Published evidence

Grand Prix de France 1978

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

THE HISTORICAL RECORD

Profile & context

Event date: 2 Jul 1978

Name: Grand Prix de France 1978

PROVENANCE

Sources behind this page

F1DB

v2026.17.0 · races/306

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

Grand Prix de France 1978 · Circuit Paul Ricard

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

1978 Formula 1 World Championship · round 9

Race classification

Source participant rows: shared cars and nonstarters retained
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details	Points
1	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:38:51.920 · 54 laps · ford	9
2	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:38:54.850 · 54 laps · ford	6
3	James Hunt	McLaren	1:39:11.720 · 54 laps · ford	4
4	John Watson	Brabham	1:39:28.800 · 54 laps · alfa-romeo	3
5	Alan Jones	Williams	1:39:33.730 · 54 laps · ford	2
6	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:39:46.450 · 54 laps · ford	1
7	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:39:46.660 · 54 laps · matra	Unknown / not applicable
8	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	1:40:16.800 · 54 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
9	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:40:18.980 · 54 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
10	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:40:21.900 · 54 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
11	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	Time not recorded · 53 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	Time not recorded · 53 laps · ferrari	Unknown / not applicable
13	Jochen Mass	ATS	Time not recorded · 53 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
14	René Arnoux	Martini	Time not recorded · 53 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
15	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows	Time not recorded · 53 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
16	Keke Rosberg	ATS	Time not recorded · 52 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
17	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	Time not recorded · 52 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
18	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Time not recorded · 49 laps · ferrari	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Brett Lunger	McLaren	Engine · Time not recorded · 45 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	Suspension · Time not recorded · 43 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	Engine · Time not recorded · 40 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	Engine · Time not recorded · 28 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	Engine · Time not recorded · 10 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Niki Lauda	Brabham	Engine · Time not recorded · 10 laps · alfa-romeo	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	Electrical · Time not recorded · 4 laps · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	Engine · Time not recorded · 1 laps · renault	Unknown / not applicable
DNQ	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	Time not recorded · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNQ	Derek Daly	Ensign	Time not recorded · ford	Unknown / not applicable
DNQ	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	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	John Watson	Brabham	1:44.410 · alfa-romeo
2	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:44.460 · ford
3	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:44.710 · alfa-romeo
4	James Hunt	McLaren	1:44.920 · ford
5	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:44.980 · ford
6	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:45.070 · ford
7	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:45.200 · ford
8	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:45.350 · ferrari
9	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:45.550 · ferrari
10	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:45.680 · matra
11	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:45.730 · renault
12	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	1:46.320 · ford
13	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:46.370 · ford
14	Alan Jones	Williams	1:46.400 · ford
15	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:46.700 · ford
16	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:47.120 · ford
17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	1:48.550 · ford
18	René Arnoux	Martini	1:48.680 · ford
19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	1:48.680 · ford
20	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	1:48.890 · ford
21	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows	1:49.140 · ford
22	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	1:49.530 · ford
23	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	1:49.540 · ford
24	Brett Lunger	McLaren	1:49.550 · ford
25	Jochen Mass	ATS	1:49.900 · ford
26	Keke Rosberg	ATS	1:50.090 · ford
27	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	1:50.110 · ford
28	Derek Daly	Ensign	1:50.190 · ford
29	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	1:50.400 · ford

Starting grid

Recorded grid; pole awards are not inferred from starting position
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details
1	John Watson	Brabham	1:44.410 · alfa-romeo
2	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:44.460 · ford
3	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:44.710 · alfa-romeo
4	James Hunt	McLaren	1:44.920 · ford
5	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus	1:44.980 · ford
6	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:45.070 · ford
7	Jody Scheckter	Wolf	1:45.200 · ford
8	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	1:45.350 · ferrari
9	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:45.550 · ferrari
10	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:45.680 · matra
11	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:45.730 · renault
12	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	1:46.320 · ford
13	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell	1:46.370 · ford
14	Alan Jones	Williams	1:46.400 · ford
15	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:46.700 · ford
16	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:47.120 · ford
17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow	1:48.550 · ford
18	René Arnoux	Martini	1:48.680 · ford
19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees	1:48.680 · ford
20	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Shadow	1:48.890 · ford
21	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows	1:49.140 · ford
22	Bruno Giacomelli	McLaren	1:49.530 · ford
23	Rupert Keegan	Surtees	1:49.540 · ford
24	Brett Lunger	McLaren	1:49.550 · ford
25	Jochen Mass	ATS	1:49.900 · ford
26	Keke Rosberg	ATS	1:50.090 · 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	Niki Lauda	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	25
4	Patrick Depailler	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	23
5	Carlos Reutemann	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	22
6	John Watson	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	12
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	Didier Pironi	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	5
14	Patrick Tambay	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	4
15	Clay Regazzoni	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	4
16	Gilles Villeneuve	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	3

Explore further

Grand Prix de France 1978 · qualifying ↗Grand Prix de France 1978 · race ↗