The 1978 South African Grand Prix was Round 3 of the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held at Kyalami in South Africa on Sunday, 4 March 1978. Niki Lauda started on pole position in the Brabham Alfa Romeo and Ronnie Peterson was the race winner in the Lotus Ford.
1978 South African Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Sweden | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 78 | 1:42:15.767 | 1:42:15.767 | - | - | 1:17.350 | 187.817 | 12 | 9 | |
| 2 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 78 | +0.466 | 1:42:16.233 | +0.466 | +0.466 | 1:17.290 | 187.803 | 11 | 6 | |
| 3 | 2 | John Watson | Great Britain | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 78 | +4.442 | 1:42:20.209 | +4.442 | +3.976 | 1:17.390 | 187.681 | 10 | 4 | |
| 4 | 27 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 78 | +30.986 | 1:42:54.753 | +38.986 | +34.544 | 1:17.480 | 186.631 | 18 | 3 | |
| 5 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Matra | Goodyear | 78 | +1:09.218 | 1:43:24.985 | +1:09.218 | +30.232 | 1:17.960 | 185.722 | 13 | 2 | |
| 6 | 3 | Didier Pironi | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:18.450 | 14 | 1 | |||
| 7 | 5 | Mario Andretti | United States | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:17.090 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 8 | 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | France | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:17.930 | 17 | |||||
| 9 | 36 | Rolf Stommelen | Germany | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:17.860 | 22 | |||||
| 10 | 25 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:19.530 | 21 | |||||
| 11 | 30 | Brett Lunger | United States | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 76 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:18.110 | 20 | ||||
| 12 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Italy | Surtees Ford | Goodyear | 76 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1:19.340 | 19 | |||||
| DNF | 35 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 63 | Engine | 1:17.150 | 7 | ||||||
| DNF | 20 | Jody Scheckter | South Africa | Wolf Ford | Goodyear | 59 | Spun Off | 1:17.510 | 5 | ||||||
| DNF | 8 | Patrick Tambay | France | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 56 | Accident | 1:17.890 | 4 | ||||||
| DNF | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | Michelin | 55 | Oil Leak | 1:18.290 | 8 | ||||||
| DNF | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Ferrari | Michelin | 55 | Spun Off | 1:18.130 | 9 | ||||||
| DNF | 1 | Niki Lauda | Austria | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 52 | Engine | 1:17.430 | 1 | ||||||
| DNF | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Great Britain | Surtees Ford | Goodyear | 52 | Engine | 1:19.290 | 23 | ||||||
| DNF | 9 | Jochen Mass | Germany | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 43 | Engine | 1:18.630 | 15 | ||||||
| DNF | 37 | Arturo Merzario | Italy | Merzario Ford | Goodyear | 39 | Suspension | 1:20.270 | 26 | ||||||
| DNF | 15 | Jean Pierre Jabouille | France | Renault | Michelin | 38 | Engine | 1:18.130 | 6 | ||||||
| DNF | 32 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | Theodore Ford | Goodyear | 15 | Clutch | 1:19.550 | 24 | ||||||
| DNF | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Goodyear | 9 | Transmission | 1:18.720 | 16 | ||||||
| DNF | 24 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Hesketh Ford | Goodyear | 8 | Oil Leak | 1:18.500 | 25 | ||||||
| DNF | 7 | James Hunt | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 5 | Engine | 1:17.490 | 3 | ||||||
| DNQ | 31 | René Arnoux | France | Martini Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Switzerland | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 23 | Lamberto Leoni | Italy | Ensign Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 16 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Germany | Shadow Ford | Goodyear |