Indeed, it was Andretti who surged into the lead early on, dragging South African hero Jody Scheckter along with him in the Wolf. In terms of qualifying it was Lauda whom grabbed pole in an updated Brabham, only to get beaten off the line at the start. Kyalami returned to host the third race of the season, and 300th World Championship race, albeit after a five week break since the race in Brazil. Riccardo Patrese came so close to a shock win in his Arrows. Andretti was then set to claim second, only for his gearbox to jam in the closing stages, allowing Emerson Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda to sweep past and onto the podium. Peterson was among those to stuggle, slipping back early on, while Hunt was forced to abandon second when he burned through his tyres. Reutemann would go unchallenged after the opening lap, his Michelin tyres lasting the distance far better than the Goodyears used by the everyone else bar Gilles Villeneuve. Peterson got away in second ahead of Hunt and Andretti, while a clash further down put Riccardo Patrese and Watson down the order. Yet, unlike his teammate Andretti, Peterson was unable to convert pole into a lead at the start, for Reutemann came charging through from fourth to claim the lead. It was Peterson who grabbed pole for the Brazilian Grand Prix on the 29 January, with Jacarepaguá hosting a Grand Prix for the first time. Lauda therefore inherited second ahead of Peterson, before Peterson himself slipped back behind Patrick Depailler and James Hunt as Andretti claimed a dominant victory. Watson duly barged his way through to second, only to drop out of contention with an overheating engine. Mario Andretti completed a very lonely Sunday drive with victory for Lotus.Īndretti would soon disappear at the front of the field, aided by some dramatic tyre wear for Reutemann, which ultimately resulted in the Argentine racer slipping out of the top three.
Carlos Reutemann led the chase from second for Ferrari, while John Watson and Niki Lauda led the Brabham- Alfa Romeo charge in third and fourth. Regardless, the first pole of the season would be earned by Lotus stalwart Mario Andretti, who duly converted his quali-pace into an early lead. The 1979 season opened with the annual trip to the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires in Argentina, with several changes to the field prior to the early 15 January start. Season Review Pre-Season Race 1: Argentine Grand Prix The full Non-Championship Schedule for 1978 is outlined below: * The race originally began with 52 laps, but the red flag appeared when the race was shorten to 40 laps after Peterson's fatal accident.The full World Championship Schedule for 1978 is outlined below: * Emilio drove M25 in the Spanish Grand Prix, but his car crashed and drove McLaren M23 instead in the practice session.Ĭalendar World Championship Schedule.The full entry list for the 1978 Formula One Season is outlined below:
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