1978 Italian Grand Prix
| Racing data | ||
|---|---|---|
| 14th of 16 races of the 1978 World Automobile Championship | ||
|
||
| Surname: | XLIX Gran Premio d'Italia | |
| Date: | September 10, 1978 | |
| Place: | Monza | |
| Course: | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | |
| Length: | 232 km in 40 laps of 5.8 km
|
|
| Weather: | cloudy but warm | |
| Spectator: | ~ 120,000 | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver: |
 Mario Andretti
|
 lotus
|
| Time: | 1: 37.520 min | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver: |
Mario Andretti
|
lotus
|
| Time: | 1: 38.23 min | |
| Podium | ||
| First: |
 Niki Lauda
|
Brabham
|
| Second: |
John Watson
|
Brabham
|
| Third: |
 Carlos Reutemann
|
 Ferrari
|
The 1978 Italian Grand Prix took place on September 10th at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza and was the 14th race of the 1978 World Automobile Championship .
Reports
background
When the teams traveled to Monza for the last European race of the season, the world championship had already been decided in favor of Mario Andretti , as the only remaining pilot who could arithmetically have challenged him for the championship lead was his team-mate Ronnie Peterson . However, the latter had contractually guaranteed his support and had strictly adhered to it during the previous races.
Because of leg fractures that he is in tests for the ATS Racing Team in Silverstone had contracted, was Jochen Mass did not finish the season. Instead, Michael Bleekemolen , who had already competed as a guest starter for the team at the Dutch Grand Prix two weeks earlier, took his place. After Harald Ertl failed the pre-qualification in the Ensign on Friday , he was allowed to complete the regular training at the wheel of the second ATS HS1 .
At Team Surtees , the still injured Rupert Keegan was represented by the local debutant Carlo Franchi . His compatriot Alberto Colombo took part in a second Merzario A1 on the race weekend.
training
For once, the training was not completely dominated by Lotus . Nevertheless, Mario Andretti achieved his seventh pole position of the season. Gilles Villeneuve followed in front of Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Niki Lauda . Ronnie Peterson shared the third row with Alan Jones . John Watson , Jacques Laffite , Jody Scheckter and James Hunt completed the top ten.
Only the 24 fastest of the 31 pilots present were allowed to take part in the race.
run
Since Ronnie Peterson had an accident with the Lotus 79 during warm-up on Sunday morning due to a brake defect , he had to start the race with the previous year's Lotus 78 car .
The starter Gianni Restelli already released the race when the drivers in the back ranks were still rolling to their starting positions. So while the first rows of the grid had to start from a standing start, the following drivers had an acceleration advantage. This made the field very compact. Since the start straight in Monza was unusually wide, there were daring maneuvers, which turned out to be a mistake at the end of this straight, where the track before the first chicane narrowed massively.
Villeneuve was the first to reach the chicane ahead of Andretti and Lauda. Jabouille followed before Jones, Watson, Laffite, Scheckter, Peterson and Hunt. Riccardo Patrese found himself on the wrong side of the track in the thick of the crowd and had to pull inwards in order to be able to brake the chicane. There, however, Hunt did not give him the necessary space, which led to the collision of the two. Peterson's Lotus was then thrown into the guardrails after contact with Hunt's car, bounced back onto the track and went up in flames. The two Shadow pilots Clay Regazzoni and Hans-Joachim Stuck , the Tyrrell factory drivers Didier Pironi and Patrick Depailler , as well as Vittorio Brambilla , Derek Daly and Brett Lunger were involved in the following mass collision, none of whom had a chance to evade. Debris flying through the air hit stucco on the helmet. Brambilla was even hit by a torn off bike and seriously injured. Hunt, Depailler, and Regazzoni pulled Peterson, who was fully conscious, out of his burning car. Emergency doctors did not arrive at the scene of the accident until a few minutes later. With severe broken legs, Peterson was transported to a hospital in Milan with Brambilla . The race had meanwhile been stopped with the red flag.
When the 19 remaining drivers, some of whom had to change to their T-Cars due to excessive damage to their emergency vehicles , completed the introductory lap to restart, Jody Scheckter lost a wheel in one of the two Lesmo bends and hit the track barriers violently. Andretti, Hunt, Lauda, Reutemann and Fittipaldi then inspected the scene of the accident and refused to start unless the guard rails were repaired. Due to the necessary repair work, the restart was delayed to shortly before 6 p.m.
Villeneuve and Andretti started the new race with an early start. On the 35th lap of the race, which was shortened to 40 laps, Andretti took the lead as Villeneuve was struggling with deteriorating brakes and tires. After Jabouille was eliminated due to an engine failure, Lauda took third place. Watson took fourth place ahead of Reutemann, Laffite and Tambay . This finish did not last, however, as the early starts of Andretti and Villeneuve were subsequently punished with a time penalty, which threw them back to sixth and seventh place. Lauda was thus declared the winner.
Due to the fact that Peterson was in the hospital, there were no victory celebrations at Lotus despite having won the world title. The news that he had not suffered any serious burns and that his leg injuries were not life-threatening provided relief.
However, complications arose during an operation on Monday night. Ronnie Peterson fell into a coma and eventually died suddenly. Mario Andretti found out about this when he wanted to visit his colleague in the hospital.
Riccardo Patrese was seen as the cause of the disaster. A few years later, a videotaped court ruled that it was James Hunt.
Registration list
.svg){kind=small}
1 Ronnie Peterson had an accident in the warm-up with the Lotus 79 and then started the race with the Lotus 78.
2 Harald Ertl was registered for both Sachs Racing and ATS this weekend.
Classifications
Starting grid
| Item | driver | constructor | time | Ø speed | begin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mario Andretti
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 37.520 | 214.110 km / h | 1 |
| 2 |
 Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari
|
1: 37.866 | 213.353 km / h | 2 |
| 3 |
 Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault
|
1: 37.930 | 213.214 km / h | 3 |
| 4th |
Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
1: 38.215 | 212.595 km / h | 4th |
| 5 |
 Ronnie Peterson
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 38.256 | 212.506 km / h | 5 |
| 6th |
 Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford
|
1: 38.271 | 212.474 km / h | 6th |
| 7th |
John Watson
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
1: 38.610 | 211.743 km / h | 7th |
| 8th |
Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra
|
1: 38.917 | 211.086 km / h | 8th |
| 9 |
.svg){kind=small} Jody Scheckter
|
Wolf-Ford
|
1: 38.937 | 211.043 km / h | 9 |
| 10 |
James Hunt
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 38.938 | 211.041 km / h | 10 |
| 11 |
Carlos Reutemann
|
Ferrari
|
1: 38.959 | 210.996 km / h | 11 |
| 12 |
Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows Ford
|
1: 39.179 | 210.528 km / h | 12 |
| 13 |
.svg){kind=small} Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford
|
1: 39.421 | 210.016 km / h | 13 |
| 14th |
Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
1: 39.531 | 209.784 km / h | 14th |
| 15th |
 Clay Regazzoni
|
Shadow Ford
|
1: 39.621 | 209.594 km / h | 15th |
| 16 |
Patrick Depailler
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
1: 39.630 | 209.575 km / h | 16 |
| 17th |
 Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
Shadow Ford
|
1: 39.701 | 209.426 km / h | 17th |
| 18th |
 Derek Daly
|
Ensign-Ford
|
1: 40.075 | 208.644 km / h | 18th |
| 19th |
Patrick Tambay
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 40.163 | 208.460 km / h | 19th |
| 20th |
Bruno Giacomelli
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 40.199 | 208.385 km / h | 20th |
| 21st |
Brett Lunger
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 40.302 | 208.171 km / h | 21st |
| 22nd |
Arturo Merzario
|
Merzario-Ford
|
1: 40.702 | 207.344 km / h | 22nd |
| 23 |
Vittorio Brambilla
|
Surtees-Ford
|
1: 40.805 | 207.133 km / h | 23 |
| 24 |
Nelson Piquet
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 40.846 | 207.048 km / h | 24 |
| DNQ |
 Hector Rebaque
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 41.063 | 206.604 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
Harald Ertl 3
|
ATS Ford
|
1: 41.185 | 206.355 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
 Michael Bleekemolen
|
ATS Ford
|
1: 41.408 | 205.901 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
Carlo Franchi
|
Surtees-Ford
|
1: 41.677 | 205.356 km / h | - |
| DNPQ |
Harald Ertl 3
|
Ensign-Ford
|
1: 40.27 4 | 208.238 km / h | - |
| DNPQ |
 Keke Rosberg
|
Wolf-Ford
|
1: 40.75 4 | 207.246 km / h | - |
| DNPQ |
Rolf Stommelen
|
Arrows Ford
|
1: 40.93 4 | 206.876 km / h | - |
| DNPQ |
Alberto Colombo
|
Merzario-Ford
|
1: 42.55 4 | 203.608 km / h | - |
3 Harald Ertl did the pre-qualification for the Sachs Racing team and the regular training for ATS.
4 During the pre-qualification, no thousandths of a second were measured.
run
| Item | driver | constructor | Round | Stops | time | begin | Fastest lap | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
40 | 0 | 1: 07: 04.54 | 4th | 1: 39.06 | |
| 2 |
John Watson
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
40 | 0 | + 1.48 | 7th | 1: 38.77 | |
| 3 |
Carlos Reutemann
|
Ferrari
|
40 | 0 | + 20.47 | 11 | 1: 39.89 | |
| 4th |
Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra
|
40 | 0 | + 37.53 | 8th | 1: 39.66 | |
| 5 |
Patrick Tambay
|
McLaren-Ford
|
40 | 0 | + 40.39 | 19th | 1: 40.26 | |
| 6th |
Mario Andretti
|
Lotus Ford
|
40 | 0 | + 46.33 5 | 1 | 1: 38.23 | |
| 7th |
Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari
|
40 | 0 | + 48.48 5 | 2 | 1: 38.99 | |
| 8th |
Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford
|
40 | 0 | + 55.24 | 13 | 1: 39.70 | |
| 9 |
Nelson Piquet
|
McLaren-Ford
|
40 | 0 | +1: 06.83 | 24 | 1: 39.98 | |
| 10 |
Derek Daly
|
Ensign-Ford
|
40 | 0 | +1: 09.11 | 18th | 1: 41.11 | |
| 11 |
Patrick Depailler
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
40 | 0 | +1: 16.57 | 16 | 1: 40.60 | |
| 12 |
Jody Scheckter
|
Wolf-Ford
|
39 | 0 | + 1 lap | 9 | 1: 41.25 | |
| 13 |
Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford
|
39 | 0 | + 1 lap | 6th | 1: 39.35 | |
| 14th |
Bruno Giacomelli
|
McLaren-Ford
|
39 | 0 | + 1 lap | 20th | 1: 40.67 | |
| - |
Clay Regazzoni
|
Shadow Ford
|
33 | 0 | NC | 15th | 1: 41.25 | Unrated |
| - |
Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows Ford
|
28 | 0 | DNF | 12 | 1: 40.03 | Engine failure |
| - |
James Hunt
|
McLaren-Ford
|
19th | 0 | DNF | 10 | 1: 40.86 | defective distributor |
| - |
Arturo Merzario
|
Merzario-Ford
|
14th | 0 | DNF | 22nd | 1: 42.96 | Engine failure |
| - |
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault
|
6th | 0 | DNF | 3 | 1: 40.67 | Engine failure |
| - |
Ronnie Peterson
|
Lotus Ford
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 5 | - | collision |
| - |
Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 14th | - | collision |
| - |
Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
Shadow Ford
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 17th | - | collision |
| - |
Brett Lunger
|
McLaren-Ford
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 21st | - | collision |
| - |
Vittorio Brambilla
|
Surtees-Ford
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 23 | - | collision |
5 Mario Andretti crossed the line first ahead of Gilles Villeneuve. However, both pilots received a subsequent time penalty for a premature start.
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" ( Memento from May 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on August 17, 2012)
- ↑ Fight at the limit. The Formula 1 Chronicle 1950–2000 , ed. v. Willy Knupp, RTL book edition: Zeitgeist Verlag: Düsseldorf / Gütersloh 2000, ISBN 3-89748-277-0 , p. 206
- ^ "Report" (accessed on August 17, 2012)
- ↑ 60 years of Formula 1 , Michael Schmidt, Motorbuch Verlag: Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-613-03127-2 , pp. 106-107
- ^ "World Cup stands" ( Memento from June 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on August 17, 2012)
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