1978 United States Grand Prix

Championship standings

Mario Andretti has become the 1978 Formula One World Champion. He is the first American to win the title since Phil Hill in 1961, and remains the last American champion to date.

Previous race

The Italian Grand Prix at Monza was marred by a multi-car accident at the start. Ronnie Peterson sustained severe leg injuries in the crash and died in hospital that night from fat embolism after a kidney failure. Vittorio Brambilla was hit in the head by a tyre and sat unconscious in his car; he survived but will be absent for the rest of the season. The race was stopped and restarted; Lauda won, with Watson second and Reutemann third.

Between-race developments

Following the accident at Monza, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) held a meeting and filed an injunction barring Riccardo Patrese — whom they blamed for the first-corner collision — from participating in this race weekend. Patrese believes he was not responsible for the accident and attempted unsuccessfully to halt the race.

Jean-Pierre Jarier has joined Lotus to replace Peterson for this race and the Canadian Grand Prix.

Walter Wolf is running two cars for the first time, with American Bobby Rahal enlisted from Formula Atlantic to partner Jody Scheckter. Brett Lunger drives an Ensign after his McLaren was destroyed in the Monza opening-lap crash.

Practice

Friday practice was warm and sunny. Andretti set a new Watkins Glen track record of 1:39.82, later improving to 1:38.92, ahead of the Ferraris of Reutemann and Villeneuve and the Brabhams of Lauda and Watson. High winds on Saturday meant only eight drivers improved their times, with Jones moving up to third on his final lap. Despite the wind, Andretti improved his pace-setting time to 1:38.114, more than a second clear of Reutemann.

Weather

Cloudy, dry.