1978 Season

Driver changes

Reigning champion Niki Lauda has parted with Ferrari before the end of the 1977 season. He joins Brabham, replacing Hans-Joachim Stuck, who moves to Shadow. Gilles Villeneuve, who made his Ferrari debut at the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix, stays at Ferrari alongside Carlos Reutemann.

Clay Regazzoni switches to Shadow from Ensign. His 1977 Ensign teammate Patrick Tambay has been signed by McLaren. With two seats vacant, Ensign sign Danny Ongais — from the folded Penske team — and the inexperienced Lamberto Leoni.

Ronnie Peterson makes a surprising switch to Lotus, replacing fellow Swede Gunnar Nilsson. Nilsson had signed with the new Arrows team but has been diagnosed with terminal testicular cancer and will not race this season. Peterson’s Tyrrell seat goes to debutant Didier Pironi. Ex-Shadow driver Riccardo Patrese and veteran Rolf Stommelen are confirmed as the Arrows line-up, though the team will not enter until the South African Grand Prix.

Jochen Mass, formerly at McLaren, joins ATS — a team built from the remnants of Penske and March. Jody Scheckter remains at Walter Wolf Racing, Jacques Laffite at Ligier, and Emerson Fittipaldi at his family’s Fittipaldi Automotive team.

Team changes

Five constructors enter with self-built chassis for the first time. Williams Grand Prix Engineering debut with the FW06 for Alan Jones. Arrows make their entry (from Round 3). Martini, Merzario, and Theodore also debut their own cars. BRM has folded.

Brabham switch from the Ferrari flat-twelve to the Alfa Romeo flat-twelve, carrying the BT45C into the first two rounds before the new BT46 is ready. Renault continue their turbocharged experiment with the RS01, to be driven by Jean-Pierre Jabouille from the South African Grand Prix onwards.

Calendar

The 1978 season runs 16 races from 15 January in Argentina to 8 October in Canada. Several rounds change circuit from 1977:

• The Brazilian Grand Prix moves from Interlagos in São Paulo to the new Jacarepagua circuit in Rio de Janeiro.
• The Spanish Grand Prix is rescheduled from early May to early June; Monaco and Belgium move up a slot in turn.
• The French Grand Prix moves from Dijon-Prenois to Circuit Paul Ricard, continuing an alternating-circuit arrangement between the two venues.
• The British Grand Prix rotates from Silverstone to Brands Hatch.
• The Canadian Grand Prix moves from Mosport Park to the new Île Notre-Dame circuit in Montreal, due to safety and organisation concerns at Mosport.
• The Japanese Grand Prix, scheduled for 16 April at Suzuka after Fuji’s contract was cancelled, has been called off on safety and financial grounds. Formula One will not return to Japan until 1987.