The 1978 South African Grand Prix started March 4th, 1978 at 01:00 on Kyalami in Midrand, South Africa. Niki Lauda started from pole position with Mario Andretti next to him. James Hunt started from third place.
After 1 hour, 42 minutes and 15 seconds Ronnie Peterson finished the race first. The podium was completed with Patrick Depailler in second and John Watson in third place.
After the 1978 South African Grand Prix, Mario Andretti is first in the Formula 1 World Championship with 12 points. Andretti is 1 points ahead of Ronnie Peterson.
After 1 hour, 42 minutes and 15 seconds Ronnie Peterson finished the race first. The podium was completed with Patrick Depailler in second and John Watson in third place.
After the 1978 South African Grand Prix, Mario Andretti is first in the Formula 1 World Championship with 12 points. Andretti is 1 points ahead of Ronnie Peterson.
Circuit
Location
Midrand, South Africa
Date
March 4th, 1978 at 01:00
Round
3/16
Winner
Ronnie Peterson
Winning time
1:42:15.767
Pole position
Niki Lauda
Results
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time/Retired | Grid | Laps | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 11 | #6 Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | 1:42:15.767 | 12 | 78 | 9 |
| 2 9 | #4 Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | +0.466 | 11 | 78 | 6 |
| 3 7 | #2 John Watson | Brabham | +4.442 | 10 | 78 | 4 |
| 4 14 | #27 Alan Jones | Williams | +30.986 | 18 | 78 | 3 |
| 5 8 | #26 Jacques Laffite | Ligier | +1:09.218 | 13 | 78 | 2 |
| 6 8 | #3 Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | +1 Lap | 14 | 77 | 1 |
| 7 5 | #5 Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | +1 Lap | 2 | 77 | 0 |
| 8 9 | #10 Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | +1 Lap | 17 | 77 | 0 |
| 9 13 | #36 Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | +1 Lap | 22 | 77 | 0 |
| 10 11 | #25 Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | +1 Lap | 21 | 77 | 0 |
| 11 9 | #30 Brett Lunger | McLaren | +2 Laps | 20 | 76 | 0 |
| 12 7 | #19 Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | +2 Laps | 19 | 76 | 0 |
| - | #35 Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | DNF (Engine) | 7 | 63 | 0 |
| - | #20 Jody Scheckter | Wolf | DNF (Spun off) | 5 | 59 | 0 |
| - | #8 Patrick Tambay | McLaren | DNF (Accident) | 4 | 56 | 0 |
| - | #12 Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | DNF (Oil leak) | 8 | 55 | 0 |
| - | #11 Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | DNF (Spun off) | 9 | 55 | 0 |
| - | #1 Niki Lauda | Brabham | DNF (Engine) | 1 | 52 | 0 |
| - | #18 Rupert Keegan | Surtees | DNF (Engine) | 23 | 52 | 0 |
| - | #9 Jochen Mass | ATS | DNF (Engine) | 15 | 43 | 0 |
| - | #37 Arturo Merzario | Merzario | DNF (Suspension) | 26 | 39 | 0 |
| - | #15 Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | DNF (Engine) | 6 | 38 | 0 |
| - | #32 Keke Rosberg | Theodore | DNF (Clutch) | 24 | 15 | 0 |
| - | #14 Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | DNF (Transmission) | 16 | 9 | 0 |
| - | #24 Eddie Cheever | Hesketh | DNF (Oil leak) | 25 | 8 | 0 |
| - | #7 James Hunt | McLaren | DNF (Engine) | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| - | #31 René Arnoux | Martini | Did not qualify | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | #17 Clay Regazzoni | Shadow | Did not qualify | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | #23 Lamberto Leoni | Ensign | Did not qualify | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - | #16 Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow | Did not qualify | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Standings after race
| Pos | Driver | Car | Wins | Podiums | Pts | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| 2 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | 1 | 1 | 11 | -1 |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 2 | 10 | -2 | |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 2 | 10 | -2 | |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1 | 1 | 9 | -3 |
| 6 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1 | 6 | -6 | |
| 7 | John Watson | Brabham | 1 | 4 | -8 | |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Williams | 3 | -9 | ||
| 9 | James Hunt | McLaren | 3 | -9 | ||
| 10 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 2 | -10 | ||
| 11 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow | 2 | -10 | ||
| 12 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 2 | -10 | ||
| 13 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 1 | -11 | ||
| 14 | Jochen Mass | ATS | 0 | -12 | ||
| 15 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | 0 | -12 | ||
| 16 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 0 | -12 | ||
| 17 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | 0 | -12 | ||
| 18 | Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | 0 | -12 | ||
| 19 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 0 | -12 | ||
| 20 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 0 | -12 | ||
| 21 | Brett Lunger | McLaren | 0 | -12 | ||
| 22 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | 0 | -12 | ||
| 23 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow | 0 | -12 | ||
| 24 | Danny Ongais | Ensign | 0 | -12 | ||
| 25 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees | 0 | -12 | ||
| 26 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 0 | -12 | ||
| 27 | Lamberto Leoni | Ensign | 0 | -12 | ||
| 28 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 0 | -12 | ||
| 29 | Keke Rosberg | Theodore | 0 | -12 | ||
| 30 | Eddie Cheever | Hesketh | 0 | -12 | ||
| 31 | Divina Galica | Hesketh | 0 | -12 | ||
| 32 | René Arnoux | Martini | 0 | -12 |
| Pos | Team | Wins | Podiums | Pts | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Lotus | 2 | 2 | 21 | |
| 2 | Brabham | 3 | 14 | -7 | |
| 3 | Tyrrell | 2 | 11 | -10 | |
| 4 | Ferrari | 1 | 1 | 9 | -12 |
| 5 | Fittipaldi | 1 | 6 | -15 | |
| 6 | McLaren | 3 | -18 | ||
| 7 | Williams | 3 | -18 | ||
| 8 | Ligier | 2 | -19 | ||
| 9 | Shadow | 2 | -19 | ||
| 10 | ATS | 0 | -21 | ||
| 11 | Arrows | 0 | -21 | ||
| 12 | Wolf | 0 | -21 | ||
| 13 | Surtees | 0 | -21 | ||
| 14 | Ensign | 0 | -21 | ||
| 15 | Merzario | 0 | -21 | ||
| 16 | Renault | 0 | -21 | ||
| 17 | Theodore | 0 | -21 | ||
| 18 | Hesketh | 0 | -21 | ||
| 19 | Martini | 0 | -21 |
Other race results
| Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd | Fastest lap | Pole position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | #2 Alain Prost | Ayrton Senna | Mark Blundell | Alain Prost | |
| 1992 | #5 Nigel Mansell | Riccardo Patrese | Ayrton Senna | Nigel Mansell | |
| 1985 | #5 Nigel Mansell | Keke Rosberg | Alain Prost | Nigel Mansell | |
| 1984 | #8 Niki Lauda | Alain Prost | Derek Warwick | Nelson Piquet | |
| 1983 | #6 Riccardo Patrese | Andrea de Cesaris | Nelson Piquet | Patrick Tambay | |
| 1982 | #15 Alain Prost | Carlos Reutemann | René Arnoux | René Arnoux | |
| 1980 | #16 René Arnoux | Jacques Laffite | Didier Pironi | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | |
| 1979 | #12 Gilles Villeneuve | Jody Scheckter | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | |
| 1977 | #11 Niki Lauda | Jody Scheckter | Patrick Depailler | James Hunt | |
| 1976 | #1 Niki Lauda | James Hunt | Jochen Mass | James Hunt | |
| 1975 | #3 Jody Scheckter | Carlos Reutemann | Patrick Depailler | Carlos Pace | |
| 1974 | #7 Carlos Reutemann | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | Mike Hailwood | Niki Lauda | |
| 1973 | #3 Jackie Stewart | Peter Revson | Emerson Fittipaldi | Denny Hulme | |
| 1972 | #12 Denny Hulme | Emerson Fittipaldi | Peter Revson | Jackie Stewart | |
| 1971 | #6 Mario Andretti | Jackie Stewart | Clay Regazzoni | Jackie Stewart | |
| 1970 | #12 Jack Brabham | Denny Hulme | Jackie Stewart | Jackie Stewart | |
| 1969 | #7 Jackie Stewart | Graham Hill | Denny Hulme | Jack Brabham | |
| 1968 | #4 Jim Clark | Graham Hill | Jochen Rindt | Jim Clark | |
| 1967 | #4 Pedro Rodríguez | John Love | John Surtees | Jack Brabham | |
| 1965 | #5 Jim Clark | John Surtees | Graham Hill | Jim Clark | |
| 1963 | #1 Jim Clark | Dan Gurney | Graham Hill | Jim Clark | |
| 1962 | #3 Graham Hill | Bruce McLaren | Tony Maggs | Jim Clark |