1978 The Citizen and Asseng Grand Prix of South Africa
Kyalami · · Formula 1
Race summary
| Winner | Grid | Cars | Margin | Laps | km | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie Peterson | 11 | 26 | 0.466 | 78 | 320.1 | Mario Andretti |
Finishing order
Interval is the deficit to the winner: seconds where official timing recorded them, laps where a car finished down. ★ marks the fastest lap.
| Fin | Grid | No. | Driver | Constructor | Engine | Laps | FL | Interval | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | Ford | 78 | Finished | 9 | ||
| 2 | 12 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | Ford | 78 | +0.466s | Finished | 6 | |
| 3 | 10 | 2 | John Watson | Brabham | Alfa Romeo | 78 | +4.442s | Finished | 4 | |
| 4 | 18 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | Ford | 78 | +38.990s | Finished | 3 | |
| 5 | 14 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | Matra | 78 | +69.220s | Finished | 2 | |
| 6 | 13 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | Ford | 77 | +1 lap | Finished | 1 | |
| 7 | 2 | 5 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | Ford | 77 | ★ | +1 lap | Finished | |
| 8 | 17 | 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS (Auto Technisches Zubehör) | Ford | 77 | +1 lap | Finished | ||
| 9 | 21 | 36 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | Ford | 77 | +1 lap | Finished | ||
| 10 | 22 | 25 | Héctor Rebaque | Team Lotus | Ford | 77 | +1 lap | Finished | ||
| 11 | 19 | 30 | Brett Lunger | McLaren | Ford | 76 | +2 laps | Finished | ||
| 12 | 20 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | Ford | 76 | +2 laps | Finished | ||
| — | 7 | 35 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | Ford | 63 | — | Engine | ||
| — | 5 | 20 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | Ford | 59 | — | Spun off | ||
| — | 4 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | Ford | 56 | — | Accident | ||
| — | 9 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | Ferrari | 55 | — | Spun off | ||
| — | 8 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | Ferrari | 55 | — | Oil leak | ||
| — | 23 | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees | Ford | 52 | — | Engine | ||
| — | 1 | 1 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | Alfa Romeo | 52 | — | Engine | ||
| — | 16 | 9 | Jochen Mass | ATS (Auto Technisches Zubehör) | Ford | 43 | — | Engine | ||
| — | 26 | 37 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | Ford | 39 | — | Suspension | ||
| — | 6 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | Renault | 38 | — | Engine | ||
| — | 24 | 32 | Keke Rosberg | Theodore | Ford | 15 | — | Clutch | ||
| — | 15 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | Ford | 8 | — | Transmission | ||
| — | 25 | 24 | Eddie Cheever | Hesketh | Ford | 8 | — | Oil leak | ||
| — | 3 | 7 | James Hunt | McLaren | Ford | 5 | — | Engine | ||
| — | — | 31 | René Arnoux | Martini | Ford | — | Not classified | |||
| — | — | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow | Ford | — | Not classified | |||
| — | — | 22 | Lamberto Leoni | Ensign | Ford | — | Not classified | |||
| — | — | 16 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow | Ford | — | Not classified |