1978 / ROUND 3

South African Grand Prix

WinnerRonnie PetersonPublished race classification

Official poleNiki LaudaSeparate from qualifying rank

Race distance320.112 km78 laps

Race entries30Includes non-starts and exclusions

Points after this race

Championship

Result	Driver	Constructor	Qual.	Grid	Laps	Time / status	Points
1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	11	11	78	1:42:15.767	9
2	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	12	12	78	1:42:16.233	6
3	John Watson	Brabham	10	10	78	1:42:20.209	4
4	Alan Jones	Williams	18	18	78	1:42:54.757	3
5	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	14	14	78	1:43:24.987	2
6	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	13	13	77	+1 lap	1
7	Mario Andretti	Lotus	2	2	77	+1 lap	0
8	Jean-Pierre Jarier	ATS	17	17	77	+1 lap	0
9	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows	21	21	77	+1 lap	0
10	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	22	22	77	+1 lap	0
11	Brett Lunger	McLaren	19	19	76	+2 laps	0
12	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	20	20	76	+2 laps	0
DNF	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	7	7	63	Engine	0
DNF	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	5	5	59	Spun off	0
DNF	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	4	4	56	Accident	0
DNF	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	9	9	55	Spun off	0
DNF	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	8	8	55	Oil leak	0
DNF	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	23	23	52	Engine	0
DNF	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1	1	52	Engine	0
DNF	Jochen Mass	ATS	16	16	43	Engine	0
DNF	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	26	26	39	Suspension	0
DNF	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	6	6	38	Engine	0
DNF	Keke Rosberg	Theodore	24	24	15	Clutch	0
DNF	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	15	15	8	Transmission	0
DNF	Eddie Cheever	Hesketh	25	25	8	Oil leak	0
DNF	James Hunt	McLaren	3	3	5	Engine	0
DNQ	René Arnoux	Martini	27	—	—	DNQ	0
DNQ	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	28	—	—	DNQ	0
DNQ	Lamberto Leoni	Ensign	29	—	—	DNQ	0
DNQ	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	30	—	—	DNQ	0

Position	Driver	Published overall / latest phase
1	Niki Lauda	1:14.650
2	Mario Andretti	1:14.900
3	James Hunt	1:15.140
4	Patrick Tambay	1:15.300
5	Jody Scheckter	1:15.320
6	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	1:15.360
7	Riccardo Patrese	1:15.480
8	Gilles Villeneuve	1:15.500
9	Carlos Reutemann	1:15.520
10	John Watson	1:15.620
11	Ronnie Peterson	1:15.940
12	Patrick Depailler	1:15.970
13	Didier Pironi	1:16.380
14	Jacques Laffite	1:16.400
15	Emerson Fittipaldi	1:16.470
16	Jochen Mass	1:16.600
17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	1:17.120
18	Alan Jones	1:17.160
19	Brett Lunger	1:17.300
20	Vittorio Brambilla	1:17.320
21	Rolf Stommelen	1:17.490
22	Héctor Rebaque	1:17.500
23	Rupert Keegan	1:17.570
24	Keke Rosberg	1:17.620
25	Eddie Cheever	1:17.830
26	Arturo Merzario	1:18.150
27	René Arnoux	1:18.210
28	Clay Regazzoni	1:18.300
29	Lamberto Leoni	1:18.380
30	Hans-Joachim Stuck	1:18.450

Time columns can refer to different phases; Head 2 Head uses a common phase. Grid penalties and Sprint-defined grids do not rewrite qualifying.