Published evidence

1978 John Player British Grand Prix

A historical profile with source-linked evidence. Further research is in progress.

THE HISTORICAL RECORD

Profile & context

Event date: 16 Jul 1978

Name: 1978 John Player British Grand Prix

PROVENANCE

Sources behind this page

F1DB

v2026.17.0 · races/307

Original reference ↗

Historical source & scope

F1DB v2026.17.0 · CC BY 4.0. Normalisation, links and calculations by MotorPedia. Original source observations retained.

Source-reported facts are not independent historical confirmation. Missing times and points remain unknown; source-rounded points retain their published precision. Constructor, entrant and team identities are kept distinct.

Recorded qualifying format: TWO_SESSION

Grand Prix context

1978 John Player British Grand Prix · Brands Hatch

Technical formula: Formula 1. World Championship membership is separate from technical regulations.

1978 Formula 1 World Championship · round 10

Race classification

Source participant rows: shared cars and nonstarters retained
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details	Points
1	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:42:12.390 · 76 laps · ferrari	9
2	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:42:13.620 · 76 laps · alfa-romeo	6
3	John Watson	Brabham	1:42:49.640 · 76 laps · alfa-romeo	4
4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:43:25.660 · 76 laps · ford	3
5	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	Time not recorded · 75 laps · ford	2
6	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	Time not recorded · 75 laps · ford	1
7	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	Time not recorded · 75 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
8	Brett Lunger	McLaren	Time not recorded · 75 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
9	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	Time not recorded · 75 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
10	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	Time not recorded · 73 laps · matra	Unknown / not applicable
NC	Jochen Mass	ATS	Time not recorded · 66 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Keke Rosberg	ATS	Suspension · Time not recorded · 59 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	Gearbox · Time not recorded · 49 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	Turbo · Time not recorded · 46 laps · renault	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	Suspension · Time not recorded · 40 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	Gearbox · Time not recorded · 40 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	Gearbox · Time not recorded · 36 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	Engine · Time not recorded · 32 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	Fuel system · Time not recorded · 32 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Derek Daly	Ensign	Wheel · Time not recorded · 30 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Mario Andretti	Lotus	Engine · Time not recorded · 28 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Alan Jones	Williams	Transmission · Time not recorded · 26 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	Transmission · Time not recorded · 19 laps · ferrari	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	Gearbox · Time not recorded · 15 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	James Hunt	McLaren	Accident · Time not recorded · 7 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	Fuel leak · Time not recorded · 6 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNQ	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows	Time not recorded · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNQ	Geoff Lees	Ensign	Time not recorded · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNQ	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	Time not recorded · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNQ	Tony Trimmer	McLaren	Time not recorded · ford	Unknown / not applicable

Qualifying

Recorded qualifying order; Q1/Q2/Q3 and earlier formats remain distinct in original evidence
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details
1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:16.800 · ford
2	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:17.060 · ford
3	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:17.370 · ford
4	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:17.480 · alfa-romeo
5	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	1:18.280 · ford
6	Alan Jones	Williams	1:18.360 · ford
7	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:18.440 · matra
8	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:18.450 · ferrari
9	John Watson	Brabham	1:18.570 · alfa-romeo
10	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:18.730 · ford
11	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:18.780 · ford
12	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:18.880 · renault
13	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:18.990 · ferrari
14	James Hunt	McLaren	1:19.050 · ford
15	Derek Daly	Ensign	1:19.130 · ford
16	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	1:19.790 · ford
17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	1:19.830 · ford
18	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	1:19.980 · ford
19	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:19.990 · ford
20	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:20.140 · ford
21	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	1:20.240 · ford
22	Keke Rosberg	ATS	1:20.270 · ford
23	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	1:20.350 · ford
24	Brett Lunger	McLaren	1:20.390 · ford
25	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	1:20.700 · ford
26	Jochen Mass	ATS	1:20.710 · ford
27	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows	1:20.730 · ford
28	Geoff Lees	Ensign	1:21.050 · ford
29	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	1:21.100 · ford
30	Tony Trimmer	McLaren	1:21.410 · ford

Starting grid

Recorded grid; pole awards are not inferred from starting position
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details
1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:16.800 · ford
2	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:17.060 · ford
3	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:17.370 · ford
4	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:17.480 · alfa-romeo
5	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	1:18.280 · ford
6	Alan Jones	Williams	1:18.360 · ford
7	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:18.440 · matra
8	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:18.450 · ferrari
9	John Watson	Brabham	1:18.570 · alfa-romeo
10	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:18.730 · ford
11	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:18.780 · ford
12	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:18.880 · renault
13	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:18.990 · ferrari
14	James Hunt	McLaren	1:19.050 · ford
15	Derek Daly	Ensign	1:19.130 · ford
16	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	1:19.790 · ford
17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	1:19.830 · ford
18	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	1:19.980 · ford
19	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:19.990 · ford
20	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:20.140 · ford
21	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	1:20.240 · ford
22	Keke Rosberg	ATS	1:20.270 · ford
23	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	1:20.350 · ford
24	Brett Lunger	McLaren	1:20.390 · ford
25	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	1:20.700 · ford
26	Jochen Mass	ATS	1:20.710 · ford

Championship progression

Driver standings after this championship round
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details	Points
1	Mario Andretti	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	45
2	Ronnie Peterson	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	36
3	Carlos Reutemann	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	31
4	Niki Lauda	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	31
5	Patrick Depailler	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	26
6	John Watson	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	16
7	Jacques Laffite	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	10
8	Riccardo Patrese	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	8
9	Jody Scheckter	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	8
9	James Hunt	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	8
11	Emerson Fittipaldi	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	7
12	Alan Jones	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	5
13	Patrick Tambay	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	5
14	Didier Pironi	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	5
15	Clay Regazzoni	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	4
16	Gilles Villeneuve	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	3
17	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	2

Explore further

1978 John Player British Grand Prix · qualifying ↗1978 John Player British Grand Prix · race ↗