The 1978 French Grand Prix was Round 9 of the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held at Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France on Sunday, 2 July 1978. John Watson started on pole position in the Brabham Alfa Romeo and Mario Andretti was the race winner in the Lotus Ford.
1978 French Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Driver Nationality | Car | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mario Andretti | United States | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 54 | 1:38:51.920 | 1:38:51.920 | - | - | 1:48.790 | 190.400 | 2 | 9 | |
| 2 | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Sweden | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 54 | +2.930 | 1:38:54.850 | +2.930 | +2.930 | 1:48.940 | 190.310 | 5 | 6 | |
| 3 | 7 | James Hunt | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 54 | +19.800 | 1:39:11.720 | +19.800 | +16.870 | 1:48.770 | 189.770 | 4 | 4 | |
| 4 | 2 | John Watson | Great Britain | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 54 | +36.880 | 1:39:28.800 | +36.880 | +17.080 | 1:49.850 | 189.230 | 1 | 3 | |
| 5 | 27 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 54 | +41.810 | 1:39:33.730 | +41.810 | +4.930 | 1:49.760 | 189.070 | 14 | 2 | |
| 6 | 20 | Jody Scheckter | South Africa | Wolf Ford | Goodyear | 54 | +54.530 | 1:39:46.450 | +54.530 | +12.720 | 1:49.980 | 188.670 | 7 | 1 | |
| 7 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Matra | Goodyear | 54 | +54.740 | 1:39:46.660 | +54.740 | +0.210 | 1:50.040 | 188.660 | 10 | ||
| 8 | 35 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 54 | +1:24.880 | 1:40:16.800 | +1:24.880 | +30.140 | 1:50.400 | 187.720 | 12 | ||
| 9 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | France | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 54 | +1:27.060 | 1:40:18.980 | +1:27.060 | +2.180 | 1:49.780 | 187.650 | 6 | ||
| 10 | 3 | Didier Pironi | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 54 | +1:29.980 | 1:40:21.900 | +1:29.980 | +2.920 | 1:50.710 | 187.560 | 16 | ||
| 11 | 16 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Germany | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 53 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:51.330 | 20 | ||||
| 12 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | Michelin | 53 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:49.750 | 9 | |||||
| 13 | 9 | Jochen Mass | Germany | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 53 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:51.440 | 25 | |||||
| 14 | 31 | René Arnoux | France | Martini Ford | Goodyear | 53 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:51.920 | 18 | |||||
| 15 | 36 | Rolf Stommelen | Germany | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 53 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:52.010 | 21 | |||||
| 16 | 10 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:52.900 | 26 | ||||
| 17 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Italy | Surtees Ford | Goodyear | 52 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1:52.120 | 19 | |||||
| 18 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Ferrari | Michelin | 49 | +5 laps | 5 laps | 3 laps | 1:48.560 | 48 | 8 | |||
| DNF | 30 | Brett Lunger | United States | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 45 | Engine | 1:51.290 | 24 | ||||||
| DNF | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Goodyear | 43 | Suspension | 1:50.170 | 15 | ||||||
| DNF | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Great Britain | Surtees Ford | Goodyear | 40 | Engine | 1:51.870 | 23 | ||||||
| DNF | 33 | Bruno Giacomelli | Italy | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 28 | Engine | 1:52.130 | 22 | ||||||
| DNF | 1 | Niki Lauda | Austria | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 10 | Engine | 1:49.780 | 3 | ||||||
| DNF | 4 | Patrick Depailler | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 10 | Engine | 1:50.640 | 13 | ||||||
| DNF | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Switzerland | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 4 | Electrical | 2:29.310 | 17 | ||||||
| DNF | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | France | Renault | Michelin | 1 | Engine | 11 | |||||||
| DNQ | 37 | Arturo Merzario | Italy | Merzario Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 22 | Derek Daly | Ireland | Ensign Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 25 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Lotus Ford | Goodyear |
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | John Watson | Great Britain | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 1:47.20 | 1:44.41 | 1:45.97 | - |
| 2 | 5 | Mario Andretti | United States | Lotus Ford | 1:47.50 | 1:44.46 | 1:45.02 | +0.05 |
| 3 | 1 | Niki Lauda | Austria | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 1:45.52 | 1:45.02 | 1:44.71 | +0.30 |
| 4 | 7 | James Hunt | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | 1:46.20 | 1:45.32 | 1:44.92 | +0.51 |
| 5 | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Sweden | Lotus Ford | 1:46.46 | 1:45.10 | 1:44.98 | +0.57 |
| 6 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | France | McLaren Ford | 1:47.06 | 1:45.07 | 1:46.15 | +0.66 |
| 7 | 20 | Jody Scheckter | South Africa | Wolf Ford | 1:46.10 | 1:45.20 | 1:46.33 | +0.79 |
| 8 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Ferrari | 1:46.50 | 1:45.35 | 1:45.82 | +0.94 |
| 9 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | 1:50.72 | 1:45.55 | 1:46.56 | +1.14 |
| 10 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Matra | 1:47.44 | 1:45.68 | 1:45.86 | +1.27 |
| 11 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | France | Renault | 1:47.34 | 1:45.73 | 1:46.84 | +1.32 |
| 12 | 35 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | 1:48.30 | 1:46.39 | 1:46.32 | +1.91 |
| 13 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | France | Tyrrell Ford | 1:48.67 | 1:46.37 | 1:46.74 | +1.96 |
| 14 | 27 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | 1:47.89 | 1:46.55 | 1:46.40 | +1.99 |
| 15 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | 1:47.89 | 1:47.04 | 1:46.70 | +2.29 |
| 16 | 3 | Didier Pironi | France | Tyrrell Ford | 1:49.36 | 1:48.10 | 1:47.12 | +2.71 |
| 17 | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Switzerland | Shadow Ford | 1:50.44 | 1:48.73 | 1:48.55 | +4.14 |
| 18 | 31 | René Arnoux | France | Martini Ford | 1:49.48 | 1:48.68 | 1:49.46 | +4.27 |
| 19 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Italy | Surtees Ford | 1:50.39 | 1:49.23 | 1:50.07 | +4.27 |
| 20 | 16 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Germany | Shadow Ford | 1:48.89 | 1:49.07 | 1:50.18 | +4.48 |
| 21 | 36 | Rolf Stommelen | Germany | Arrows Ford | 1:51.07 | 1:49.14 | 1:50.51 | +4.73 |
| 22 | 33 | Bruno Giacomelli | Italy | McLaren Ford | 1:54.67 | 1:50.77 | 1:49.53 | +5.12 |
| 23 | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Great Britain | Surtees Ford | 1:52.22 | 1:50.10 | 1:49.54 | +5.13 |
| 24 | 30 | Brett Lunger | United States | McLaren Ford | 1:51.26 | 1:49.65 | 1:49.55 | +5.14 |
| 25 | 9 | Jochen Mass | Germany | ATS Ford | 1:51.53 | 1:50.10 | 1:49.90 | +5.49 |
| 26 | 10 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | ATS Ford | 1:57.92 | 1:51.01 | 1:50.09 | +5.68 |
| DNQ | 37 | Arturo Merzario | Italy | Merzario Ford | 1:50.11 | 1:50.47 | 1:50.80 | +5.70 |
| DNQ | 22 | Derek Daly | Ireland | Ensign Ford | 1:54.28 | 1:50.19 | 1:50.61 | +5.78 |
| DNQ | 25 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Lotus Ford | 1:54.03 | 1:51.54 | 1:50.40 | +5.99 |