1978 United States Grand Prix West
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Championship standings
After three rounds: Andretti leads with 12 points, Peterson 11, Depailler 10, Lauda 10, Reutemann 9.
Previous race
Peterson won the South African Grand Prix — the 300th World Championship race — in dramatic fashion, catching and passing Depailler on the final lap after Depailler’s Tyrrell trailed smoke. Patrese had charged from the back to lead before his engine failed. Lauda, starting from pole in the new Brabham BT46, retired with engine failure. Watson completed the podium.
Entrants
Derek Daly makes his Formula One debut, driving the Hesketh. Hans-Joachim Stuck was unable to start after a practice accident.
Weather
Scattered cloud, 17 °C (63 °F).
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1978 United States Grand Prix West” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 3 Races
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 Jan | 🇦🇷 Argentine Grand Prix | Andretti | Andretti | Lauda | Depailler |
| 2 | 29 Jan | 🇧🇷 Brazilian Grand Prix | Peterson | Reutemann | Fittipaldi | Lauda |
| 3 | 4 Mar | 🇿🇦 South African Grand Prix | Lauda | Peterson | Depailler | Watson |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 12 | 1 |
| 2 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | 11 | 1 |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 10 | 0 |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 9 | 1 |
| 6 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | John Watson | Brabham | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Williams | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | James Hunt | McLaren | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 2 | 0 |
Constructors' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Lotus | 21 | 2 |
| 2 | Brabham | 14 | 0 |
| 3 | Tyrrell | 11 | 0 |
| 4 | Ferrari | 9 | 1 |
| 5 | Fittipaldi | 6 | 0 |