1978 F1 World Championship

The 1978 FIA Formula One World Championship began on 15 January and concluded on 8 October, over 16 race weekends. In addition to the championship events, the year also included a non-championship race, the BRDC International Trophy.

Season

The World Drivers’ Championship was won by Mario Andretti, driving for Team Lotus. Andretti delivered a dominant season behind the wheel of the innovative Lotus car and ultimately secured the championship ahead of his rivals. His triumph remains historically significant, as he continues to be the most recent American driver to win the Formula One World Championship. His victory at the Dutch Grand Prix during the season also stands as the most recent Formula One race win by an American driver.

Andretti’s teammate, Ronnie Peterson, was posthumously classified second in the Drivers’ Championship. Peterson had been a major contender during the season but tragically lost his life following injuries sustained in a multi-car accident at the start of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Although he survived the initial crash, complications from his injuries later proved fatal, casting a shadow over the championship.

The Constructors’ Championship—known at the time as the International Cup for Formula One Constructors—was won by Lotus, the last Constructors’ title in the team’s history. Ferrari finished second in the standings, while Brabham placed third.

In the Drivers’ standings behind Andretti and Peterson, Carlos Reutemann finished third for Ferrari, delivering the team’s strongest individual performance of the year. Niki Lauda, who had been the reigning World Champion earlier in the decade with Ferrari, endured a difficult campaign after leaving the Italian team at the end of 1977. Driving for Brabham, Lauda finished fourth in the championship, while Ferrari itself struggled to replicate the dominance it had enjoyed in previous seasons.

The year was also marked by further tragedy beyond Peterson’s accident. Swedish driver Gunnar Nilsson, who had been forced to step away from Formula One after the 1977 season due to illness, died from cancer in 1978. Nilsson had been considered one of the sport’s promising talents, and his death, along with Peterson’s, made the season a particularly sombre chapter in F1 history.

1978 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	No	Driver	Rounds
Parmalat Racing	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	BT45C BT46 BT46B BT46C	Alfa Romeo 115-12 3.0 F12 Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12	G	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	G	3	Didier Pironi	All
					4	Patrick Depailler	All
					33		14–15
John Player Team Lotus	Lotus-Ford	78 79	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	5	Mario Andretti	All
					6	Ronnie Peterson	1–14
					55	Jean-Pierre Jariera	15–16
Marlboro Team McLaren Löwenbräu Team McLaren	McLaren-Ford	M26	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	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	HS1 D1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	9	Jochen Mass	1–13
					9	Michael Bleekemolen	14–16
					10	Jean-Pierre Jarier	1–5, 11
					10	Alberto Colombo	6–7
					10	Keke Rosberg	8–10, 15–16
					10	Hans Binder	12
					10	Michael Bleekemolen	13
					10	Harald Ertl	14
SEFAC Ferrari	Ferrari	312T2 312T3	Ferrari 015 3.0 F12	M	11	Carlos Reutemann	All
					12	Gilles Villeneuve	All
Fittipaldi Automotive	Fittipaldi-Ford	F5A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	All
Équipe Renault Elf	Renault Elf	RS01	Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t	M	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	3–16
					16	René Arnoux	All
Villiger Shadow	Shadow-Ford	DN8 DN9	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	16	Hans-Joachim Stuck	All
					17	Clay Regazzoni	All
Durex Team Surtees Beta Team Surtees	Surtees-Ford	TS19 TS20	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	18	Rupert Keegan	1–13
					18	“Gimax”	14
					18	René Arnoux	15–16
					19	Vittorio Brambilla	1–14
					19	Beppe Gabbiani	15–16
Walter Wolf Racing	Wolf-Ford	WR1 WR3 WR5 WR6	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	20	Jody Scheckter	All
					21	Bobby Rahal	15–16
Team Tissot Ensign	Ensign-Ford	N177 N175	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	22	Danny Ongais	1–2
					22	Lamberto Leoni	3–4
					22	Jacky Ickx	5–8
					22	Derek Daly	9–10, 12–16
					22	Nelson Piquet	11
					23	Lamberto Leoni	1–2
					23	Bernard de Dryver	6
					23	Brett Lunger	15
					23	Harald Ertl	11–14
					23	Geoff Lees	10
Olympus Cameras with Hesketh Racing	Hesketh-Ford	308E	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	24	Divina Galica	1–2
					24	Eddie Cheever	3
					24	Derek Daly	4–6
Team Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	78	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	25	Héctor Rebaque	All
Ligier Gitanes	Ligier-Matra	JS7 JS7/9 JS9	Matra MS76 3.0 V12 Matra MS78 3.0 V12	G	26	Jacques Laffite	All
Williams Grand Prix Engineering	Williams-Ford	FW06	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	27	Alan Jones	All
Centro Asegurador F1	McLaren-Ford	M25/M23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	28	Emilio de Villota	7
Patrick Nève	March-Ford	781S	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	29	Patrick Nève	6
BS Fabrications Liggett Group with BS Fabrications	McLaren-Ford	M23 M26	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	29	Nelson Piquet	12–14
					30	Brett Lunger	1–14
Automobiles Martini	Martini-Ford	MK23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	31	René Arnoux	3, 5–6, 9–13
Theodore Racing Hong Kong	Theodore-Ford	TR1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	32	Eddie Cheever	1–2
					32	Keke Rosberg	3–7
	Wolf-Ford	WR3 WR4	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8		32	Keke Rosberg	11–14
Team Merzario	Merzario-Ford	A1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	34	Alberto Colombo	14
					37	Arturo Merzario	All
Arrows Racing Team Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	Arrows-Ford	FA1 A1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	35	Riccardo Patrese	3–14, 16
					36		2
					36	Rolf Stommelen	3–16
Interscope Racing	Shadow-Ford	DN9	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	39	Danny Ongais	4, 13
Melchester Racing	McLaren-Ford	M23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	40	Tony Trimmer	10

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 Grand Prix Circuit, Midrand	4 March
4	1978 United States Grand Prix West	Long Beach Street Circuit, California	2 April
5	1978 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	7 May
6	1978 Belgian Grand Prix	Zolder, Heusden-Zolder	21 May
7	1978 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, Madrid	4 June
8	1978 Swedish Grand Prix	Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp	17 June
9	1978 French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard Circuit, Le Castellet	2 July
10	1978 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, Kent	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 Grand Prix Course, New York	1 October
16	1978 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Île Notre-Dame, Montréal	8 October

1978 Formula 1 Race Results

Grands Prix

Round	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning constructor	Report
1	1978 Argentine Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Gilles Villeneuve	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	Report
2	1978 Brazilian Grand Prix	Ronnie Peterson	Carlos Reutemann	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Report
3	1978 South African Grand Prix	Niki Lauda	Mario Andretti	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	Report
4	1978 United States Grand Prix West	Carlos Reutemann	Alan Jones	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Report
5	1978 Monaco Grand Prix	Carlos Reutemann	Niki Lauda	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell-Ford	Report
6	1978 Belgian Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Ronnie Peterson	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	Report
7	1978 Spanish Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Mario Andretti	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	Report
8	1978 Swedish Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Niki Lauda	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	Report
9	1978 French Grand Prix	John Watson	Carlos Reutemann	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	Report
10	1978 British Grand Prix	Ronnie Peterson	Niki Lauda	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Report
11	1978 German Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Ronnie Peterson	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	Report
12	1978 Austrian Grand Prix	Ronnie Peterson	Ronnie Peterson	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus-Ford	Report
13	1978 Dutch Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Niki Lauda	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	Report
14	1978 Italian Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Mario Andretti	Niki Lauda*	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	Report
15	1978 United States Grand Prix	Mario Andretti	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Report
16	1978 Canadian Grand Prix	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Alan Jones	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	Report

1978 Formula 1 Standings

Driver standings

Team standings