Formula 1 historical archive

Niki Lauda won the 1978 Italian Grand Prix

Niki Lauda won the 1978 Italian Grand Prix for Brabham, ahead of John Watson and Carlos Reutemann at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Niki Lauda
Team
Brabham
Top listed
Niki Lauda, John Watson, and Carlos Reutemann
Race date
September 10, 1978
Pole
Mario Andretti
Fastest lap
Mario Andretti
Classified drivers
32
Circuit
Autodromo Nazionale Monza

The decisive result

Niki Lauda finished first for Brabham. John Watson is listed 2 for Brabham, with Carlos Reutemann 3 for Ferrari.

Grid to finish

Nelson Piquet from P24 to P9 (+15), Patrick Tambay from P19 to P5 (+14), and Carlos Reutemann from P11 to P3 (+8) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Mario Andretti started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 11 Finished, 4 Collision, 4 DNPQ, 4 DNQ, and 3 +1 lap. Mario Andretti holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:38.230 on lap 33. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Niki LaudaBrabham1:07:04.5409
2John WatsonBrabham1:07:06.0206
3Carlos ReutemannFerrari1:07:25.0104
4Jacques LaffiteLigier1:07:42.0703
5Patrick TambayMcLaren1:07:44.9302
6Mario AndrettiTeam Lotus1:07:50.8701
7Gilles VilleneuveFerrari1:07:53.0200
8Emerson FittipaldiFittipaldi1:07:59.7800
9Nelson PiquetMcLaren1:08:11.3700
10Derek DalyEnsign1:08:13.6500
11Patrick DepaillerTyrrell1:08:21.1100
12Jody ScheckterWolf+1 lap0
13Alan JonesWilliams+1 lap0
14Bruno GiacomelliMcLaren+1 lap0
NCClay RegazzoniShadow+7 laps0
DNFRiccardo PatreseArrowsEngine0
DNFJames HuntMcLarenDistributor0
DNFArturo MerzarioMerzarioEngine0
DNFJean-Pierre JabouilleRenaultEngine0
DNFRonnie PetersonTeam LotusFatal collision0