1978 Monaco F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Monaco Grand Prix
Track: Monaco Circuit

Weather: overcast, dry, mild

Patrick Depailler won his 1st F1 World Championship race at the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix. The Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth driver started from 5th on the grid and won on the Monaco circuit for the 1st time. It was also his 1st win of the season and the 21st win for the Tyrrell F1 team.

Depailler’s overdue win in the principality

The 1978 Monaco Grand Prix gave Patrick Depailler his first F1 victory at the 69th attempt. The Auvergnat had been runner-up eight times already; the curse finally broke at the wheel of the Tyrrell 008. It was the first French win at Monaco since Jean-Pierre Beltoise in 1972.

The race

John Watson outdragged poleman Carlos Reutemann into Sainte-Devote and led from Depailler, Lauda, Andretti and Scheckter. Reutemann pitted at the end of lap one with bent front-end damage and rejoined dead last; Hunt also pitted after a touch with Andretti. Depailler took the lead from Watson by attrition; Watson buckled under Lauda’s pressure and ran straight on at the tunnel exit on lap 38, costing him two places.

Lauda then closed in on Depailler and was sitting in his mirrors when, on lap 46, the Brabham picked up a puncture. Lauda dropped to sixth after a 30-second stop; the win was Depailler’s. Lauda then mounted one of the great Monaco comebacks: he passed Watson, Villeneuve (who crashed at the tunnel exit), Pironi, and finally Scheckter on lap 72 to take a fine second. Scheckter third in the Wolf for his first points of the year. Pironi fifth, Patrese sixth. Depailler led the championship by five from Andretti and Reutemann; the new Lotus 79 was being kept back for Zolder.

Classification 1978 Monaco F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	4	PatrickDepailler	Tyrrell	Tyrrell 008Ford DFV	5	75	38	1:55:14.660	9
2	1	NikiLauda	Brabham	Brabham BT46Alfa Romeo 115-12	3	75		1:55:37.110+22.450s	6
3	20	JodyScheckter	Wolf	Wolf WR1Ford DFV	9	75		1:55:46.950+32.290s	4
4	2	JohnWatson	Brabham	Brabham BT46Alfa Romeo 115-12	2	75	37	1:55:48.190+33.530s	3
5	3	DidierPironi	Tyrrell	Tyrrell 008Ford DFV	13	75		1:56:22.720+1:08.060	2
6	35	RiccardoPatrese	Arrows	Arrows FA1Ford DFV	14	75		1:56:23.430+1:08.770	1
7	8	PatrickTambay	McLaren	McLaren M26Ford DFV	11	74		+1 lap
8	11	CarlosReutemann	Ferrari	Ferrari 312T3Ferrari 015	1	74		+1 lap
9	14	EmersonFittipaldi	Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi F5AFord DFV	20	74		+1 lap
10	15	Jean-PierreJabouille	Renault	Renault RS01Renault EF1	12	71		+4 laps
11	5	MarioAndretti	Team Lotus	Lotus 78Ford DFV	4	69		+6 laps
DNF	12	GillesVilleneuve	Ferrari	Ferrari 312T3Ferrari 015	8	62		Accident
DNF	6	RonniePeterson	Team Lotus	Lotus 78Ford DFV	7	56		Gearbox
DNF	7	JamesHunt	McLaren	McLaren M26Ford DFV	6	43		Handling
DNF	36	RolfStommelen	Arrows	Arrows FA1Ford DFV	19	38		Driver Unwell
DNF	27	AlanJones	Williams	Williams FW06Ford DFV	10	29		Oil Leak
DNF	22	JackyIckx	Ensign	Ensign N177Ford DFV	16	27		Brakes
DNF	16	HansJoachim Stuck	Shadow	Shadow DN9Ford DFV	17	24		Accident
DNF	26	JacquesLaffite	Ligier	Ligier JS9Matra MS76	15	13		Gearbox
DNF	18	RupertKeegan	Surtees	Surtees TS19Ford DFV	18	8		Transmission
DNQ	9	JochenMass	ATS	ATS HS1Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNQ	17	ClayRegazzoni	Shadow	Shadow DN9Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNQ	10	Jean-PierreJarier	ATS	ATS HS1Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNQ	19	VittorioBrambilla	Surtees	Surtees TS20Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNPQ	32	KekeRosberg	Theodore	Theodore TR1Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNPQ	24	DerekDaly	Hesketh	Hesketh 308EFord DFV		0		No Time
DNPQ	31	RenéArnoux	Martini	Martini MK23Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNPQ	25	HectorRebaque	Team Lotus	Lotus 78Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNPQ	30	BrettLunger	McLaren	McLaren M26Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNPQ	37	ArturoMerzario	Merzario	Merzario A1Ford DFV		0		No Time

Fastest lap: 1:28.650 min by Niki Lauda (Brabham BT46) in lap 72

✅ Check out 1978 F1 Championship Standings
✅ Check out 1978 F1 Teams & Drivers

✅ Check out All Time F1 Drivers Rankings
✅ Check out All Time F1 Driver Records
✅ Check out All Time F1 Teams Rankings

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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