1978 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1978 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on 27 August 1978. It was the 13th race of the 1978 Formula One season.
| 1978 Dutch Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 27 August 1978 | ||
| Location | Zandvoort | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.252 km (2.642 mi) | ||
| Distance | 75 laps, 318.9 km (198.15 mi) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:16.36 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | |
| Time | 1:19.57 on lap 57 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
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Lap leaders
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Report
For the fourth consecutive race, the Lotuses came 1–2 in qualifying with Mario Andretti ahead of Ronnie Peterson. Niki Lauda was third in the Brabham, ahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Reutemann and Gilles Villeneuve. The top ten was completed by Jacques Laffite in the Ligier, James Hunt in the McLaren, John Watson in the second Brabham, Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the Renault, and Emerson Fittipaldi in the Fittipaldi.
At the start of the race, Andretti led from Peterson with Laffite charging up to third, while at the second corner Didier Pironi's Tyrrell collided with Riccardo Patrese's Arrows. Thereafter, the race was relatively uneventful, Peterson dutifully following Andretti while Laffite fell back down the order, enabling Lauda to reclaim third. At the end, Andretti was just over three-tenths of a second ahead of Peterson, with Lauda a further 12 seconds back; the minor points went to Watson, Fittipaldi and Villeneuve.
This fourth 1–2 finish of the season for Lotus meant that, with three races left to run, only Andretti or Peterson could take the Drivers' Championship. It would go to Andretti in the next race at Monza, when Peterson crashed fatally.
Classification
Pre-Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 |  Bruno Giacomelli |
McLaren-Ford | 1:19.59 | — |
| 2 | 30 |  Brett Lunger |
McLaren-Ford | 1:20.01 | +0.42 |
| 3 | 37 | Arturo Merzario |
Merzario-Ford | 1:20.32 | +0.73 |
| 4 | 32 |  Keke Rosberg |
Wolf-Ford | 1:20.46 | +0.87 |
| 5 | 29 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Nelson Piquet |
McLaren-Ford | 1:20.52 | +0.93 |
| 6 | 31 |  René Arnoux |
Martini-Ford | 1:20.52 | +0.93 |
| 7 | 25 |  Héctor Rebaque |
Lotus-Ford | 1:20.95 | +1.36 |
| DNPQ | 23 | Harald Ertl |
Ensign-Ford | 1:21.00 | +1.41 |
| DNPQ | 39 | Danny Ongais |
Shadow-Ford | 1:21.41 | +1.82 |
| DNPQ | 36 |  Rolf Stommelen |
Arrows-Ford | 1:22.24 | +2.65 |
Race
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Notes
- Lap leaders: Mario Andretti 75 laps (1–75).
- Rupert Keegan qualified 25th, but was unable to start after crashing his Surtees in the Sunday warm-up and injuring his hand. This promoted non-qualifier Arturo Merzario to the starting grid.
- This was Andretti's 12th and final Grand Prix win and as of 2020, the last Grand Prix to have been won by an American driver.
- This was also the last race in which Lotus came 1–2 in qualifying until the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix, and the last to date in which the team came 1–2 in the race.
- This was also the final podium, points, and race finish for Ronnie Peterson before he was killed at the next race.
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1978 Dutch Grand Prix. |
References
- "1978 Dutch Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- "Netherlands 1978 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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FIA Formula One World Championship 1978 season |
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