The 1978 Italian Grand Prix was the 14th motor race of the 1978 Formula One season. It was held on 10 September 1978 at Monza. It was marred by the death of Ronnie Peterson following an accident at the start of the race. The race was won by Niki Lauda (Brabham-Alfa Romeo), after both Mario Andretti (Lotus-Ford) and Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari), who had finished first and second, were given a one-minute penalty and dropped to sixth and seventh. Lauda's teammate John Watson (Brabham-Alfa Romeo) and Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) completed the podium.
| 1978 Italian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | September 10, 1978 | ||
| Location | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.800 km (3.6 miles) | ||
| Distance | 40 laps, 232.000 km (144 miles) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 52 laps, 301.600 km (187.2 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:37.520 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | |
| Time | 1:38.230 on lap 33 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
| Second | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
With three races remaining, Andretti led the World Drivers' Championship by 12 points from Peterson, who was his teammate. Lauda, in third place, was 28 points behind Andretti; with only 9 points for a win, he could not overtake him. Lotus also led Brabham by 33 points in the Constructors' standings. Andretti initially appealed to the penalty but, upon hearing the news of Peterson's death and having become World Champion, he dropped it. Lauda himself gave the Grand Prix trophy to Andretti. As of 2024, this marks the last race win for an Alfa Romeo-powered car. Andretti remains the last American and the second ever to win the Formula One World Championship; these remain the final Drivers' (6) and Constructors' (7) titles won by Lotus.
Qualifying edit
Andretti took pole position alongside Gilles Villeneuve on the front row (Ferrari), with Jean-Pierre Jabouille (Renault) in third place, Lauda in fourth, and Peterson in fifth.[1]
Pre-qualifying classification edit
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus-Ford | 1:39.88 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | McLaren-Ford | 1:40.11 |
| 3 | Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford | 1:40.24 |
| 4 | Harald Ertl | Ensign-Ford | 1:40.27 |
| 5 | Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford | 1:40.75 |
| 6 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows-Ford | 1:40.93 |
| 7 | Alberto Colombo | Merzario-Ford | 1:42.55 |
Qualifying classification edit
Race edit
First start and Ronnie Peterson accident edit
The race started at 3:30 pm Central European Time (UTC+1). On the warm up lap, Patrick Tambay went into the pits to have his gear-change mechanism looked at. The starter Gianni Restelli was overenthusiastic turning on the green lights before all the cars had lined up,[2] which resulted in several cars in the middle of the field getting a jump on those at the front. The result was a funneling effect of the cars approaching the chicane, and the cars were tightly bunched together with little room for maneuver. James Hunt was overtaken on the right-hand side by Riccardo Patrese, and Hunt instinctively veered left and hit the rear right wheel of Peterson's Lotus 78, with Vittorio Brambilla, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Patrick Depailler, Didier Pironi, Derek Daly, Clay Regazzoni, and Brett Lunger all involved in the ensuing melee. Peterson's Lotus went into the barriers hard on the right-hand side and caught fire. He was trapped but Hunt, Regazzoni, and Depailler managed to free him from the wreck before he received more than minor burns. He was dragged free and laid in the middle of the track fully conscious but with severe leg injuries. It took twenty minutes before medical help was dispatched to the scene. Brambilla, who had been hit on the head by a flying wheel and rendered unconscious, and Peterson were taken to the Niguarda hospital in nearby Milan.[3]
Delayed restart edit
Drivers were allowed to use spare cars for the race restart. Non-starters included Peterson and Brambilla who were taken to hospital, Stuck who was not allowed to restart due to him suffering from slight concussion after being struck on the head by a flying wheel, Pironi (as the Tyrrell team had one spare car and that was set up for Depailler), and Lunger who had no spare car available. The race was due to be ready for a restart at 5:15 pm. While driving from the pit lane to the grid, Jody Scheckter's Wolf lost a wheel and crashed at the second Lesmo curve, bending the Armco barrier that was situated right next to the track. Some of the drivers had seen the accident, got out of their cars, and rushed across to race control to get the second start delayed as the Armco barriers were leaning over perilously where Scheckter struck it. Andretti, Hunt, Lauda, Reutemann, and Emerson Fittipaldi all went to the spot where Scheckter crashed. Upon inspection of the state of the barrier, they refused to start until the barrier was repaired, causing more delay. The barrier was later repaired and ready for the restart.[1]
Second start and race recap edit
Because of the amount of time clearing up the track after the shunt in the first start and the barrier being repaired, plus Scheckter's crash prior to the second start, at 5:50 pm it was announced that the race would take place and the distance would be shortened from 52 laps to 40 laps to avoid sunset. The race was restarted at 6:15 pm. Villeneuve overtook Andretti at the restart and at the end of the lap both drivers were side by side; Villeneuve held on to the lead and they pulled away from Jabouille, who was running third with Lauda behind him. After four laps, Regazzoni in the spare Shadow went to the pit lane as he was having his brakes looked at. Jabouille had engine problems after six laps and Lauda took on the pursuit; meanwhile, race control gave Villeneuve and Andretti a one-minute penalty as they were judged to have jumped the start. Andretti took Villeneuve with only five laps remaining. With Jabouille having retired, Lauda finished third ahead of Watson (Brabham), Reutemann (Ferrari), Jacques Laffite (Ligier-Matra), and Patrick Tambay (McLaren-Ford). Since all of those finished less than a minute behind, Andretti and Villeneuve were dropped to sixth and seventh place. Andretti had won the championship but celebrations were muted due to Peterson in hospital. The race was also notable for the first finish for Nelson Piquet with a creditable ninth after dodging the Peterson wreckage in the first start.[1]
Death of Ronnie Peterson edit
At the hospital, Peterson's X-rays showed he had a total of twenty seven fractures in both legs according to the newly appointed Formula One doctor Sid Watkins in his 1996 autobiography Life at the Limit. After discussion with him, Peterson was sent to intensive care so that the surgeons could operate to stabilize the bones.[4] There was some level of dispute between the doctors regarding whether all fractures should be immediately fixed or not.[5] During the night, Peterson's condition worsened, and he was diagnosed with fat embolism.[6] By morning, he was in full kidney failure due to the embolism, and was declared dead at 9:55 am on 11 September 1978.[7][8]
Post-race reactions edit
As a result of the start line crash, a medical car would follow the cars on the opening lap of every Grand Prix. ABC Sports broadcaster Jim McKay, who was covering the race, said during the broadcast which was shown on the Saturday after the race: "Later Peterson would die, but not until the next morning. Victory so long anticipated and so much earned, now tasted like ashes in Mario's mouth."[9] A week later at the Michigan 150, Andretti was asked about Peterson and he said: "His sincerity I learned to really appreciate that more than anything else and the man is competitive as he was with his skills and I found that this is something that many people in this business like because it's a very selfish business that's basis but he could share with me the basic of the car whatever he found, he changed something even if it was the better." Initially, Andretti had also thought about appealing the penalty, and felt sure he would win it; Lauda himself had given him the Grand Prix's trophy, which he still owns. Upon hearing Peterson's death, Andretti renounced to the appeal, having been declared the 1978 Formula One World Champion. In 2018, he recalled: "There was no celebrating the World Championship. And we forgot about the appeal of the race results. That was my race. I won it. But I let it go. Niki Lauda was given the trophy, but he refused to take it. In fact, I still have it in my house. I remember feeling euphoric happiness, and sadness at its worst. And in a way, that's the legacy of Monza."[10]
Classification edit
- Notes
- ^1 – Andretti and Villeneuve completed the race first and second but received a one-minute penalty for jump start.
- ^2 † – Peterson suffered severe trauma in the legs in a multi-car accident at the start but was otherwise conscious. While in the hospital the night following the race, he was diagnosed with a fat embolism, of which he died the following morning as a result.
Championship standings after the race edit
- Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References edit
- ^ a b c "Italian GP, 1978". GrandPrix.com. 2002. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "The Accident". RonniePeterson.se. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "1978 Italian GP Report". Motor Sport. No. 27. October 1978. p. 10. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Tytler, Ewan (2000). "The Death of Ronnie Peterson: What Really Happened at Monza in 1978". Atlas F1. Vol. 6, no. 36. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "The operation". RonniePeterson.se. 2007. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "The Death notice". RonniePeterson.se. 2007. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Ronnie Peterson dies from crash". The Morning Record and Journal. 12 September 1978. p. 10. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023 – via Google News Archive Search.
- ^ "Ronnie Peterson". Motorsport Memorial. 2019. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Efterspelet" [The Aftermath]. Ointres.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Andretti, Mario (8 September 2015). "Mario Andretti and the Brutal Magic of Monza". The Drive. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024. Updated 2 April 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "1978 Italian Grand Prix". Formula 1. 10 October 1978. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "1978 Italian Grand Prix – Race Results & History". GP Archive. 10 October 1978. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ a b "Italy 1978 – Championship". Stats F1. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2024.