The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 January 1978 at Buenos Aires. It was the first race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for F1 Constructors. The 52-lap race was won from pole position by American driver Mario Andretti, driving a Lotus-Ford, with Austrian Niki Lauda second in a Brabham-Alfa Romeo and Frenchman Patrick Depailler third in a Tyrrell-Ford. This was the debut of multiple-time Constructors' Champions, Williams.
| 1978 Argentine Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 15 January 1978 | ||
| Location | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Course | Permanent road course | ||
| Course length | 5.81 km (3.61 miles) | ||
| Distance | 52 laps, 302.12 km (187.72 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:47.75 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:49.76 on lap 3 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
| Third | Tyrrell-Ford | ||
Lap leaders | |||
Overview
Mario Andretti took pole in his Lotus, with Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari joining him on the front row and Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus third on the grid. The start was uneventful, with Andretti and Reutemann easily keeping first and second, with John Watson in the Brabham taking third from Peterson. Watson took second from Reutemann on the seventh lap, but Andretti was uncatchable. Reutemann ran third for a while, but then began to drop down the order, and so reigning world champion Niki Lauda took third in his Brabham, which became second with ten laps left when Watson's engine blew up. Andretti motored on to a crushing victory, with Lauda second and Patrick Depailler's Tyrrell taking the final spot on the podium ahead of James Hunt in the leading McLaren, Ronnie Peterson in the other Lotus and Patrick Tambay in the other McLaren.
Classification
Qualifying classification
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time | No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | 1:47,75 | 1 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:47.84 | 2 |
| 3 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford | 1:48,39 | 3 |
| 4 | John Watson | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:48,42 | 4 |
| 5 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:48,70 | 5 |
| 6 | James Hunt | McLaren-Ford | 1:48,72 | 6 |
| 7 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:48,97 | 7 |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:49,13 | 8 |
| 9 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford | 1:49,74 | 9 |
| 10 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:49,69 | 10 |
| 11 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS-Ford | 1:49,77 | 11 |
| 12 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees-Ford | 1:49,91 | 12 |
| 13 | Jochen Mass | ATS-Ford | 1:50,06 | 13 |
| 14 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:50,11 | 14 |
| 15 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf-Ford | 1:50,35 | 15 |
| 16 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow-Ford | 1:50,45 | 16 |
| 17 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:50,82 | 17 |
| 18 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow-Ford | 1:51,16 | 18 |
| 19 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees-Ford | 1:51,42 | 19 |
| 20 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford | 1:51,68 | 20 |
| 21 | Danny Ongais | Ensign-Ford | 1:51,71 | 21 |
| 22 | Lamberto Leoni | Ensign-Ford | 1:51,94 | 22 |
| 23 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:51,99 | 23 |
| 24 | Brett Lunger | McLaren-Ford | 1:52,27 | 24 |
| 25 | Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford | 1:52,52 | DNQ |
| 26 | Eddie Cheever | Theodore-Ford | 1:53,25 | DNQ |
| 27 | Divina Galica | Hesketh-Ford | 1:56,69 | DNQ |
*Positions in red indicate entries that failed to qualify.
Race classification
Championship standings after the race
- Constructors' Championship standings
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lotus-Ford | 9 |
| 2 | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 6 |
| 3 | Tyrrell-Ford | 4 |
| 4 | McLaren-Ford | 3 |
| Source:[3] | ||
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.