The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was Round 1 of the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday, 15 January 1978. Mario Andretti started on pole position in the Lotus Ford and was the race winner.
1978 Argentine Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mario Andretti | United States | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 52 | 1:37:04.470 | 1:37:04.470 | - | - | 1:50.950 | 12 | 191.820 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 1 | Niki Lauda | Austria | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 52 | +13.210 | 1:37:17.680 | +13.210 | +13.210 | 1:50.940 | 50 | 191.390 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +13.640 | 1:37:18.110 | +13.640 | +0.430 | 1:50.060 | 2 | 191.370 | 10 | 4 |
| 4 | 7 | James Hunt | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +16.050 | 1:37:20.520 | +16.050 | +2.410 | 1:50.580 | 44 | 191.290 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Sweden | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +1:14.850 | 1:38:19.320 | +1:14.850 | +58.800 | 1:52.160 | 20 | 189.390 | 3 | 2 |
| 6 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | France | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +1:19.900 | 1:38:24.370 | +1:19.900 | +5.050 | 1:51.090 | 47 | 189.220 | 9 | 1 |
| 7 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Ferrari | Michelin | 52 | +1:22.600 | 1:38:27.070 | +1:22.600 | +2.700 | 1:50.930 | 46 | 189.140 | 2 | |
| 8 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | Michelin | 52 | +1:38.880 | 1:38:43.350 | +1:38.880 | +16.280 | 1:49.760 | 3 | 188.620 | 7 | |
| 9 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +1:40.600 | 1:38:45.070 | +1:40.600 | +1.720 | 1:52.470 | 51 | 188.560 | 17 | |
| 10 | 20 | Jody Scheckter | South Africa | Wolf Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +1:43.500 | 1:38:47.970 | +1:43.500 | +2.900 | 1:50.750 | 3 | 188.470 | 15 | |
| 11 | 9 | Jochen Mass | Germany | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +1:49.070 | 1:38:53.540 | +1:49.070 | +5.570 | 1:52.750 | 46 | 188.290 | 13 | |
| 12 | 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | France | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 51 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:52.690 | 42 | 11 | |||
| 13 | 30 | Brett Lunger | United States | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 51 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:52.550 | 47 | 24 | ||||
| 14 | 3 | Didier Pironi | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 51 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:51.830 | 3 | 23 | ||||
| 15 | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Switzerland | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 51 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:52.770 | 20 | 16 | ||||
| 16 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Matra | Goodyear | 50 | Engine | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:51.720 | 43 | 8 | |||
| 17 | 16 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Germany | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 50 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1:54.540 | 3 | 18 | ||||
| 18 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Italy | Surtees Ford | Goodyear | 50 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1:52.920 | 3 | 12 | ||||
| DNF | 2 | John Watson | Great Britain | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 41 | Engine | 1:51.380 | 21 | 4 | |||||
| DNF | 27 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 36 | Fuel System | 1:52.760 | 23 | 14 | |||||
| DNF | 22 | Danny Ongais | United States | Ensign Ford | Goodyear | 35 | Distributor | 1:53.470 | 26 | 21 | |||||
| DNF | 23 | Lamberto Leoni | Italy | Ensign Ford | Goodyear | 28 | Engine | 1:53.260 | 15 | 22 | |||||
| DNF | 37 | Arturo Merzario | Italy | Merzario Ford | Goodyear | 9 | Differential | 1:53.530 | 3 | 20 | |||||
| DNF | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Great Britain | Surtees Ford | Goodyear | 4 | Overheating | 1:52.730 | 2 | 19 | |||||
| DNQ | 25 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 32 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Theodore Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 24 | Divina Galica | Great Britain | Hesketh | Goodyear |