Belgian Grand Prix 1978
| Racing data | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6th of 16 races of the 1978 World Automobile Championship | ||
|
||
| Surname: | XXXVI Grote Prijs van Belgie | |
| Date: | May 21, 1978 | |
| Place: | Zolder-Terlaemen | |
| Course: | Circuit Zolder | |
| Length: | 298.34 km in 70 laps of 4.262 km
|
|
| Weather: | cloudy but dry | |
| Spectator: | ~ 49,000 | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver: |
 Mario Andretti
|
 lotus
|
| Time: | 1: 20.90 min | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver: |
 Ronnie Peterson
|
lotus
|
| Time: | 1: 23.13 min | |
| Podium | ||
| First: |
Mario Andretti
|
lotus
|
| Second: |
Ronnie Peterson
|
lotus
|
| Third: |
 Carlos Reutemann
|
 Ferrari
|
The 1978 Belgian Grand Prix took place on May 21 at the Zolder Circuit in Zolder-Terlaemen and was the sixth race of the 1978 World Automobile Championship .
Reports
background
Two weeks after the Monaco Grand Prix , Formula 1 competed in the sixth round of the season in Zolder, Belgium. Patrick Tambay was absent due to an injury and was represented at McLaren by Bruno Giacomelli , who was supposed to be a guest starter in a third works car. Also absent was Jean-Pierre Jarier , whose place at ATS was taken by the Italian debutant Alberto Colombo .
The Surtees team equipped both factory drivers with the new TS20 for the first time . A new WR5 car was used at Walter Wolf Racing . The long-awaited Lotus 79 with further developed wing car technology was meanwhile available, but only for Mario Andretti . His team-mate Ronnie Peterson initially had to continue to compete with the Lotus 78 , which, however, was still considered very competitive.
training
In the course of the pre-qualification held on Friday morning, Arturo Merzario and Héctor Rebaque were eliminated from the competition. In order to determine the maximum permitted 24 participants from the 28 remaining drivers, the four slowest drivers were again deleted during regular training.
At the wheel of the new Lotus, Mario Andretti achieved pole position with almost eight tenths of a second ahead of second placed Carlos Reutemann in a Ferrari 312T3 . His teammate Gilles Villeneuve followed in fourth place after third-placed Niki Lauda on Brabham . The third row was formed by Jody Scheckter and James Hunt .
run
While Andretti drove towards a sovereign start-to-finish victory, there were several collisions in the positions behind immediately after the start. Reutemann did not get away from his starting position quickly enough due to a switching error, so that all subsequent pilots had to avoid him. Scheckter collided with Lauda on one side of the track and Riccardo Patrese with James Hunt on the other . A little later, Emerson Fittipaldi collided with Jacky Ickx and Didier Pironi with René Arnoux while trying to avoid Lauda and Hunt. For the former world champions Fittipaldi and Hunt as well as the reigning world champion Lauda, the race was already over at this point due to excessive damage to their vehicles.
Andretti led ahead of Villeneuve, Scheckter and Peterson. Due to a necessary repair stop at the pits, Scheckter had to let Peterson take third place on lap ten. This order at the top lasted until lap 40, when Villeneuve had to go to the pits due to a puncture. He left behind a Lotus double lead. However, when Peterson had to change his tires on lap 56, Carlos Reutemann and Jacques Laffite took second and third place. During the following ten laps, however, Peterson managed to overtake both opponents again and make a Lotus one-two perfect. In the duel for third place, Reutemann and Laffite collided, whereupon the Frenchman was eliminated, but due to the distance he had covered, he was classified fifth behind Villeneuve. Didier Pironi, who only contested his sixth Grand Prix, scored points for the fourth time in sixth place.
Registration list
.svg){kind=small}
Classifications
Starting grid
| Item | driver | constructor | time | Ø speed | begin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mario Andretti
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 20.90 | 189.656 km / h | 1 |
| 2 |
Carlos Reutemann
|
Ferrari
|
1: 21.69 | 187.822 km / h | 2 |
| 3 |
 Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
1: 21.70 | 187.799 km / h | 3 |
| 4th |
 Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari
|
1: 21.77 | 187.638 km / h | 4th |
| 5 |
.svg){kind=small} Jody Scheckter
|
Wolf-Ford
|
1: 22.12 | 186.839 km / h | 5 |
| 6th |
James Hunt
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 22.50 | 185.978 km / h | 6th |
| 7th |
Ronnie Peterson
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 22.62 | 185.708 km / h | 7th |
| 8th |
Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows Ford
|
1: 23.25 | 184.303 km / h | 8th |
| 9 |
John Watson
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
1: 23.26 | 184.281 km / h | 9 |
| 10 |
 Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault
|
1: 23.58 | 183.575 km / h | 10 |
| 11 |
 Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford
|
1: 23.71 | 183.290 km / h | 11 |
| 12 |
Vittorio Brambilla
|
Surtees-Ford
|
1: 23.78 | 183.137 km / h | 12 |
| 13 |
Patrick Depailler
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
1: 23.82 | 183.049 km / h | 13 |
| 14th |
Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra
|
1: 23.90 | 182.875 km / h | 14th |
| 15th |
.svg){kind=small} Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford
|
1: 24.11 | 182.418 km / h | 15th |
| 16 |
 Jochen Mass
|
ATS Ford
|
1: 24.14 | 182.353 km / h | 16 |
| 17th |
Rolf Stommelen
|
Arrows Ford
|
1: 24.14 | 182.353 km / h | 17th |
| 18th |
 Clay Regazzoni
|
Shadow Ford
|
1: 24.18 | 182.267 km / h | 18th |
| 19th |
René Arnoux
|
Martini Ford
|
1: 24.28 | 182.050 km / h | 19th |
| 20th |
Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
Shadow Ford
|
1: 24.47 | 181.641 km / h | 20th |
| 21st |
Bruno Giacomelli
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 24.81 | 180.913 km / h | 21st |
| 22nd |
 Jacky Ickx
|
Ensign-Ford
|
1: 24.82 | 180.891 km / h | 22nd |
| 23 |
Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
1: 24.85 | 180.827 km / h | 23 |
| 24 |
Brett Lunger
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 24.99 | 180.529 km / h | 24 |
| DNQ |
Rupert Keegan
|
Surtees-Ford
|
1: 25.40 | 179.663 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
 Derek Daly
|
Hesketh-Ford
|
1: 25.69 | 179.055 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
 Keke Rosberg
|
Theodore Ford
|
1: 25.87 | 178.679 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
Alberto Colombo
|
ATS Ford
|
1: 26.01 | 178.389 km / h | - |
| DNPQ |
 Hector Rebaque
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 25.10 | 180.296 km / h | - |
| DNPQ |
Arturo Merzario
|
Merzario-Ford
|
1: 26.69 | 176.989 km / h | - |
run
| Item | driver | constructor | Round | Stops | time | begin | Fastest lap | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mario Andretti
|
Lotus Ford
|
70 | 0 | 1: 39: 52.02 | 1 | 1: 23.45 | |
| 2 |
Ronnie Peterson
|
Lotus Ford
|
70 | 1 | + 9.90 | 7th | 1: 23.13 | |
| 3 |
Carlos Reutemann
|
Ferrari
|
70 | 0 | + 24.34 | 2 | 1: 24.27 | |
| 4th |
Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari
|
70 | 0 | + 47.04 | 4th | 1: 23.73 | |
| 5 |
Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra
|
69 | 0 | DNF | 14th | 1: 23.95 | accident |
| 6th |
Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
69 | 0 | + 1 lap | 23 | 1: 25.59 | |
| 7th |
Brett Lunger
|
McLaren-Ford
|
69 | 0 | + 1 lap | 24 | 1: 25.34 | |
| 8th |
Bruno Giacomelli
|
McLaren-Ford
|
69 | 0 | + 1 lap | 21st | 1: 24.35 | |
| 9 |
René Arnoux
|
Martini Ford
|
68 | 0 | + 2 rounds | 19th | 1: 26.13 | |
| 10 |
Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford
|
68 | 0 | + 2 rounds | 11 | 1: 24.46 | |
| 11 |
Jochen Mass
|
ATS Ford
|
68 | 0 | + 2 rounds | 16 | 1: 26.30 | |
| 12 |
Jacky Ickx
|
Ensign-Ford
|
64 | 0 | + 6 rounds | 22nd | 1: 25.18 | |
| 13 |
Vittorio Brambilla
|
Surtees-Ford
|
63 | 0 | DNF | 12 | 1: 23.38 | Engine failure |
| - |
Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
Shadow Ford
|
56 | 0 | DNF | 20th | 1: 24.29 | accident |
| - |
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault
|
56 | 0 | NC | 10 | 1: 24.68 | Unrated |
| - |
Jody Scheckter
|
Wolf-Ford
|
53 | 2 | DNF | 5 | 1: 23.92 | accident |
| - |
Patrick Depailler
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
51 | 0 | DNF | 13 | 1: 25.24 | Gearbox damage |
| - |
Clay Regazzoni
|
Shadow Ford
|
40 | 0 | DNF | 18th | 1: 25.50 | Gearbox damage |
| - |
Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows Ford
|
31 | 0 | DNF | 8th | 1: 25.05 | Suspension damage |
| - |
Rolf Stommelen
|
Arrows Ford
|
26th | 0 | DNF | 17th | 1: 25.01 | accident |
| - |
John Watson
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
18th | 0 | DNF | 9 | 1: 25.14 | accident |
| - |
Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 3 | - | collision |
| - |
James Hunt
|
McLaren-Ford
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 6th | - | collision |
| - |
Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 15th | - | collision |
World Cup stands after the race
The first six of the race got 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point (s) respectively.
Driver ranking
|
|
Constructors' championship
|
|
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Training" ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on August 5, 2012)
- ^ "Report" (accessed on August 5, 2012)
- ↑ "World Cup stands" ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on August 5, 2012)
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