1978 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Carlos Reutemann came through from eighth on the grid to win the 1978 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. What initially looked like another Lotus demonstration became a close Ferrari–Brabham contest, settled by Reutemann’s late pass on Niki Lauda.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus
Pole time	1:16.80
Fastest lap	Niki Lauda	Brabham
Fastest-lap time	1:18.600 on lap 72
First	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari
Second	Niki Lauda	Brabham
Third	John Watson	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
14 July 1978	Friday morning timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
14 July 1978	Friday afternoon timed practice	One hour; start unconfirmed
15 July 1978	Saturday untimed practice	Start time unconfirmed
15 July 1978	Saturday final qualifying	One hour; start unconfirmed
16 July 1978	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
16 July 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

Mario Andretti arrived at round 10 leading the 1978 F1 World Championship on 45 points, with Ronnie Peterson on 36. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 58 points.

Race entries

Thirty drivers contested 26 starting places after the Martini entry for René Arnoux was not accepted. Geoff Lees joined the Ensign runners and Tony Trimmer brought a private McLaren. Lotus arrived with its repaired race cars and an updated third 79 available as a spare, while McLaren continued exploring changes to its M26.

Friday morning timed practice

Ronnie Peterson found his rhythm immediately and established a substantial advantage over Andretti and the rest of the field. The Lotus 79 looked exceptionally composed around Brands Hatch. Jacques Laffite’s pace also earned attention from Goodyear, while the Shadow drivers and Derek Daly made encouraging progress. Rupert Keegan’s engine failure forced him into an older Surtees with unsuitable gear ratios.

Friday afternoon timed practice

Lotus’s afternoon was much less straightforward. Peterson used the older 78 while his 79 was refurbished, and Andretti lost time to gearbox work. A reluctant restart was followed by damage to a side skirt as he left the pits. Even so, their morning advantage survived, with Lauda and Jody Scheckter battling to lead the pursuit. Lauda used the spare Brabham while his race car’s suspension was repaired.

Saturday untimed practice

Both Lotus 79s were ready again, with a replacement oil tank fitted to Peterson’s car. Lauda returned to his regular Brabham. Hunt tried an extensively revised McLaren with relocated radiators, altered rear suspension and long side skirts as the team sought a response to the ground-effect cars. The changes did not immediately restore McLaren to the leading group.

Saturday final qualifying

Peterson improved again to secure pole, beating Andretti to the head of an all-Lotus front row. Scheckter and Lauda followed, while Patrese and Jones took fifth and sixth, making strong use of their tyres. The number of harmless spins elsewhere showed how hard the field was pushing to close the gap.

Hunt remained well down the grid despite McLaren’s experimentation. Rolf Stommelen, Geoff Lees, Rupert Keegan and Tony Trimmer failed to qualify. Peterson’s pole gave him the choice of starting side, and he selected the left to avoid the pronounced camber on the other side.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	6	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:16.80
2	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:17.060
3	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:17.370
4	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:17.420
5	35	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	1:18.280
6	27	Alan Jones	Williams	1:18.360
7	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:18.440
8	11	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:18.450
9	2	John Watson	Brabham	1:18.570
10	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:18.730
11	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:18.780
12	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:18.880
13	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:18.990
14	7	James Hunt	McLaren	1:19.050
15	22	Derek Daly	Ensign	1:19.130
16	33	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	1:19.790
17	17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	1:19.830
18	16	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	1:19.980
19	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:19.990
20	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:20.140
21	25	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	1:20.240
22	10	Keke Rosberg	ATS	1:20.270
23	37	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	1:20.350
24	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren	1:20.390
25	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	1:20.700
26	9	Jochen Mass	ATS	1:20.710
27	18	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	1:20.730
28	36	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows	1:21.050
29	23	Geoff Lees	Ensign	1:21.410
30	40	Tony Trimmer	McLaren	1:28.280

Sunday warm-up

Watson tried the spare Brabham during the final morning session and elected to race it. Renault also confirmed its choice of chassis, while Fittipaldi prepared his lightened car. A dry, warm day offered consistent conditions, but Lotus still appeared to hold the performance advantage as the teams completed their preparations.

What happened in the 1978 British Grand Prix?

Andretti led Peterson away and the two Lotuses quickly drew clear. Their apparent control unravelled when Peterson stopped with fuel-system trouble. Andretti then needed a stop for a puncture before engine failure ended his race. Scheckter inherited the lead, pursued by Jones, Lauda and Patrese.

Mechanical trouble kept reshaping the contest. Jones lost drive, Scheckter developed gearbox problems and Lauda moved ahead before the Wolf retired. Patrese’s puncture and subsequent suspension damage removed another challenger. Reutemann, meanwhile, had worked forward from eighth and began closing on the leading Brabham.

Reutemann passed Lauda while they negotiated Bruno Giacomelli’s McLaren and held the lead through a closely fought finish. His winning margin was only 1.2 seconds. Watson completed the podium, ahead of Depailler, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Tambay, while Lotus left a weekend of exceptional qualifying pace without a point.

After the race, Mario Andretti headed the drivers’ standings with 45 points, followed by Ronnie Peterson on 36. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 58, with Brabham – Alfa Romeo on 40.

1978 British Grand Prix race results

The 1978 British Grand Prix was held on 16 July 1978.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	11	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	76	1:42:12.39	9
2	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham	76	+ 1.23	6
3	2	John Watson	Brabham	76	+ 37.25	4
4	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	76	+ 1:13.27	3
5	16	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	75	+ 1 Lap	2
6	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	75	+ 1 Lap	1
7	33	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	75	+ 1 Lap	0
8	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren	75	+ 1 Lap	0
9	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	75	+ 1 Lap	0
10	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	73	+ 3 Laps	0
NC	9	Jochen Mass	ATS	66	+ 11 Laps	0
Ret	10	Keke Rosberg	ATS	59	Suspension	0
Ret	17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	49	Gearbox	0
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	46	Turbo	0
Ret	35	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	40	Suspension	0
Ret	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	40	Gearbox	0
Ret	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	36	Gearbox	0
Ret	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	32	Engine	0
Ret	37	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	32	Fuel System	0
Ret	22	Derek Daly	Ensign	30	Wheel	0
Ret	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus	28	Engine	0
Ret	27	Alan Jones	Williams	26	Transmission	0
Ret	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	19	Transmission	0
Ret	25	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	15	Gearbox	0
Ret	7	James Hunt	McLaren	7	Accident	0
Ret	6	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	6	Fuel Leak	0
DNQ	18	Rupert Keegan	Surtees			0
DNQ	36	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows			0
DNQ	23	Geoff Lees	Ensign			0
DNQ	40	Tony Trimmer	McLaren			0

1978 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham	72	1:18.600

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 British Grand Prix.

1978 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Mario Andretti	American	Lotus	45
2	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	Lotus	36
3	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Ferrari	31
4	Niki Lauda	Austrian	Brabham	31
5	Patrick Depailler	French	Tyrrell	26
6	John Watson	British	Brabham	16
7	Jacques Laffite	French	Ligier	10
8	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Arrows	8
9	James Hunt	British	McLaren	8
10	Jody Scheckter	South African	Wolf	8
11	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Fittipaldi	7
12	Alan Jones	Australian	Williams	5
13	Patrick Tambay	French	McLaren	5
14	Didier Pironi	French	Tyrrell	5
15	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Shadow	4
16	Gilles Villeneuve	Canadian	Ferrari	3
17	Hans-Joachim Stuck	German	Shadow	2
–	Brett Lunger	American	McLaren	0
–	Bruno Giacomelli	Italian	McLaren	0
–	Jochen Mass	German	ATS	0
–	Vittorio Brambilla	Italian	Surtees	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	ATS	0
–	Rolf Stommelen	German	Arrows	0
–	René Arnoux	French	Martini	0
–	Hector Rebaque	Mexican	Lotus	0
–	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	French	Renault	0
–	Rupert Keegan	British	Surtees	0
–	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ensign	0
–	Keke Rosberg	Finnish	Theodore / ATS	0
–	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Merzario	0
–	Danny Ongais	American	Ensign / Shadow	0
–	Derek Daly	Irish	Hesketh / Ensign	0
–	Lamberto Leoni	Italian	Ensign	0
–	Eddie Cheever	American	Theodore / Hesketh	0

1978 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	58
2	Brabham – Alfa Romeo	40
3	Ferrari	31
4	Tyrrell – Ford	28
5	McLaren – Ford	12
6	Ligier – Matra	10
7	Arrows – Ford	8
8	Wolf – Ford	8
9	Fittipaldi – Ford	7
10	Shadow – Ford	6
11	Williams – Ford	5
—	ATS – Ford	0
—	Surtees – Ford	0
—	Martini – Ford	0
—	Renault	0
—	Ensign – Ford	0
—	Merzario – Ford	0
—	Theodore – Ford	0
—	Hesketh – Ford	0
—	March – 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