1978 Formula One season
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| 1978 FIA Formula One World Championship season | |
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The 1978 Formula One season included the 29th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on January 15, 1978, and ended on October 8 after sixteen races. Mario Andretti was the season Champion and the last American to win a Formula One race. There was also one non-Championship race in 1978, the XXX BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone, the last time that this formerly famous event was run to F1 rules. The race was won by future Champion Keke Rosberg, driving in only his second ever Formula 1 event.
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[edit] Season summary
WING CAR FLIES ALL SEASON Lotus, with their new Type 79 'wing car', now became the dominant force in Grand Prix racing - Mario Andretti won six times to become World Champion, and Ronnie Peterson returned as No. 2. Both drivers had to use the older Type 78 at first until Andretti took out the new Lotus 79 in the Belgian GP, sixth event of the season, which he won by 10 seconds from his team-mate in a 78. An indication of the aerodynamic grip available to the Lotus drivers was that Reutemann, in the third-placed Ferrari, was 25 seconds behind. That technical superiority remained throughout the year. Colin Chapman's ground-effect car had over a year's start on any rival. Ken Tyrrell persevered throughout 1977 with his six-wheeled P34 before deciding he was driving up a blind alley and instead produced the Tyrrell 008 during the close season. Of note was the team's testing of electronically-controlled active suspension, designed by Dr Karl Kempf. The other teams didn't seem too keen to take a risk and produce anything radical until halfway through the season when Brabham came up with the revolutionary Gordon Murray-designed Brabham Alfa Romeo BT-46B, otherwise known as the 'fan car'. In the hands of Niki Lauda this won the Swedish GP by 34 seconds. The idea was that the fan would provide downforce by sucking the rear of the car closer to the road surface. There were drawbacks though as it became blocked with debris from the track and also threw up stones into cars following. Moreover, FIA regulations prohibited the use of 'moving devices as aerodynamic aids'. Several teams claimed that the Brabham contravened the rules and it never raced again. Racheting up the race for tyre development, Michelin joined battle with Goodyear to supply Ferrari and also Renault, who had now unveiled their turbocharged Renault Elf RS01. Michelin had introduced both these teams to radial tyres, tried by Renault in 1977 but without notable success. However, Ferrari came good on them and Reutemann bagged the Brazilian GP - thus radials began to prove fashionable against the crossplies of Goodyear. Goodyear came up with an improved crossply tyre and never again did Michelin show any marked superiority. Frank Williams and Patrick Head formed Williams Grand Prix Engineering, only persistent reliability problems spoiling Alan Jones's burgeoning reputation, and at Shadow key personnel, including Jackie Oliver and Tony Southgate, had left to launch Arrows. In the doldrums, McLaren - fielding a now outmoded M26 - did not win a GP for the first time in many years. Despite raised awareness, safety was still not enough of a priority. At Monza there was a first lap collision involving eight cars. It was caused by the combination of a badly-controlled start, a chicane positioned too soon after the start line, plus some irresponsible driving. Marshals tried to prevent brave drivers like Hunt, Regazzoni and Hans Stuck from rescuing Peterson and Brambilla, both of whom were trapped in their cars. The following day Peterson died of a complication during an operation and, whether or not his driving had contributed to the crash, Riccardo Patrese was barred from the US GP.
[edit] Drivers & Constructors
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[edit] Season review
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[edit] 1978 Constructors Championship final standings
| Place | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | Points [1] | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lotus-Ford |
78 79 |
Ford Cosworth DFV | 86 | 8 | 14 | 12 | |
| 2 |  Ferrari |
312T2 312T3 |
Ferrari 015 | 58 | 5 | 9 | 2 | |
| 3 | Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
BT46/B/C | Alfa Romeo 115-12 | 53 | 2 | 10 | 2 | |
| 4 | Tyrrell-Ford |
008 | Ford Cosworth DFV | 38 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 5 |  Wolf-Ford |
WR1-4 WR5-6 |
Ford Cosworth DFV | 24 | 4 | |||
| 6 |  Ligier-Matra |
JS7 JS7/9 JS9 |
Matra MS76 Matra MS78 |
19 | 2 | |||
| 7 |  Fittipaldi-Ford |
F5A | Ford Cosworth DFV | 17 | 1 | |||
| 8 | McLaren-Ford |
M26 | Ford Cosworth DFV | 15 | 1 | |||
| 9 | Williams-Ford |
FW06 | Ford Cosworth DFV | 11 | 1 | |||
| 10 | Arrows-Ford |
FA1 A1 |
Ford Cosworth DFV | 11 | 1 | |||
| 11 | Shadow-Ford |
DN8 DN9 |
Ford Cosworth DFV | 6 | ||||
| 12 | Renault |
RS01 | Renault-Gordini EF1 | 3 | ||||
| 13 | Surtees-Ford |
TS19 TS20 |
Ford Cosworth DFV | 1 | ||||
| 14 | Ensign-Ford |
N177 | Ford Cosworth DFV | 1 | ||||
| 15 | Martini-Ford |
MK23 | Ford Cosworth DFV | |||||
| 16 | Hesketh-Ford |
308E | Ford Cosworth DFV | |||||
| 17 |  ATS-Ford |
HS1 D1 |
Ford Cosworth DFV | |||||
| 18 |  Theodore-Ford |
TR1 | Ford Cosworth DFV | |||||
| 19 | Merzario-Ford |
A1 | Ford Cosworth DFV |
Constructors points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six placegetters in each round with only the best placed car from each constructor eligible to score points. The best seven results from the first eight races and the best seven results from the remaining eight races were retained.[2]
[edit] 1978 Drivers Championship final standings
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Drivers Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six placegetters in each round. The best seven results from the first eight races and the best seven results from the remaining eight races were retained.[3]
[edit] Non-Championship race results
Another Formula One race was also held in 1978, which did not count towards the World Championship.
| Race Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXX BRDC International Trophy |
Silverstone | March 19 |  Keke Rosberg |
Theodore-Cosworth |
Report |
[edit] References
- ^ Automobile Year, 1978/79, Page 236
- ^ Mike Kettlewell, The Champion Book of World Championship Facts & Figures, 1982, Page 40
- ^ Mike Kettlewell, The Champion Book of World Championship Facts & Figures, 1982, Page 34
[edit] External links
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