1978 British Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | 16 July 1978 | ||
| Official name | XXXI John Player British Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Brands Hatch, Kent, England | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.206 km (2.613 mi) | ||
| Distance | 76 laps, 319.656 km (198.588 mi) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:16.80 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | |
| Time | 1:18.60 on lap 72 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
| Third | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
The 1978 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXI John Player British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 16 July 1978. The 76-lap race was the tenth round of the 1978 Formula One season.
With a total of 31 cars on the entry list, it was decided to forbid the Martini of René Arnoux from taking part, thus leaving 30 cars for qualifying.
As expected, the Lotuses filled the front row of the grid, although on this occasion Ronnie Peterson was ahead of Mario Andretti. Jody Scheckter in the Wolf and Niki Lauda in the Brabham made up the second row, while on the third were Riccardo Patrese in the Arrows and Alan Jones in the Williams. The top ten was completed by Jacques Laffite in the Ligier, Carlos Reutemann in the Ferrari, John Watson in the second Brabham and Patrick Depailler in the Tyrrell.
At the start of the race, Andretti took the lead from Peterson, with Scheckter holding third and Jones moving up to fourth. The Lotuses quickly pulled out a large gap, and looked set to dominate, until Peterson retired on lap 7 with a fuel leak. Andretti continued to lead until a puncture forced him to pit on lap 24, before his engine failed five laps later.
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