers’ standings with 9 points, followed by Niki Lauda on 6. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 9, with Brabham – Alfa Romeo on 6.

1978 Argentine Grand Prix race results

The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was held on 15 January 1978.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus	52	1:37:04.47	9
2	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham	52	+ 13.21	6
3	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	52	+ 13.64	4
4	7	James Hunt	McLaren	52	+ 16.05	3
5	6	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	52	+ 1:14.85	2
6	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	52	+ 1:19.90	1
7	11	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	52	+ 1:22.60	0
8	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	52	+ 1:38.88	0
9	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	52	+ 1:40.60	0
10	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	52	+ 1:43.50	0
11	9	Jochen Mass	ATS	52	+ 1:49.07	0
12	10	Jean-Pierre Jarier	ATS	51	+ 1 Lap	0
13	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren	51	+ 1 Lap	0
14	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	51	+ 1 Lap	0
15	17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	51	+ 1 Lap	0
16	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	50	Engine	0
17	16	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	50	+ 2 Laps	0
18	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	50	+ 2 Laps	0
Ret	2	John Watson	Brabham	41	Engine	0
Ret	27	Alan Jones	Williams	36	Fuel System	0
Ret	22	Danny Ongais	Ensign	35	Distributor	0
Ret	23	Lamberto Leoni	Ensign	28	Engine	0
Ret	37	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	9	Differential	0
Ret	18	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	4	Overheating	0
DNQ	25	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus			0
DNQ	32	Eddie Cheever	Theodore			0
DNQ	24	Divina Galica	Hesketh			0

1978 Argentine Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	3	1:49.760

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1978 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix.

1978 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mario Andretti	American	Lotus	9
2	Niki Lauda	Austrian	Brabham	6
3	Patrick Depailler	French	Tyrrell	4
4	James Hunt	British	McLaren	3
5	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	2
6	Patrick Tambay	French	McLaren	1
–	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Ferrari	0
–	Gilles Villeneuve	Canadian	Ferrari	0
–	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Fittipaldi	0
–	Jody Scheckter	South African	Wolf	0
–	Jochen Mass	German	ATS	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	ATS	0
–	Brett Lunger	American	McLaren	0
–	Didier Pironi	French	Tyrrell	0
–	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Shadow	0
–	Jacques Laffite	French	Ligier	0
–	Hans-Joachim Stuck	German	Shadow	0
–	Vittorio Brambilla	Italian	Surtees	0
–	John Watson	British	Brabham	0
–	Alan Jones	Australian	Williams	0
–	Danny Ongais	American	Ensign	0
–	Lamberto Leoni	Italian	Ensign	0
–	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Merzario	0
–	Rupert Keegan	British	Surtees	0

1978 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	9
2	Brabham – Alfa Romeo	6
3	Tyrrell – Ford	4
4	McLaren – Ford	3
—	Ferrari	0
—	Fittipaldi – Ford	0
—	Wolf – Ford	0
—	ATS – Ford	0
—	Shadow – Ford	0
—	Ligier – Matra	0
—	Surtees – Ford	0
—	Williams – Ford	0
—	Ensign – Ford	0
—	Merzario – Ford	0
—	Theodore – Ford	0
—	Hesketh – Ford	0

Drivers counted their best 7 results from rounds 1–8 and their best 7 from rounds 9–16. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.

1978 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1978 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	15 January
2	1978 Brazilian Grand Prix	Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro	29 January
3	1978 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	4 March
4	1978 United States West Grand Prix	Long Beach Street Circuit, Long Beach, California	2 April
5	1978 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	7 May
6	1978 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder	21 May
7	1978 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	4 June
8	1978 Swedish Grand Prix	Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp	17 June
9	1978 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	2 July
10	1978 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	16 July
11	1978 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	30 July
12	1978 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	13 August
13	1978 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	27 August
14	1978 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	10 September
15	1978 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	1 October
16	1978 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Île Notre-Dame, Montréal	8 October