1978 German Grand Prix
308th World Championship race, 26th World Championship German Grand Prix, 3rd World Championship race at Hockenheim
Fact File
| Date: | Sunday, 30 July 1978 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Mario Andretti  Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| Pole position: | Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| Fastest lap: |  Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| Circuit: | Hockenheim, 45 laps |
| Round: | 11 of 16 |
Race Result
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 45 | 1hr 28m 00.900s | 9 | |
| 2 | +2 |  Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 45 | +15.350s | 6 |
| 3 | +4 |  Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 45 | +28.010s | 4 |
| 4 | +6 |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 45 | +36.880s | 3 |
| 5 | +11 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 45 | +57.260s | 2 |
| 6 | +12 |  Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (P) | 45 | +1m 37.860s | 1 |
| 7 | -2 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 45 | +1m 39.530s | |
| 8 | +7 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 45 | +1m 56.870s | |
| 9 | +5 |  Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 44 | +1 lap | |
| 10 | +9 |  Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford Cosworth (P) | 42 | +3 laps | |
| DQ |  Rolf Stommelen | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 42 | +3 laps | ||
| 11 | +12 |  Harald Ertl | Ensign-Ford Cosworth (P) | 41 | DNF | |
| R | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 36 | DNF | ||
| DQ | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 34 | DNF | ||
| R |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 31 | DNF | ||
| R | Nelson Piquet | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 31 | DNF | ||
| R | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 24 | DNF | ||
| R | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 16 | DNF | ||
| R |  Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 14 | DNF | ||
| R | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 11 | DNF | ||
| R | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 5 | DNF | ||
| R | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1 | DNF | ||
| R | Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1 | DNF | ||
| R | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF |
- Both Rolf Stommelen and James Hunt were disqualified for entering the pits via an incorrect route.
Starting Grid
- Highlight: race winner
- Highlight: second place
- Highlight: third place
- (P): privateer entry
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:51.900 |
| 2 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | |
| 4 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | |
| 5 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | |
| 6 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | |
| 7 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | |
| 8 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | |
| 9 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | |
| 10 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | |
| 11 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | |
| 12 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | |
| 13 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | |
| 14 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | |
| 15 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | |
| 16 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | |
| 17 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | |
| 18 | Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (P) | |
| 19 | Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford Cosworth (P) | |
| 20 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | |
| 21 | Nelson Piquet | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | |
| 22 | Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford Cosworth | |
| 23 | Harald Ertl | Ensign-Ford Cosworth (P) | |
| 24 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
Non qualifiers
- (P): privateer entry
| Driver | Constructor | Reason |
|---|---|---|
 Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | Did not qualify |
| Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS-Ford Cosworth | Did not qualify |
| Rupert Keegan | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | Did not qualify |
| Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford Cosworth | Did not qualify |
| Rene Arnoux | Martini-Ford Cosworth | Did not pre-qualify |
| Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford Cosworth (P) | Did not pre-qualify |
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | 54 |
| 2 | Ronnie Peterson | 36 |
| 3 | Carlos Reutemann | 31 |
| 4 | Niki Lauda | 31 |
| 5 | Patrick Depailler | 26 |
| 6 | John Watson | 16 |
| 7 | Jody Scheckter | 14 |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | 14 |
| 9 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 10 |
| 10 | Riccardo Patrese | 8 |
| 11 | James Hunt | 8 |
| 12 | Didier Pironi | 7 |
| 13 | Alan Jones | 5 |
| 14 | Patrick Tambay | 5 |
| 15 | Clay Regazzoni | 4 |
| 16 | Gilles Villeneuve | 3 |
| 17 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | 2 |
| 18 | Hector Rebaque | 1 |
Statistics & Milestones
- Race debut
- Driver: Nelson Piquet
- Wins
- Driver: 11th for Mario Andretti
- Constructor: 69th for Lotus
- Podiums
- Driver: 25th for Jody Scheckter, 16th for Mario Andretti, 8th for Jacques Laffite
- Constructor: 125th for Lotus, 11th for Wolf, 7th for Ligier
- Poles
- Driver: 14th for Mario Andretti
- Constructor: 82nd for Lotus
- Qualifying 1-2
- Constructor: 10th for Lotus
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 8th for Ronnie Peterson
- Constructor: 60th for Lotus
- Front row starts
- Driver: 23rd for Ronnie Peterson, 19th for Mario Andretti
- Points finishes
- Driver: 1st for Hector Rebaque (194th different point scorer, 3rd Mexican driver)
- Pole & win
- Driver: 7th for Mario Andretti