1978 Belgian Grand Prix
303rd World Championship race, 25th World Championship Belgian Grand Prix, 5th World Championship race at Zolder
Fact File
| Date: | Sunday, 21 May 1978 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Mario Andretti  Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| Pole position: | Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| Fastest lap: |  Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| Circuit: | Zolder, 70 laps |
| Round: | 6 of 16 |
Race Result
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 70 | 1hr 39m 52.020s | 9 | |
| 2 | +5 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 70 | +9.900s | 6 |
| 3 | -1 |  Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 70 | +24.340s | 4 |
| 4 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 70 | +47.040s | 3 | |
| 5 | +9 |  Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 69 | DNF | 2 |
| 6 | +17 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 69 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | +17 | Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford Cosworth (P) | 69 | +1 lap | |
| 8 | +13 |  Bruno Giacomelli | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 69 | +1 lap | |
| 9 | +10 | Rene Arnoux | Martini-Ford Cosworth | 68 | +2 laps | |
| 10 | +1 |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 68 | +2 laps | |
| 11 | +5 |  Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 68 | +2 laps | |
| 12 | +10 |  Jacky Ickx | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 64 | +6 laps | |
| 13 | -1 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 63 | DNF | |
| R | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 56 | DNF | ||
| NC | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 56 | +14 laps | ||
| R |  Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 53 | DNF | ||
| R | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 51 | DNF | ||
| R |  Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 40 | DNF | ||
| R | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 31 | DNF | ||
| R | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 26 | DNF | ||
| R | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 18 | DNF | ||
| R |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
| R | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
| R |  Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 0 | DNF | ||
| Did not start | ||||||
| Patrick Neve | March-Ford Cosworth (P) | |||||
- Patrick Neve withdrew from the grand prix after his race entry was cancelled.
Starting Grid
- Highlight: race winner
- Highlight: second place
- Highlight: third place
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.900 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:21.690 |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:21.700 |
| 4 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:21.770 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.120 |
| 6 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.500 |
| 7 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.620 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.250 |
| 9 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:23.260 |
| 10 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:23.580 |
| 11 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.710 |
| 12 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.780 |
| 13 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.820 |
| 14 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:23.900 |
| 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.110 |
| 16 | Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.140 |
| 17 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.140 |
| 18 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.180 |
| 19 | Rene Arnoux | Martini-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.280 |
| 20 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.470 |
| 21 | Bruno Giacomelli | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.810 |
| 22 | Jacky Ickx | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.820 |
| 23 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.850 |
| 24 | Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:24.990 |
Qualifying Result
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.900 | |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:21.690 | 0.790 |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:21.700 | 0.800 |
| 4 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:21.770 | 0.870 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.120 | 1.220 |
| 6 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.500 | 1.600 |
| 7 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.620 | 1.720 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.250 | 2.350 |
| 9 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:23.260 | 2.360 |
| 10 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:23.580 | 2.680 |
| 11 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.710 | 2.810 |
| 12 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.780 | 2.880 |
| 13 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:23.820 | 2.920 |
| 14 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:23.900 | 3.000 |
| 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.110 | 3.210 |
| 16 | Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.140 | 3.240 |
| 17 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.140 | 3.240 |
| 18 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.180 | 3.280 |
| 19 | Rene Arnoux | Martini-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.280 | 3.380 |
| 20 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.470 | 3.570 |
| 21 | Bruno Giacomelli | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.810 | 3.910 |
| 22 | Jacky Ickx | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.820 | 3.920 |
| 23 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:24.850 | 3.950 |
| 24 | Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:24.990 | 4.090 |
| Did not qualify | ||||
| 25 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:25.400 | 4.500 |
| 26 |  Derek Daly | Hesketh-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:25.690 | 4.790 |
| 27 |  Keke Rosberg | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 1:25.870 | 4.970 |
| 28 | Alberto Colombo | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.010 | 5.110 |
| Did not pre-qualify | ||||
| 29 |  Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (P) | 1:25.100 | 4.200 |
| 30 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.690 | 5.790 |
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | 27 |
| 2 | Patrick Depailler | 23 |
| 3 | Carlos Reutemann | 22 |
| 4 | Ronnie Peterson | 20 |
| 5 | Niki Lauda | 16 |
| 6 | John Watson | 7 |
| 7 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 6 |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | 6 |
| 9 | Didier Pironi | 5 |
| 10 | Jody Scheckter | 4 |
| 11 | James Hunt | 3 |
| = | Alan Jones | 3 |
| = | Gilles Villeneuve | 3 |
| 14 | Clay Regazzoni | 2 |
| 15 | Riccardo Patrese | 2 |
| 16 | Patrick Tambay | 1 |
Statistics & Milestones
- Race debut
- Driver: Rene Arnoux
- Constructor: Martini
- Wins
- Driver: 8th for Mario Andretti
- Constructor: 66th for Lotus
- Race 1-2
- Constructor: 5th for Lotus
- Podiums
- Driver: 21st for Ronnie Peterson & Carlos Reutemann, 13th for Mario Andretti
- Constructor: 238th for Ferrari, 118th & 119th for Lotus
- Poles
- Driver: 11th for Mario Andretti
- Constructor: 78th for Lotus
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 7th for Ronnie Peterson
- Constructor: 58th for Lotus
- Front row starts
- Driver: 14th for Mario Andretti, 13th for Carlos Reutemann
- Points finishes
- Driver: 25th for Mario Andretti, 1st for Gilles Villeneuve (193rd different point scorer, 1st Canadian driver)
- Pole & win
- Driver: 5th for Mario Andretti