1978 South African Grand Prix

The South African Grand Prix 1978 was the 3rd round of the 1978 F1 season, and took place at the Kyalami in Midrand, South Africa, on March 4th.

Ronnie Peterson won the race with an expectacular comeback, all the way from the 12th position of the grid, followed by Patrick Depailler, and John Watson completing the podium.

Niki Lauda started from the pole position, but didn't manage to cross the finish line, as he suffered an engine malfunction, and had to retire on lap 52nd.

Final results

Race evolution

Pit Stops

Strategy

Unfortunately we do not have strategy information for this race..

Incidents

The reace did not end without incidents... 14 drivers out of the original 30 who started did not managed to cross the finish line.

These included, Riccardo Patrese, Niki Lauda, Rupert Keegan, Jochen Mass, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and James Hunt, all of whom suffered an engine malfunction, Jody Scheckter, and Carlos Reutemann, both lost control and spun off the track, Patrick Tambay, who had to retire due to an accident on lap 56, Gilles Villeneuve, and Eddie Cheever, both had an oil leak, Arturo Merzario, who suffered a suspension problem on lap 39, Keke Rosberg, who had a problem with the clutch on lap 15, and Emerson Fittipaldi, who had a transmission problem on lap 9.

Qualifying