Date July 30, 1978 Course length 6.789 km (4.218 mi) | Location Hockenheimring Weather Dry | |
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Course Permanent racing facility Distance 45 laps, 305.505 km (189.81 mi) | ||
The 1978 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 July 1978 at Hockenheimring. This was the debut race of the future world champion Nelson Piquet.
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There were no surprises in qualifying, with Mario Andretti on pole and Ronnie Peterson alongside him, with Niki Lauda third. At the start, Peterson got off better and took the lead from Andretti, but he held it for only four laps before Andretti retook it. Lauda ran third in the early stages, but he was passed by Alan Jones, and the duo battled until Lauda's engine failed yet again. The two Lotus cars were cruising at the front, and Jones ran third comfortably until he retired with a fuel vaporization problem. Lotus's hopes of a 1-2 ended when Peterson's gearbox failed, but Andretti was unaffected by that and cruised to his fifth win of the season, with Jody Scheckter second and Jacques Laffite third.