1978 Dutch Grand Prix
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| 1978 Dutch Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 16 in the 1978 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 27 August 1978 | ||
| Official name | XXVI Grote Prijs van Nederland | ||
| Location | Zandvoort | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.226 km (2.626 miles) | ||
| Distance | 75 laps, 316.95 km (196.95 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:16.36 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | |
| Time | 1:19.57 on lap 57 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 1978 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on 27 August 1978. It was the 13th race of the 1978 Formula One season. It was the final career victory for Mario Andretti, who went on to win the championship after Ronnie Peterson's fatal crash at Monza. It is also the last 1-2 finish for the original Lotus team, and also, the last win for an American Formula One driver, as of the 2025 season.
For the fourth consecutive race, the Lotuses came 1–2 in qualifying with Mario Andretti ahead of Ronnie Peterson. Niki Lauda was third in the Brabham, ahead of the Ferraris of Carlos Reutemann and Gilles Villeneuve. The top ten was completed by Jacques Laffite in the Ligier, James Hunt in the McLaren, John Watson in the second Brabham, Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the Renault, and Emerson Fittipaldi in the Fittipaldi.
At the start of the race, Andretti led from Peterson with Laffite charging up to third, while at the second corner Didier Pironi's Tyrrell collided with Riccardo Patrese's Arrows. Thereafter, the race was relatively uneventful, Peterson dutifully following Andretti while Laffite fell back down the order, enabling Lauda to reclaim third. At the end, Andretti was just over three-tenths of a second ahead of Peterson, with Lauda a further 12 seconds back; the minor points went to Watson, Fittipaldi and Villeneuve.
This fourth 1–2 finish of the season for Lotus meant that, with three races left to run, only Andretti or Peterson could take the Drivers' Championship. It would go to Andretti in the next race at Monza, when Peterson crashed fatally.
