Formula 1 historical archive

Mario Andretti won the 1978 French Grand Prix

Mario Andretti won the 1978 French Grand Prix for Team Lotus, ahead of Ronnie Peterson and James Hunt at Circuit Paul Ricard.

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

Race recap

Winner
Mario Andretti
Team
Team Lotus
Top listed
Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, and James Hunt
Race date
July 2, 1978
Pole
John Watson
Fastest lap
Carlos Reutemann
Classified drivers
29
Circuit
Circuit Paul Ricard

The decisive result

Mario Andretti finished first for Team Lotus. Ronnie Peterson is listed 2 for Team Lotus, with James Hunt 3 for McLaren.

Grid to finish

Jochen Mass from P25 to P13 (+12), Keke Rosberg from P26 to P16 (+10), and Alan Jones from P14 to P5 (+9) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. John Watson started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 10 Finished, 6 Engine, 5 +1 lap, 3 DNQ, and 2 +2 laps. Carlos Reutemann holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:48.560 on lap 48. 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
1Mario AndrettiTeam Lotus1:38:51.9209
2Ronnie PetersonTeam Lotus1:38:54.8506
3James HuntMcLaren1:39:11.7204
4John WatsonBrabham1:39:28.8003
5Alan JonesWilliams1:39:33.7302
6Jody ScheckterWolf1:39:46.4501
7Jacques LaffiteLigier1:39:46.6600
8Riccardo PatreseArrows1:40:16.8000
9Patrick TambayMcLaren1:40:18.9800
10Didier PironiTyrrell1:40:21.9000
11Hans-Joachim StuckShadow+1 lap0
12Gilles VilleneuveFerrari+1 lap0
13Jochen MassATS Wheels+1 lap0
14René ArnouxMartini+1 lap0
15Rolf StommelenArrows+1 lap0
16Keke RosbergATS Wheels+2 laps0
17Vittorio BrambillaSurtees+2 laps0
18Carlos ReutemannFerrari+5 laps0
DNFBrett LungerMcLarenEngine0
DNFEmerson FittipaldiFittipaldiSuspension0