| 1978 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 2 July 1978 | ||
| Official name | 64e Grand Prix de France | ||
| Location |
Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, Var, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.809 km (3.610 miles) | ||
| Distance | 54 laps, 313.686 km (194.915 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
| Time | 1:44.41 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:48.56 on lap 48 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | McLaren-Ford | ||
|
Lap leaders
| |||
The 1978 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 2 July 1978. It was the ninth race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The 54-lap race was won by Mario Andretti, driving a Lotus-Ford, with teammate Ronnie Peterson second and James Hunt third in a McLaren-Ford. This would prove to be the final podium for Hunt.
Report
Following the voluntary withdrawal of the "fan car", Brabham had to revert to their previous car again, but it did not deter them, with John Watson on pole and Niki Lauda starting third behind Mario Andretti's Lotus. At the start, Watson led into the first corner, with Andretti following, and Patrick Tambay putting his McLaren in third, but that order did not remain for long as Andretti took the lead from Watson on the first lap. Lauda and Ronnie Peterson were on the move as well, as they passed Watson and Tambay to jump into second and third, but Lauda suffered another engine failure. This left the two Lotus cars running 1–2 and they finished like that with Andretti taking his third win in four races, and the podium was completed by James Hunt who passed Watson mid-race.
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |  John Watson
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:47.20 | 1:44.41 | 1:45.97 | — |
| 2 | 5 |  Mario Andretti
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:47.50 | 1:44.46 | 1:45.02 | +0.05 |
| 3 | 1 |  Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:45.52 | 1:45.02 | 1:44.71 | +0.30 |
| 4 | 7 | James Hunt
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:46.20 | 1:45.32 | 1:44.92 | +0.51 |
| 5 | 6 |  Ronnie Peterson
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:46.46 | 1:45.10 | 1:44.98 | +0.57 |
| 6 | 8 |  Patrick Tambay
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:47.06 | 1:45.07 | 1:46.15 | +0.66 |
| 7 | 20 |  Jody Scheckter
|
Wolf-Ford | 1:46.10 | 1:45.20 | 1:46.33 | +0.79 |
| 8 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann
|
Ferrari | 1:46.50 | 1:45.35 | 1:45.82 | +0.94 |
| 9 | 12 |  Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari | 1:50.72 | 1:45.55 | 1:46.56 | +1.14 |
| 10 | 26 | Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra | 1:47.44 | 1:45.68 | 1:45.86 | +1.27 |
| 11 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault | 1:47.34 | 1:45.73 | 1:46.84 | +1.32 |
| 12 | 35 |  Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:48.30 | 1:46.39 | 1:46.32 | +1.91 |
| 13 | 4 | Patrick Depailler
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:48.67 | 1:46.37 | 1:46.74 | +1.96 |
| 14 | 27 |  Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford | 1:47.89 | 1:46.55 | 1:46.40 | +1.99 |
| 15 | 14 |  Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:47.89 | 1:47.04 | 1:46.70 | +2.29 |
| 16 | 3 | Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:49.36 | 1:48.10 | 1:47.12 | +2.71 |
| 17 | 17 |  Clay Regazzoni
|
Shadow-Ford | 1:50.44 | 1:48.73 | 1:48.55 | +4.14 |
| 18 | 31 | René Arnoux
|
Martini-Ford | 1:49.48 | 1:48.68 | 1:49.46 | +4.27 |
| 19 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla
|
Surtees-Ford | 1:50.39 | 1:49.23 | 1:50.07 | +4.27 |
| 20 | 16 |  Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
Shadow-Ford | 1:48.89 | 1:49.07 | 1:50.18 | +4.48 |
| 21 | 36 | Rolf Stommelen
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:51.07 | 1:49.14 | 1:50.51 | +4.73 |
| 22 | 33 | Bruno Giacomelli
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:54.67 | 1:50.77 | 1:49.53 | +5.12 |
| 23 | 18 | Rupert Keegan
|
Surtees-Ford | 1:52.22 | 1:50.10 | 1:49.54 | +5.13 |
| 24 | 30 | Brett Lunger
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:51.26 | 1:49.65 | 1:49.55 | +5.14 |
| 25 | 9 | Jochen Mass
|
ATS-Ford | 1:51.53 | 1:50.10 | 1:49.90 | +5.49 |
| 26 | 10 |  Keke Rosberg
|
ATS-Ford | 1:57.92 | 1:51.01 | 1:50.09 | +5.68 |
| 27 | 37 | Arturo Merzario
|
Merzario-Ford | 1:50.11 | 1:50.47 | 1:50.80 | +5.70 |
| 28 | 22 |  Derek Daly
|
Ensign-Ford | 1:54.28 | 1:50.19 | 1:50.61 | +5.78 |
| 29 | 25 |  Héctor Rebaque
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:54.03 | 1:51.54 | 1:50.40 | +5.99 |
| Source: | |||||||
*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.
Race
Notes
- This was the 9th win of the French Grand Prix for a Ford-powered car. It broke the previous record set by Ferrari at the 1975 French Grand Prix.
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1978". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- "1978 French Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 2 July 1978. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- "1978 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "France 1978 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
| Previous race: 1978 Swedish Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1978 season |
Next race: 1978 British Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1977 French Grand Prix |
French Grand Prix | Next race: 1979 French Grand Prix |
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