| 1978 German Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 11 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details[1] | |||
| Date | 30 July 1978 | ||
| Official name | XL Großer Preis von Deutschland | ||
| Location | Hockenheimring, West Germany | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 6.790 km (4.219 miles) | ||
| Distance | 45 laps, 305.505 km (189.81 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:51.90 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Ronnie Peterson | Lotus-Ford | |
| Time | 1:55.62 on lap 26 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Wolf-Ford | ||
| Third | Ligier-Matra | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 1978 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 July 1978 at the Hockenheimring. Mario Andretti won the race from pole position, ahead of Jody Scheckter and Jacques Laffite.
This was the debut race of future world champion Nelson Piquet. Mario Andretti took pole with Ronnie Peterson in second and Niki Lauda third. At the start, Peterson got off better and took the lead from Andretti, and held it for four laps before Andretti retook it. Lauda ran third in the early stages, before he was passed by Alan Jones, and the duo battled until Lauda's engine failed, his fifth engine related retirement of the year.[2] The two Lotus cars were cruising at the front, and Jones ran third comfortably until he retired with a fuel vaporization problem. Lotus's hopes of a 1–2 ended when Peterson's gearbox failed, Andretti was unaffected by that and cruised to his fifth win of the season, with Jody Scheckter second and Jacques Laffite third.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32 |  Keke Rosberg
|
Wolf-Ford | 2:10.13 | — |
| 2 | 37 |  Arturo Merzario
|
Merzario-Ford | 2:10.82 | +0.69 |
| 3 | 25 |  Héctor Rebaque
|
Lotus-Ford | 2:11.80 | +1.67 |
| 4* | 31 |  René Arnoux
|
Martini-Ford | 2:12.25 | +2.12 |
| 5* | 30 |  Brett Lunger
|
McLaren-Ford | 2:12.45 | +2.32 |
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| Previous race: 1978 British Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1978 season |
Next race: 1978 Austrian Grand Prix |
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