| 1978 Spanish Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 16 in the1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 4 June 1978 | ||
| Official name | XXIV Gran Premio de España[1] | ||
| Location | Jarama,Spain | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.404 km (2.115 miles) | ||
| Distance | 75 laps, 255.3 km (158.625 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:16.39 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | |
| Time | 1:20.06 on lap 5 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | Ligier-Matra | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1978 Spanish Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held on 4 June 1978 atJarama. It was the seventh race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The 75-lap race was won frompole position byMario Andretti, driving aLotus-Ford, with teammateRonnie Peterson second andJacques Laffite third in aLigier-Matra.
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Once again the newLotus 79 demonstrated its speed, withMario Andretti on pole andRonnie Peterson alongside him on the front row, the Swede driving the 79 for the first time.Carlos Reutemann was third in hisFerrari, withJames Hunt fourth in hisMcLaren.[2]
On race day, Hunt made a fast start to lead into the first corner from Andretti and Reutemann, with Peterson dropping to ninth. Andretti re-passed Hunt on lap 6 and then started to pull away. Reutemann ran third until he had to pit for tyres, and soJohn Watson inherited third until he was passed byJacques Laffite, but soon the recovering Peterson passed both of them. Hunt now suffered from tyre problems and he also began to drop back, and so Peterson moved into second with Laffite third. This was how it stayed to the end, Andretti winning from Peterson in another Lotus 1–2, and Laffite taking the final spot on the podium. Reutemann had a huge accident on lap 58 when his Ferrari flew 8 feet in the air, cleared the barrier and landed in the debris fencing.
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Héctor Rebaque | Lotus–Ford | 1:19.84 |
| 2 |  Rolf Stommelen | Arrows–Ford | +0.13 |
| 3 |  Arturo Merzario | Merzario–Ford | +0.19 |
| 4 | Brett Lunger | McLaren–Ford | +0.35 |
| 5 |  Keke Rosberg | Theodore–Ford | +1.41 |
*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to pre-qualify.
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus–Ford | 1:16.39 |
| 2 |  Ronnie Peterson | Lotus–Ford | +0.29 |
| 3 |  Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | +1.01 |
| 4 |  James Hunt | McLaren–Ford | +1.27 |
| 5 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | +1.40 |
| 6 |  Niki Lauda | Brabham–Alfa Romeo | +1.55 |
| 7 | John Watson | Brabham–Alfa Romeo | +1.59 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows–Ford | +1.75 |
| 9 |  Jody Scheckter | Wolf–Ford | +1.85 |
| 10 |  Jacques Laffite | Ligier–Matra | +2.03 |
| 11 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | +2.60 |
| 12 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell–Ford | +2.67 |
| 13 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell–Ford | +2.72 |
| 14 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren–Ford | +2.89 |
| 15 |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi–Ford | +2.94 |
| 16 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees–Ford | +3.32 |
| 17 | Jochen Mass | ATS–Ford | +3.59 |
| 18 |  Alan Jones | Williams–Ford | +3.60 |
| 19 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows–Ford | +3.64 |
| 20 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus–Ford | +3.82 |
| 21 |  Jacky Ickx | Ensign–Ford | +3.97 |
| 22 |  Clay Regazzoni | Shadow–Ford | +4.28 |
| 23 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees–Ford | +4.38 |
| 24 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow–Ford | +4.48 |
| 25 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario–Ford | +4.52 |
| 26 | Brett Lunger | McLaren–Ford | +4.78 |
| 27 |  Emilio de Villota | McLaren–Ford | +5.16 |
| 28 | Alberto Colombo | ATS–Ford | +5.20 |
| Source:[3] | |||
*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.
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| Previous race: 1978 Belgian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1978 season | Next race: 1978 Swedish Grand Prix |
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