1978 Canadian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
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|||
| Date | October 8, 1978 | ||
| Location | Circuit Île Notre-Dame, Montreal | ||
| Course | Semi-permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.500 km (2.796 mi) | ||
| Distance | 70 laps, 315.0 km (195.7 mi) | ||
| Weather | Mostly cloudy and cold 5 °C (41 °F) |
||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:38.015 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford | |
| Time | 1:38.072 on lap 70 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Wolf-Ford | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
The 1978 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 8 October 1978 at Montreal.
The Canadian Grand Prix had moved from the Mosport Park circuit near Toronto to the newly built Circuit Île Notre-Dame in Montreal. The event had moved because of track safety and organization problems with the hilly and scenic Mosport Park track. This circuit, made up entirely of public roads was located on a man-made island in the middle of the St. Lawrence Seaway which was the location of Expo '67.
Before the race, in pre-race interviews Mario Andretti noted that he thought that the circuit has been designed in favour of Gilles Villeneuve, a comment that was picked up by local press. Andretti responded to the comments on race day morning, stating that he is "not critical of the race organizers", but instead "critical of our own FOCA officials who were sent over here to approve the track".
Both championships were already sown up (in favour of Andretti and Lotus), so this, the final round, was a dead rubber in the 1978 title chase. Before the race, Brabham announced that then unknown Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, who had raced unsuccessfully earlier in the season with Ensign and BS Fabrications, would be joining them in a third car, alongside regular drivers Niki Lauda and John Watson. The only other change was the Riccardo Patrese returned to the Arrows cockpit after missing the previous race.
Poor weather and rain on Friday morning meant that the first practice session began 20 minutes later than scheduled. When the session did start, the two Ferrari drivers were fastest, Carlos Reutemann fastest with a lap of 2:02.600, ahead of team-mate Villeneuve. The McLarens struggled in the weather, with Peter Windsor noting that neither car was able to find "decent traction".
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