1978 Formula 1 Season
1978 Belgian, Spanish, Swedish and French F1 Races
Andretti Wins on Debut for Lotus 79
By the time of the 1978 Belgian Grand Prix Goodyear were feeling the pressure of competition from rivals Michelin, even though the French firm was only supplying three teams. In response, Goodyear decided to concentrate their efforts on just eight top drivers and two fastest qualifiers, to who they would give a large selection of compounds. The others would have to settle for standard compound tyres.
Mario Andretti was one of the favoured Goodyear runners and he used his tyres to put his new Lotus 79 on pole position. The 79 was a beautiful car, especially finished in the black and gold livery of John Player Special. It also featured ground-effect technology and, almost overnight, made the rest of the Formula 1 field obsolete.
In the race Gilles Villeneuve was the only driver capable of staying close to Andretti but eventually a tyre on his Ferrari failed. Andretti won from his team-mate Ronnie Peterson, who had surged through the field after a pit-stop. Carlos Reutemann was third for Ferrari while Villeneuve recovered to fourth.
Peterson had signed with Lotus as number two to Andretti in 1978. Although it was not in the Swede’s nature to renege on such an agreement he was restless in the position. At Zolder he signed a contract which would make him a McLaren driver in 1979.
James Hunt was the surprise early leader in the 1978 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, but the 1976 World Champion was soon passed by Andretti’s Lotus and faded to sixth by the finish. Peterson was again second while Jacques Laffite scored a welcome podium for Ligier in third.
Brabham BT46 Wins Swedish GP and is Banned
Lotus met their match in Sweden when Brabham arrived with new cars. Their BT46’s were equipped with enormous fans at the rear which effectively sucked the cars to the track. Although Andretti secured pole and led to begin with Niki Lauda eventually got past with his Brabham. Andretti retired from the race while Lauda romped to victory. Riccardo Patrese was an impressive second for Arrows with Peterson third.
Andretti and Peterson 1-2 for Lotus in French GP
Brabham arrived at the Paul Ricard circuit with conventional cars for the French Grand Prix. Although Lauda was allowed to keep his win in Sweden the fan-car had been banned. Drivers following the device had complained about it sucking up debris and throwing it at them.
Despite this, John Watson put his Brabham-Alfa Romeo on pole for the race. In the Grand Prix itself normal service was resumed as Andretti drove the Lotus 79 to victory. His team-mate Peterson was second and Hunt third for McLaren.
1978 Formula 1 season review continues here.
Renault RS01 F1 car
|
Latest Articles