Published evidence
1978 Long Beach Grand Prix · race
A historical profile with source-linked evidence. Further research is in progress.
THE HISTORICAL RECORD
Profile & context
- Name
- 1978 Long Beach Grand Prix · race
PROVENANCE
Sources behind this page
F1DB
v2026.17.0 · session/301-race
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.
Grand Prix context
1978 Long Beach Grand Prix · Long Beach
Technical formula: Formula 1. World Championship membership is separate from technical regulations.
1978 Formula 1 World Championship · round 4
Race classification
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:52:01.301 · 80 laps · ferrari | 9 |
| 2 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:52:12.362 · 80 laps · ford | 6 |
| 3 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 1:52:30.252 · 80 laps · ford | 4 |
| 4 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus | 1:52:46.904 · 80 laps · ford | 3 |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:53:24.185 · 80 laps · matra | 2 |
| 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | Time not recorded · 79 laps · ford | 1 |
| 7 | Alan Jones | Williams | Time not recorded · 79 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| 8 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | Time not recorded · 79 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| 9 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | Time not recorded · 79 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| 10 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow | Time not recorded · 79 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| 11 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | Time not recorded · 75 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| 12 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | Accident · Time not recorded · 74 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | Accident · Time not recorded · 59 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | Transmission · Time not recorded · 50 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | Turbo · Time not recorded · 43 laps · renault | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | Accident · Time not recorded · 38 laps · ferrari | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Niki Lauda | Brabham | Ignition · Time not recorded · 27 laps · alfa-romeo | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | Gearbox · Time not recorded · 25 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | Gearbox · Time not recorded · 17 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Jochen Mass | ATS | Brakes · Time not recorded · 11 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | John Watson | Brabham | Engine · Time not recorded · 9 laps · alfa-romeo | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | James Hunt | McLaren | Accident · Time not recorded · 5 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNS | Rupert Keegan | Surtees | Accident in practice · Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNS | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow | Accident in practice · Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNQ | Brett Lunger | McLaren | Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNQ | Lamberto Leoni | Ensign | Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNPQ | Keke Rosberg | Theodore | Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNPQ | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus | Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNPQ | Danny Ongais | Shadow | Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNPQ | Derek Daly | Hesketh | Time not recorded · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
Qualifying
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:20.636 · ferrari | |
| 2 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:20.836 · ferrari | |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 1:20.937 · alfa-romeo | |
| 4 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:21.188 · ford | |
| 5 | John Watson | Brabham | 1:21.244 · alfa-romeo | |
| 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus | 1:21.474 · ford | |
| 7 | James Hunt | McLaren | 1:21.738 · ford | |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Williams | 1:21.935 · ford | |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 1:22.006 · ford | |
| 10 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 1:22.163 · ford | |
| 11 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 1:22.234 · ford | |
| 12 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 1:22.414 · ford | |
| 13 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:22.491 · renault | |
| 14 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:22.630 · matra | |
| 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1:22.790 · ford | |
| 16 | Jochen Mass | ATS | 1:23.106 · ford | |
| 17 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | 1:23.212 · ford | |
| 18 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | 1:23.291 · ford | |
| 19 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | 1:23.419 · ford | |
| 20 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow | 1:23.454 · ford | |
| 21 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 1:23.589 · ford | |
| 22 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees | 1:23.677 · ford | |
| 23 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow | 1:23.733 · ford | |
| 24 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 1:23.792 · ford | |
| 25 | Brett Lunger | McLaren | 1:23.795 · ford | |
| 26 | Lamberto Leoni | Ensign | 1:24.008 · ford |
Starting grid
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:20.636 · ferrari | |
| 2 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:20.836 · ferrari | |
| 3 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 1:20.937 · alfa-romeo | |
| 4 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:21.188 · ford | |
| 5 | John Watson | Brabham | 1:21.244 · alfa-romeo | |
| 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus | 1:21.474 · ford | |
| 7 | James Hunt | McLaren | 1:21.738 · ford | |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Williams | 1:21.935 · ford | |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 1:22.006 · ford | |
| 10 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 1:22.163 · ford | |
| 11 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 1:22.234 · ford | |
| 12 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 1:22.414 · ford | |
| 13 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:22.491 · renault | |
| 14 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:22.630 · matra | |
| 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1:22.790 · ford | |
| 16 | Jochen Mass | ATS | 1:23.106 · ford | |
| 17 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | 1:23.212 · ford | |
| 18 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | 1:23.291 · ford | |
| 19 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | 1:23.419 · ford | |
| 20 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow | 1:23.454 · ford | |
| 21 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 1:23.589 · ford | |
| 22 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 1:23.792 · ford |
Championship progression
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 18 |
| 2 | Mario Andretti | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 18 |
| 3 | Ronnie Peterson | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 14 |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 14 |
| 5 | Niki Lauda | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 10 |
| 6 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 6 |
| 7 | John Watson | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 4 |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 4 |
| 9 | James Hunt | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 3 |
| 9 | Alan Jones | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 3 |
| 11 | Clay Regazzoni | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 2 |
| 12 | Didier Pironi | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 2 |
| 13 | Patrick Tambay | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |
| 13 | Riccardo Patrese | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |