1978 Season - Round 3 - 1978-03-04
Ronnie Peterson won the 1978 South African Grand Prix for Team Lotus, with Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell) second and John Watson (Brabham) third. The win came from P12 on the grid.
Alan Jones (Williams) made the biggest gain of the race, climbing from P18 on the grid to P4 at the flag β a 14-place improvement. Attrition was high, with 14 drivers failing to finish.
26 drivers were classified at the chequered flag of the 1978 South African Grand Prix, completing round 3 of the season.
How good was this Grand Prix?
Pick your score, 1 to 10.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Status | Fastest Lap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | 12 | Finished | 9 | |
| 2 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 11 | Finished | 6 | |
| 3 | John Watson | Brabham | 10 | Finished | 4 |
| 4 | Alan Jones | Williams | 18 | Finished | 3 |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 13 | Finished | 2 |
| 6 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 14 | +1 Lap | 1 |
| 7 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 2 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 8 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | 17 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 9 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | 22 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 10 | Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | 21 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 11 | Brett Lunger | McLaren | 20 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 12 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | 19 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 13 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 7 | Engine | 0 |
| 14 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 5 | Spun off | 0 |
| 15 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 4 | Accident | 0 |
| 16 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 8 | Oil leak | 0 |
| 17 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 9 | Spun off | 0 |
| 18 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 1 | Engine | 0 |
| 19 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees | 23 | Engine | 0 |
| 20 | Jochen Mass | ATS | 15 | Engine | 0 |
| 21 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 26 | Suspension | 0 |
| 22 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 6 | Engine | 0 |
| 23 | Keke Rosberg | Theodore | 24 | Clutch | 0 |
| 24 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 16 | Transmission | 0 |
| 25 | Eddie Cheever | Hesketh | 25 | Oil leak | 0 |
| 26 | James Hunt | McLaren | 3 | Engine | 0 |