1978 Argentine Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Argentina in 1978 was on January 15 held at the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires, and was the first race of the Formula 1 season 1978.
- 2.1 The Missing Reutemann
- 2.2 The race course
- 4.1 Start -up
- 4.2 race
- 5.1 Drivers' Championship
- 5.2 Constructors' Championship
Reports
Before the race
Before the start of the 1978 season, there were significant changes in the team and the technical specifications of the vehicles. With the Lotus 78 in 1977 Team Lotus managed a turning point in automotive racing Formula 1 The Lotus 78 was the first real Wing Car of Formula 1 history and leading the way for many race cars that were built in the sequence according to this concept. Also in early 1978 came this vehicle for use as the new Lotus 79 was not ready at this time. For Mario Andretti, who won four 1977 Grand Prix with the 78, the Swede Ronnie Peterson returned to Lotus. Peterson, who had driven at Lotus back in the early 1970s, came back from the Tyrrell team of Colin Chapman and there replaced his compatriot Gunnar Nilsson seriously ill, who had signed with Arrows regardless.
However, the most talked about driver change took place at Ferrari. Niki Lauda, who won in 1977 his second World Drivers' Championship at the Scuderia, moved to Brabham, the team of Bernie Ecclestone. Since Brabham began a 12-cylinder engines, Alfa Romeo has been a polemic in the Italian Motor Sport Press violently about the change. Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari accused the Austrians to have sold for a few sticks of salami to the competition. Second driver in the team was the Northern Irishman John Watson. Also at Brabham came with the 45C, an adapted last year's model used.
Ferrari went with the same driver line-up for the new season, which ended with the old one. Gilles Villeneuve, who had already been replaced in the last two races in 1977 Lauda, has been fully committed. Carlos Reutemann stayed with the Scuderia. Even with Ferrari for the first race of the season the previous year's model, the 312T2 was denied. Its successor, the then first came 312T3 at the Grand Prix of South Africa for use. However, they changed already early in the season from Goodyear to Michelin, the French tire manufacturer which had to equip another team this season alongside Renault.
The German Jochen Mass was moved from McLaren to ATS. At James Hunt instead came the Frenchman Patrick Tambay the team. ATS had the technical equipment, the factory building in Britain as well as the designer Robin Herd taken from the March factory team that no longer took as such, the leading scientists of the development of the first Eigenbaus ATS HS1.
Hans -Joachim Stuck, who had to leave the Brabham team in favor of Niki Lauda, was awarded a contract with Shadow on the side of Clay Regazzoni, whose place was taken at Ensign Danny Ongais. The team also established a second car for Lamberto Leoni.
In Tyrrell had abandoned the six-wheel project and had returned with the 008 for conventional racing cars. Instead of the exchanged Lotus Peterson the French debutant Didier Pironi was engaged for the second car next to Patrick Depailler.
The financially troubled Hesketh team began the season with the British Divina Galica, while equipped with extensive sponsorship Rupert Keegan joined the team Surtees.
The first time antretenden as factory teams racing teams ATS, Williams, and Theodore Merzario started with new cars in the season, while the remaining teams inserting modified previous models.
Mario Andretti achieved in training the pole position ahead of Reutemann, Peterson, Watson and Lauda.
The race
The Lost Reutemann
As the father of Carlos Reutemann a week before the race date a search call after Reutemann and his family had read in the Argentine television, the public reacted only with confusion and then with concern to this message; where was the Ferrari driver, his wife and his two children? What had happened: Reutemann, his wife and his two daughters came Mimicha a boat trip on the Rio Parana to Santa Fe in a storm, which completely destroyed the small motorboat. Reutemann was his family and escape to a small island. After the search call a large-scale rescue operation was launched; the family was discovered by a helicopter and taken from a rescue unit in security.
The race course
From the pole position, Mario Andretti went into the race, the beginning only Carlos Reutemann could follow. But the Argentines had problems with the tires and soon lost contact. After a collision with Jacques Laffite in the Ligier and a pit stop for a tire change, he fell far behind and finished the race in seventh place, one place ahead of his teammate Villeneuve. Next Followers of John Andretti was created Watson, the considerable pressure and three times unsuccessfully tried slowing down your Lotus pilots. Watson lost to two-thirds of the race, but his entire cooling water, causing the engine overheated and was fixed. This Niki Lauda moved up to second rank, who had to defend this by a wheel - to-wheel duel in the last round against the Tyrrell driver Patrick Depailler, hard.
The five -time Formula 1 world champion Juan Manuel Fangio underwent as race director in the last round an embarrassing mistake. Instead of the leader Andretti he waved the driving ranks fifth Ronnie Peterson as first and caused quite hopeless confusion in the subsequent pilot. Since the first four drove by one more lap, the race organizers decided to shorten the race one lap and evaluate the state after 52 laps as the final result.
Message list
Classifications
Line-up
Race
WM stands after the race
The first six of the race were 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point (s).