1978 Alternate Formula One season
1978 Formula One season | |
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Mario Andretti entered the season as World Champion. | |
Season | |
Races | 16 |
Start date | 5 March |
Start Event | Austral Líneas Aéreas Argentine Grand Prix |
End date | 9 October |
End Event | Template:USA Toyota United States Grand Prix |
Awards | |
Driver's Champion | TBD |
Constructor's Champion | TBD |
Entrant's Champion | TBD |
Seasons | |
Previous season | Next season |
1977 | 1979 |
Regional Series | |
Tier 1 | 1978 British Formula One |
The 1978 Formula One season was the 29th season of Formula One. Mario Andretti and Lotus entered the season as reigning champions.
Teams and drivers
Notes
- 1 Gunnar Nilsson signed with Arrows for the 1978 season, but was too ill to compete.
- 2 Emerson Fittipaldi missed the first three races of the season recovering from two broken legs sustained in an accident during the 1977 Dutch Grand Prix.
- 3 Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing formally announced their intention to compete in the 1978 season and signed Peter Gregg and Jim Busby, but had to declare bankruptcy shortly thereafter.
Team Changes
Pre-season
A bunch of teams would leave Formula One by the 1978 season. Wheatcroft Racing were the first to go, after the Michael Tyrrell saga left them bankrupt. South African privateers Lucky Strike Racing also stopped participating in Formula One after 1977. After Brian McGuire was killed in a crash at Brands Hatch in the Shellsport G8 Championship, his team ceased to operate. Then, after the dropping of the Soviet Grand Prix from the 1978 calendar, MADI and Auto Moto Club Skofje Loka decided to not turn up for any races this season. The dropping of the Japanese Grand Prix after 1977 also saw local teams Kojima Engineering, Mitsuoka and Heros Racing Corporation decide to not pour their resources into travelling to a grand prix. The Jolly Club of Switzerland and the Bang & Olufsen Team Michel Vaillant also decided to stop participating in F1. Elsewhere, Roger Penske decided to withdraw from Formula One after two uncompetitive seasons, and Parnelli appeared on the entry list, but ran out of money before being able to pay for any entries.
However, there were a group of new teams joining the grid. Penske was bought by Jackie Oliver and renamed it into the Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team. Emerson Fittipaldi's team was bought out by Alfa Romeo and made their works F1 effort. Emilio De Villota renamed his team from Iberia Airlines to Centro Asegurador F1, and Héctor Rebaque also re-entered Formula One with his own team.
Several teams also had to scale down their F1 entries due to financial issues. Shadow and Hesketh had to cut down to entering just 3 races due to extremely poor 1977 campaigns, with privateers North Star Racing and B&S Fabrications reverted to just 2 race entries instead of the European season.
Mid-season
Driver Changes
Pre-Season
Lotus and [[Tyrrell] both opted to keep their lineups from the tail end of 1977, being the reigning champion Mario Andretti and Thomas Nurmester, and Didier Pironi and Robert Kagan respectively. Brabham signed John Watson from Shadow to replace Patrick Tambay alongside James Hunt. McLaren appointed Clay Regazzoni to race alongside Tom Sneva, replacing Carlos Reutemann. March signed Patrick Nève to partner Tom Pryce, and after his win at the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix, Ferrari signed Gilles Villeneuve to partner 1976 champion Jody Scheckter. Renault signed René Arnoux to replace Jean-Pierre Jarier, and ATS kept their late 1977 lineup of Rolf Stommelen and Hans Heyer. Arrows signed Finnish rookie Keke Rosberg, and Swede Gunnar Nilsson, but after the latter's diagnosis with testicular cancer, they signed Italian Gianfranco Brancatelli as a last minute replacement. Ensign signed American youngster Bobby Rahal to replace Nilsson alongside Ronnie Peterson, and Everest signed Italians Riccardo Patrese and Piercarlo Ghinzani.Ligier signed François Migault to partner Jacques Laffite. Williams signed Ferrari refugee Patrick Depailler to partner Australian Alan Jones, who was returning to racing after his accident after the previous year's Dutch Grand Prix. Alfa Romeo brought Elio De Angelis to their team, and Jean-Pierre Jarier, who was covering for the injured Emerson Fittipaldi. Boro signed former Hesketh driver Leonhard von Gottorp to drive alongside Italian Vittorio Brambilla. Dywa kept Renzo Zorzi and signed Arsenio Matarazzo to replace Alberto Colombo, and Interscope used American drivers Mike Mosley and Danny Ongais. Team Merzario signed Beppe Gabbiani to partner Arturo Merzario. Centro Asegurador F1 kept Iberia's lineup of de Villota and Gabriel Château, with B&S Fabrications keeping Divina Galica and partnering her with Swede Conny Andersson. Kauhsen signed Anne Schröder and Klaus Ludwig, with Hesketh keeping Stephen South and using Swedish driver Anders Olofsson. Rebaque used American Brett Lunger alongside Héctor Rebaque, and struggling privateers North Star Racing using Giorgio Francia and Anton Roche. Shadow signed Swedish nobleman and rally driver Freddy Kottulinsky, and 1971 British Formula Three champion Silvio Bachot, and LEC used Ian Scheckter and Gijs Van Lennep. Hernandez used local drivers Héctor Luis Gradassi and Osvaldo López, Gilmore used George Snider and Jerry Sneva, and Parnelli signed Peter Gregg and Jim Busby, but due to the team's bankruptcy, neither would compete in a grand prix weekend.
Mid-Season
Calendar
Championship Grands Prix
Non-Championship Events
Race | Track | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Winning constructor | Winning entrant | Report | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Template:USA Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland | Burke Lakefront Airport | 23 April | Template:USA Mario Andretti | Template:USA Mario Andretti | Template:GBR Thomas Nurmester | Template:GBR Lotus-Ford | Template:GBR John Player Team Lotus | Report |
2 | Template:GBR XXX BRDC International Trophy | Silverstone | 28 May | Report | |||||
3 | Trofeo Dino Ferrari | Autodromo Dino Ferrari | 18 June | Report | |||||
4 | Template:GBR Race of Champions | Brands Hatch | 9 July | Report | |||||
5 | Template:GBR Tony Brise Memorial Trophy | Silverstone | 15 July | Report |
Standings
Drivers' Championship
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Only a driver's best 11 finishes counted towards the championship
|
Constructor's Championship
Only a constructor's best placed two cars at each event counted for the championship. All results counted towards the championship
Entrant's Championship
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