1978 Brazilian Grand Prix
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Winner | |
| Pole position |
|
| Fastest lap | |
| Circuit | Jacarepagua, 63 laps |
| Round | 2 of 16 |
| Race numbers | The 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix was the:
|
| More 1978 season | |
| More Brazilian Grands Prix |
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +3 | (ARG) Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 63 | 1hr 49m 59.860s | 9 |
| 2 | +5 | (BRA) Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 63 | +49.130s | 6 |
| 3 | +7 | (AUT) Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 63 | +57.020s | 4 |
| 4 | -1 | (USA) Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 63 | +1m 33.120s | 3 |
| 5 | +10 | (CHE) Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 62 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | +13 | (FRA) Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 62 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | +13 | (DEU) Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 62 | +1 lap | |
| 8 | +13 | (GBR) John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 61 | +2 laps | |
| 9 | +5 | (FRA) Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 61 | +2 laps | |
| 10 | +8 | (ITA) Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 59 | +4 laps | |
| 11 | -3 | (AUS) Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 58 | +5 laps | |
| R | (MEX) Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (privateer) | 40 | DNF | ||
| R | (CAN) Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 35 | DNF | ||
| R | (FRA) Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 34 | DNF | ||
| R | (DEU) Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 25 | DNF | ||
| R | (GBR) James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 25 | DNF | ||
| R | (ZAF) Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 16 | DNF | ||
| R | (SWE) Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 15 | DNF | ||
| R | (USA) Danny Ongais | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 13 | DNF | ||
| R | (USA) Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford Cosworth (privateer) | 11 | DNF | ||
| R | (FRA) Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 8 | DNF | ||
| R | (GBR) Rupert Keegan | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 5 | DNF | ||
| Did not start | ||||||
| (ITA) Lamberto Leoni | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | |||||
| (FRA) Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS-Ford Cosworth | |||||
Notes
- Lamberto Leoni did not start the Grand Prix due to a driveshaft issue on the formation lap.
- Jean-Pierre Jarier did not start. Jochen Mass raced his car instead.
Starting grid
Pole time: 1:40.450
| Pos | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (SWE) Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| 2 | (GBR) James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 3 | (USA) Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| 4 | (ARG) Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari |
| 5 | (FRA) Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 6 | (CAN) Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 7 | (BRA) Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth |
| 8 | (AUS) Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 9 | (DEU) Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
| 10 | (AUT) Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
| 11 | (FRA) Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 12 | (ZAF) Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth |
| 13 | (USA) Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford Cosworth (privateer) |
| 14 | (FRA) Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra |
| 15 | (CHE) Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
| 16 | ||
| 17 | ||
| 18 | (ITA) Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 19 | (FRA) Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 20 | (DEU) Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford Cosworth |
| 21 | (GBR) John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
| 22 | (MEX) Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (privateer) |
| 23 | (USA) Danny Ongais | Ensign-Ford Cosworth |
| 24 | (GBR) Rupert Keegan | Surtees-Ford Cosworth |
Championship standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (USA) Mario Andretti | 12 |
| 2 | (AUT) Niki Lauda | 10 |
| 3 | (ARG) Carlos Reutemann | 9 |
| 4 | (BRA) Emerson Fittipaldi | 6 |
| 5 | (FRA) Patrick Depailler | 4 |
| 6 | (GBR) James Hunt | 3 |
| 7 | (SWE) Ronnie Peterson | 2 |
| = | (CHE) Clay Regazzoni | 2 |
| 9 | (FRA) Patrick Tambay | 1 |
| = | (FRA) Didier Pironi | 1 |
Stats & milestones
- Race debut
- Arrows
- Last start
- Danny Ongais
- Milestone race start
- 50th for Jacques Laffite (39th driver to start 50 races, 7th French driver) & Hans-Joachim Stuck (40th driver to start 50 races, 2nd German driver)
- Wins
- 6th for Carlos Reutemann
- 69th for Ferrari
- Podiums
- 34th for Emerson Fittipaldi (first podium since 1975 and last until 1980; first for Fittipaldi)
- 34th for Niki Lauda
- 19th for Carlos Reutemann
- 236th for Ferrari
- 78th for Brabham
- 1st for Fittipaldi (36th different podium finisher)
- Poles
- 12th for Ronnie Peterson (first since 1976)
- 77th for Lotus
- Fastest laps
- 2nd for Carlos Reutemann (first since 1974; first for Ferrari)
- 82nd for Ferrari
- Front row starts
- 24th and last for James Hunt
- 20th for Ronnie Peterson (16th driver to achieve 20 front row starts, 1st Swedish driver; first since 1976)
- Points finishes
- 1st for Didier Pironi (192nd different point scorer, 19th French driver)
- Win & fastest lap
- 2nd for Carlos Reutemann (first since 1974 and last until 1980; first Argentine driver to win and set the fastest lap since 1974; only win and fastest lap for Ferrari)