The 1978 Italian Grand Prix was held on September 10 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Marred by a huge accident on the first start, which ultimately cost the life of Ronnie Peterson, the race was awarded to Niki Lauda in a Brabham-Alfa Romeo, after Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve were both assessed one minute penalties for jumping the start. Lauda's teammate John Watson was second, ahead of Carlos Reutemann in a Ferrari. Andretti and Villeneuve were classified sixth and seventh respectively after the time penalties.
The accident occurred less than 10 seconds after the start, as the cars approached the first chicane. Riccardo Patrese had been forced to the right of the 'official' track just after the start by a swerving James Hunt, and in merging back onto the track touched Hunt's car. Hunt in turn bumped Peterson's right rear tire, pitching him straight into the barrier. The ensuing accident involved 10 cars, five of which did not restart the race. Both Peterson and Vittorio Brambilla had suffered severe injuries, with Peterson succumbing the next morning.
Background
Entry List
The full entry list for the 1978 Italian Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview
Qualifying
Report
Qualifying Results
The full qualifying results for the 1978 Italian Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | |||||
| 1 | 5 |  Mario Andretti
|
Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.780 | 1:38.401 | 1:37.520 | — |
| 2 | 12 |  Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari | 1:39.046 | 1:38.513 | 1:37.866 | +0.346s |
| 3 | 15 |  Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault | 1:38.439 | 1:39.242 | 1:37.930 | +0.410s |
| 4 | 1 |  Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:39.378 | 1:39.092 | 1:38.215 | +0.695s |
| 5 | 6 |  Ronnie Peterson
|
Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.256 | 1:40.518 | 1:38.634 | +0.736s |
| 6 | 27 |  Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.181 | 1:39.143 | 1:38.271 | +0.751s |
| 7 | 2 |  John Watson
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:38.610 | 1:39.376 | 1:38.611 | +1.090s |
| 8 | 26 | Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra | 1:39.195 | 1:40.370 | 1:38.917 | +1.397s |
| 9 | 20 |  Jody Scheckter
|
Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.170 | 1:39.017 | 1:38.937 | +1.417s |
| 10 | 7 | James Hunt
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.475 | 1:39.166 | 1:38.938 | +1.418s |
| 11 | 11 |  Carlos Reutemann
|
Ferrari | 1:39.395 | 1:38.959 | 1:38.969 | +1.439s |
| 12 | 35 |  Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.264 | 1:39.831 | 1:39.179 | +1.659s |
| 13 | 14 |  Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.170 | 1:40.665 | 1:39.421 | +1.901s |
| 14 | 3 | Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:41.223 | 1:41.465 | 1:39.531 | +2.011s |
| 15 | 17 |  Clay Regazzoni
|
Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.621 | 1:39.675 | 1:40.880 | +2.101s |
| 16 | 4 | Patrick Depailler
|
Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.934 | 1:40.774 | 1:39.630 | +2.110s |
| 17 | 16 |  Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.701 | 1:40.550 | 1:39.882 | +2.181s |
| 18 | 22 |  Derek Daly
|
Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.075 | 1:40.674 | 1:40.382 | +2.555s |
| 19 | 8 | Patrick Tambay
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.290 | 1:41.202 | 1:40.163 | +2.643s |
| 20 | 33 | Bruno Giacomelli
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.715 | 1:41.483 | 1:40.199 | +2.679s |
| 21 | 30 | Brett Lunger
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:52.164 | 1:44.285 | 1:40.302 | +2.782s |
| 22 | 37 | Arturo Merzario
|
Merzario-Ford Cosworth | 1:41.561 | 1:45.963 | 1:40.702 | +3.182s |
| 23 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla
|
Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.805 | 1:41.088 | 1:40.860 | +3.285s |
| 24 | 29 | Nelson Piquet
|
McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.846 | 1:41.548 | 1:41.080 | +3.326s |
| DNQ | 25 |  Héctor Rebaque
|
Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:41.260 | 1:41.063 | 1:41.116 | +3.543s |
| DNQ* | 10 | Harald Ertl
|
ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:43.538 | 1:43.351 | 1:41.185 | +3.665s |
| DNQ | 9 |  Michael Bleekemolen
|
ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:41.677 | 1:42.432 | 1:41.814 | +4.157s |
| DNQ | 18 | Gimax
|
Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 1:49.914 | 1:46.080 | 1:44.408 | +6.888s |
| DNPQ* | 23 | Harald Ertl
|
Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.270 | |||
| DNPQ | 32 |  Keke Rosberg
|
Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.751 | |||
| DNPQ | 36 | Rolf Stommelen
|
Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:40.935 | |||
| DNPQ | 34 | Alberto Colombo
|
Merzario-Ford Cosworth | 1:42.558 | |||
- Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
- *Ertl failed to qualify in both qualifying sessions.
Grid
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
| Mario Andretti | 2 | |
| ______________ | Gilles Villeneuve | |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 4 | |
| ______________ | Niki Lauda | |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| Ronnie Peterson | 6 | |
| ______________ | Alan Jones | |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| John Watson | 8 | |
| ______________ | Jacques Laffite | |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| Jody Scheckter | 10 | |
| ______________ | James Hunt | |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| Carlos Reutemann | 12 | |
| ______________ | Riccardo Patrese | |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
| Emerson Fittipaldi | 14 | |
| ______________ | Didier Pironi | |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| Clay Regazzoni | 16 | |
| ______________ | Patrick Depailler | |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| Hans-Joachim Stuck | 18 | |
| ______________ | Derek Daly | |
| Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
| Patrick Tambay | 20 | |
| ______________ | Bruno Giacomelli | |
| Row 11 | 21 | ______________ |
| Brett Lunger | 22 | |
| ______________ | Arturo Merzario | |
| Row 12 | 23 | ______________ |
| Vittorio Brambilla | 24 | |
| ______________ | Nelson Piquet |
Race
Report
First start accident
Results
The full results for the 1978 Italian Grand Prix are outlined below:
The race was shortened to 40 laps due to encroaching darkness.
- *Andretti and Villeneuve were both penalized 60 seconds for jumping the start. Without the penalty they would have finished 1-2.
- **Regazzoni couldn't be classified as he had failed to complete 90% of the race distance.
Milestones
- Mario Andretti clinched the World Championship at this race.
- Final race win for Alfa Romeo as either a constructor or engine supplier.
- Final race for the McLaren M23.
Standings after the race
External Links
| V T E | Italian Grand Prix
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