1978 Brazilian Grand Prix

Brazil  1978 Brazilian Grand Prix
Race details
Race 2 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season

Date January 29, 1978
Location Jacarepagua, Brazil
Course Permanent racing facility
5.031 km (3.126 mi)
Distance 63 laps, 316.953 km (196.938 mi)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver Sweden Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford
Time 1:40.45
Fastest lap
Driver Argentina Carlos Reutemann Ferrari
Time 1:43.07 on lap 35
Podium
First Argentina Carlos Reutemann Ferrari
Second Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford
Third Austria Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo

The 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 January 1978 at Jacarepagua. The race was won by Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann driving a Ferrari 312T2 in a flag-to-flag performance. The win also represented the first win for tyre manufacturer Michelin. Local driver Emerson Fittipaldi was second, scoring the first podium finish for the Fittipaldi Automotive with Austrian Brabham driver Niki Lauda finishing third. French driver Didier Pironi took his first points in Formula One, finishing sixth.

Classification

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 11 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Ferrari 63 1:49:59.86 4 9
2 14 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 63 +49.13 secs 7 6
3 1 Austria Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo 63 +57.02 secs 10 4
4 5 United States Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 63 +1:33.12 3 3
5 17 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Shadow-Ford 62 +1 Lap 15 2
6 3 France Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford 62 +1 Lap 19 1
7 9 Germany Jochen Mass ATS-Ford 62 +1 Lap 20
8 2 United Kingdom John Watson Brabham-Alfa Romeo 61 +2 Laps 21
9 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 61 +2 Laps 14
10 36 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 59 +4 Laps 18
11 27 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 58 +5 Laps 8
Ret 25 Mexico Hector Rebaque Lotus-Ford 40 Physical 22
Ret 12 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 35 Spun Off 6
Ret 8 France Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford 34 Spun Off 5
Ret 7 United Kingdom James Hunt McLaren-Ford 25 Spun Off 2
Ret 16 Germany Hans Joachim Stuck Shadow-Ford 25 Fuel System 9
Ret 20 South Africa Jody Scheckter Wolf-Ford 16 Accident 12
Ret 6 Sweden Ronnie Peterson Lotus-Ford 15 Collision 1
Ret 22 United States Danny Ongais Ensign-Ford 13 Brakes 23
Ret 30 United States Brett Lunger McLaren-Ford 11 Overheating 13
Ret 4 France Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 8 Accident 11
Ret 18 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan Surtees-Ford 5 Accident 24
DNS 23 Italy Lamberto Leoni Ensign-Ford 0 Transmission 17
DNS 10 France Jean-Pierre Jarier ATS-Ford Mass Drove Car 16
DNQ 37 Italy Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford
DNQ 32 United States Eddie Cheever Theodore-Ford
DNQ 19 Italy Vittorio Brambilla Surtees-Ford
DNQ 24 United Kingdom Divina Galica Hesketh-Ford

Lap leaders

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 United States Mario Andretti 12
2 Austria Niki Lauda 10
3 Argentina Carlos Reutemann 9
4 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 6
5 France Patrick Depailler 4

Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Constructor Points
1 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 12
2 United Kingdom Brabham-Alfa Romeo 10
3 Italy Ferrari 9
4 Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford 6
5 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 5

Previous race:
1978 Argentine Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1978 season
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1978 South African Grand Prix
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1977 Brazilian Grand Prix
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1979 Brazilian Grand Prix