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 |  Ronnie Peterson |
Lotus-Ford |
| Time | 1:40.45 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver |  Carlos Reutemann |
Ferrari |
| Time | 1:43.07 on lap 35 | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Carlos Reutemann |
Ferrari |
| Second |  Emerson Fittipaldi |
Fittipaldi-Ford |
| Third |  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 | Carlos Reutemann |
Ferrari | 63 | 1:49:59.86 | 4 | 9 |
| 2 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
Fittipaldi-Ford | 63 | +49.13 secs | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 1 | Niki Lauda |
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 63 | +57.02 secs | 10 | 4 |
| 4 | 5 |  Mario Andretti |
Lotus-Ford | 63 | +1:33.12 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 17 |  Clay Regazzoni |
Shadow-Ford | 62 | +1 Lap | 15 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 |  Didier Pironi |
Tyrrell-Ford | 62 | +1 Lap | 19 | 1 |
| 7 | 9 |  Jochen Mass |
ATS-Ford | 62 | +1 Lap | 20 | |
| 8 | 2 |  John Watson |
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 61 | +2 Laps | 21 | |
| 9 | 26 | Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Matra | 61 | +2 Laps | 14 | |
| 10 | 36 |  Riccardo Patrese |
Arrows-Ford | 59 | +4 Laps | 18 | |
| 11 | 27 |  Alan Jones |
Williams-Ford | 58 | +5 Laps | 8 | |
| Ret | 25 |  Hector Rebaque |
Lotus-Ford | 40 | Physical | 22 | |
| Ret | 12 |  Gilles Villeneuve |
Ferrari | 35 | Spun Off | 6 | |
| Ret | 8 | Patrick Tambay |
McLaren-Ford | 34 | Spun Off | 5 | |
| Ret | 7 | James Hunt |
McLaren-Ford | 25 | Spun Off | 2 | |
| Ret | 16 | Hans Joachim Stuck |
Shadow-Ford | 25 | Fuel System | 9 | |
| Ret | 20 |  Jody Scheckter |
Wolf-Ford | 16 | Accident | 12 | |
| Ret | 6 | Ronnie Peterson |
Lotus-Ford | 15 | Collision | 1 | |
| Ret | 22 | Danny Ongais |
Ensign-Ford | 13 | Brakes | 23 | |
| Ret | 30 | Brett Lunger |
McLaren-Ford | 11 | Overheating | 13 | |
| Ret | 4 | Patrick Depailler |
Tyrrell-Ford | 8 | Accident | 11 | |
| Ret | 18 | Rupert Keegan |
Surtees-Ford | 5 | Accident | 24 | |
| DNS | 23 | Lamberto Leoni |
Ensign-Ford | 0 | Transmission | 17 | |
| DNS | 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier |
ATS-Ford | Mass Drove Car | 16 | ||
| DNQ | 37 | Arturo Merzario |
Merzario-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 32 | Eddie Cheever |
Theodore-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla |
Surtees-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 24 | Divina Galica |
Hesketh-Ford |
Lap leaders
- Lap Leaders: Carlos Reutemann 63 laps (1-63).
Standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
| Previous race: 1978 Argentine Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1978 season |
Next race: 1978 South African Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix |
Brazilian Grand Prix | Next race: 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix |
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