1978 Austrian Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Championship standings
Andretti leads the championship, with the Lotus pair of Andretti and Peterson pulling away from the rest of the field. Lauda’s fifth engine failure of the season at Germany has left him further adrift.
Previous race
Andretti won the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim for his fifth victory of the season, with Peterson’s gearbox failing mid-race to leave Scheckter second and Laffite third. Jones had been running third before retiring with fuel vaporisation. Lauda was passed by Jones before suffering yet another engine failure — his fifth engine retirement in eleven rounds.
Entrants
Jean-Pierre Jabouille qualified his turbocharged Renault third at Germany; the turbo is beginning to show consistent one-lap pace. This is Lauda’s home race; the Österreichring crowd is heavily partisan in his favour.
Weather
Wet conditions.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1978 Austrian Grand Prix” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 5 Races
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 4 Jun | 🇪🇸 Spanish Grand Prix | Andretti | Andretti | Peterson | Laffite |
| 8 | 17 Jun | 🇸🇪 Swedish Grand Prix | Andretti | Lauda | Patrese | Peterson |
| 9 | 2 Jul | 🇫🇷 French Grand Prix | Watson | Andretti | Peterson | Hunt |
| 10 | 16 Jul | 🇬🇧 British Grand Prix | Peterson | Reutemann | Lauda | Watson |
| 11 | 30 Jul | 🇩🇪 German Grand Prix | Andretti | Andretti | Scheckter | Laffite |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 54 | 5 |
| 2 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | 36 | 1 |
| 3 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 31 | 3 |
| 4 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 31 | 1 |
| 5 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 26 | 1 |
| 6 | John Watson | Brabham | 16 | 0 |
| 7 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 14 | 0 |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 10 | 0 |
| 10 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 8 | 0 |
Constructors' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Lotus | 67 | 6 |
| 2 | Brabham | 40 | 1 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 31 | 3 |
| 4 | Tyrrell | 30 | 1 |
| 5 | Wolf | 14 | 0 |