| 1978 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 16 in the1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 2 July 1978 | ||
| Official name | 64e Grand Prix de France[1] | ||
| Location | Circuit Paul Ricard Le Castellet, Var, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.809 km (3.610 miles) | ||
| Distance | 54 laps, 313.686 km (194.915 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
| Time | 1:44.41 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:48.56 on lap 48 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | McLaren-Ford | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1978 French Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held atPaul Ricard on 2 July 1978. It was the ninth race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors.[2] The 54-lap race was won byMario Andretti, driving aLotus-Ford, with teammateRonnie Peterson second andJames Hunt third in aMcLaren-Ford. This would prove to be the final podium for Hunt.
Following the voluntary withdrawal of the"fan car",Brabham had to revert to their previous car again, but it did not deter them, withJohn Watson on pole andNiki Lauda starting third behindMario Andretti'sLotus. At the start, Watson led into the first corner, with Andretti following, andPatrick Tambay putting hisMcLaren in third, but that order did not remain for long as Andretti took the lead from Watson on the first lap. Lauda andRonnie Peterson were on the move as well, as they passed Watson and Tambay to jump into second and third, but Lauda suffered another engine failure. This left the two Lotus cars running 1–2 and they finished like that with Andretti taking his third win in four races, and the podium was completed byJames Hunt who passed Watson mid-race.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 |  John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:47.20 | 1:44.41 | 1:45.97 | — |
| 2 | 5 |  Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | 1:47.50 | 1:44.46 | 1:45.02 | +0.05 |
| 3 | 1 |  Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:45.52 | 1:45.02 | 1:44.71 | +0.30 |
| 4 | 7 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford | 1:46.20 | 1:45.32 | 1:44.92 | +0.51 |
| 5 | 6 |  Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford | 1:46.46 | 1:45.10 | 1:44.98 | +0.57 |
| 6 | 8 |  Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford | 1:47.06 | 1:45.07 | 1:46.15 | +0.66 |
| 7 | 20 |  Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford | 1:46.10 | 1:45.20 | 1:46.33 | +0.79 |
| 8 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:46.50 | 1:45.35 | 1:45.82 | +0.94 |
| 9 | 12 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:50.72 | 1:45.55 | 1:46.56 | +1.14 |
| 10 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:47.44 | 1:45.68 | 1:45.86 | +1.27 |
| 11 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:47.34 | 1:45.73 | 1:46.84 | +1.32 |
| 12 | 35 |  Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:48.30 | 1:46.39 | 1:46.32 | +1.91 |
| 13 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:48.67 | 1:46.37 | 1:46.74 | +1.96 |
| 14 | 27 |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:47.89 | 1:46.55 | 1:46.40 | +1.99 |
| 15 | 14 |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:47.89 | 1:47.04 | 1:46.70 | +2.29 |
| 16 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:49.36 | 1:48.10 | 1:47.12 | +2.71 |
| 17 | 17 |  Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford | 1:50.44 | 1:48.73 | 1:48.55 | +4.14 |
| 18 | 31 | René Arnoux | Martini-Ford | 1:49.48 | 1:48.68 | 1:49.46 | +4.27 |
| 19 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford | 1:50.39 | 1:49.23 | 1:50.07 | +4.27 |
| 20 | 16 |  Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford | 1:48.89 | 1:49.07 | 1:50.18 | +4.48 |
| 21 | 36 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows-Ford | 1:51.07 | 1:49.14 | 1:50.51 | +4.73 |
| 22 | 33 | Bruno Giacomelli | McLaren-Ford | 1:54.67 | 1:50.77 | 1:49.53 | +5.12 |
| 23 | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees-Ford | 1:52.22 | 1:50.10 | 1:49.54 | +5.13 |
| 24 | 30 | Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford | 1:51.26 | 1:49.65 | 1:49.55 | +5.14 |
| 25 | 9 | Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford | 1:51.53 | 1:50.10 | 1:49.90 | +5.49 |
| 26 | 10 |  Keke Rosberg | ATS-Ford | 1:57.92 | 1:51.01 | 1:50.09 | +5.68 |
| 27 | 37 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford | 1:50.11 | 1:50.47 | 1:50.80 | +5.70 |
| 28 | 22 |  Derek Daly | Ensign-Ford | 1:54.28 | 1:50.19 | 1:50.61 | +5.78 |
| 29 | 25 |  Héctor Rebaque | Lotus-Ford | 1:54.03 | 1:51.54 | 1:50.40 | +5.99 |
| Source:[3] | |||||||
*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.
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| Previous race: 1978 Swedish Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1978 season | Next race: 1978 British Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1977 French Grand Prix | French Grand Prix | Next race: 1979 French Grand Prix |
