1978 Swedish Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | June 17, 1978 | ||
| Official name | IX Swedish Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp, Sweden | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.031 km (2.505 mi) | ||
| Distance | 70 laps, 282.170 km (175.332 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny and warm | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:22.058 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Niki Lauda
|
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | |
| Time | 1:24.836 on lap 5 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
| Second | Arrows-Ford | ||
| Third | Lotus-Ford | ||
The 1978 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 17, 1978, at the Scandinavian Raceway; it was the eighth race of the 1978 Formula One season. It is the only race entered and won by the Brabham BT46B "fan car".
Responsible for the Brabham win was clever thinking by Brabham's Gordon Murray, who was trying to eclipse Colin Chapman's ground effect invention on the Lotus 79, the skirted car that had swept the front row since its debut at Zolder. Center of the new Brabham BT46B concept was a large fan which drew air through the engine water radiator which was mounted horizontally over the engine. The fan also took ground effect to a higher level (at least engineering-wise) by sucking air from under the car, creating a partial vacuum and creating an enormous amount of downforce. The car appeared to contravene a rule which stated that moving aerodynamic devices were not allowed, but Brabham argued that the rules had been worded to ban devices whose primary function was aerodynamic. As the fan also cooled the engine, Brabham claimed that this, not aerodynamics, was its primary function.
Its legality was soon protested, but it was allowed to race, John Watson and Niki Lauda qualifying 2nd and 3rd behind the Lotus 79 of Mario Andretti (the two drivers did this as to not draw attention to the remarkable advantage that the fan would provide, qualifying on full tanks and in the words of Lauda 'doing our best to avoid pole').
At the start Andretti retained the first place, while Lauda got ahead of Watson; on the second lap he was passed by a fast Riccardo Patrese in the Arrows, and on the third he was passed by the other Lotus of Ronnie Peterson too; the Swede also passed Patrese, but had later to back off due to a tyre puncture. The order then remained the same until lap 20, when Watson was forced to retire by a throttle problem.
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