Triumph and Tragedy for Andretti and Lotus
Mario Andretti arrived at Monza for the 1978 Italian Grand Prix aware that he could possibly secure the World Championship. He started the weekend well by qualifying on pole, while Gilles Villeneuve delighted the local fans by putting his Ferrari 312 T3 second on the grid. Ronnie Peterson was forced to start the race in an older car after shunting his type 79 in practice.
As the cars accelerated towards the first corner the track narrowed, which caused a high-speed bottleneck. A multiple shunt ensued and Peterson was badly injured, with his legs broken. After being rescued from his burning Lotus by James Hunt the Swede was transferred to hospital in Milan where he underwent surgery. There was relief in the paddock when it emerged that his injuries did not appear to be life threatening.
The race was restarted but both Andretti and Villeneuve anticipated the lights and were given one minute penalties. Niki Lauda won the race for Brabham, with team-mate Watson second. Carlos Reutemann was third for Ferrari, but Andretti was World Champion. He had little chance to savour his victory before the news came through that Peterson had died as a result of a pulmonary embolism. In the March 2007 edition of Motor Sport magazine, Andretti paid tribute to his team-mate;
“I’ve had a lot of team-mates, and not all of them were real friends. Ronnie was a special breed… We got together with our families, I’d stay at his house, he’d stay at mine. We had fun. He had tremendous car control… A real raw talent.”
Reutemann Wins Again in US GP East
A subdued Team Lotus arrived at Watkins Glen for the US Grand Prix East, although Andretti helped lift spirits by claiming pole position. In the race the new World Champion retired. Victory went to Reutemann’s Ferrari while, in second place, was Alan Jones in the Williams. Jody Scheckter finished third for Tyrrell.
Villeneuve Scores Maiden F1 Victory in Canada
The 1978 season ended with the Canadian Grand Prix, being held for the first time on the Ile Notre-Dame circuit in Montreal. Jean-Pierre Jarier, replacing Peterson at Lotus, looked set for a comfortable victory before his engine failed. Instead, local hero Gilles Villeneuve recorded his maiden Formula 1 victory in a Ferrari. In the 2002 book, “Formula 1, The Autobiography,” published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson and edited by Gerald Donaldson, there is a quote from Villeneuve describing his emotions;
“To win a Grand Prix is something, but to win your first Grand Prix at home is completely unthinkable. This is the happiest day of my life!”
1978 had been an exciting year with multiple race winners, but it had also seen the death of Peterson, arguably the fastest driver of his era. Lotus had raised the bar with their ground-effect technology and it was clear that, to be competitive, the other teams would need to go down the same route.
