INTOTURNONE

Championship Watch

1978 Standings

Mario Andretti won the 1978 Drivers' Championship for Team Lotus. Final 1978 standings — every driver and constructor ranked by points and wins.

Driver Leader
Mario Andretti
64 pts · Team Lotus
Title Gap
13 pts
Mario Andretti over Ronnie Peterson
Constructors
Team Lotus
86 pts · gap 28
Most Wins
6
Mario Andretti
Control Tower
Drivers Championship
Season
1978 Season Report

Mario Andretti won the 1978 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship driving for Team Lotus, finishing on 64 points, 13 clear of Ronnie Peterson. Andretti won 6 races that season.

Team Lotus took the Constructors' Championship with 86 points, 28 ahead of Ferrari.

6 different drivers won a Grand Prix, and 21 drivers scored championship points.

Championships in this era were decided on a "best results" basis — drivers counted only their highest-scoring finishes towards the title, so season totals can differ from the sum of every race result. Dropped scores were abolished from 1991.

Standings compiled from the Ergast/Jolpica Formula 1 results archive. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Live Table

1978 Driver Order

Pos
Driver
Form
Points
Wins
P1
Mario Andretti
Team Lotus
Championship Pace100%
Championship Leader
64
Points
6
Wins
P2
Ronnie Peterson
Team Lotus
Championship Pace80%
13 pts off the lead.
51
Points
2
Wins
P3
Carlos Reutemann
Ferrari
Championship Pace75%
16 pts off the lead.
48
Points
4
Wins
P4
Niki Lauda
Brabham
Championship Pace69%
20 pts off the lead.
44
Points
2
Wins
P5
Patrick Depailler
Tyrrell
Championship Pace53%
30 pts off the lead.
34
Points
1
Wins
P6
John Watson
Brabham
Championship Pace39%
39 pts off the lead.
25
Points
0
Wins
P7
Jody Scheckter
Wolf
Championship Pace38%
40 pts off the lead.
24
Points
0
Wins
P8
Jacques Laffite
Ligier
Championship Pace30%
45 pts off the lead.
19
Points
0
Wins
P9
Gilles Villeneuve
Ferrari
Championship Pace27%
47 pts off the lead.
17
Points
1
Wins
P10
Emerson Fittipaldi
Fittipaldi
Championship Pace27%
47 pts off the lead.
17
Points
0
Wins
P11
Alan Jones
Williams
Championship Pace17%
53 pts off the lead.
11
Points
0
Wins
P12
Riccardo Patrese
Arrows
Championship Pace17%
53 pts off the lead.
11
Points
0
Wins
P13
James Hunt
McLaren
Championship Pace13%
56 pts off the lead.
8
Points
0
Wins
P14
Patrick Tambay
McLaren
Championship Pace13%
56 pts off the lead.
8
Points
0
Wins
P15
Didier Pironi
Tyrrell
Championship Pace11%
57 pts off the lead.
7
Points
0
Wins
P16
Clay Regazzoni
Shadow
Championship Pace6%
60 pts off the lead.
4
Points
0
Wins
P17
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Renault
Championship Pace5%
61 pts off the lead.
3
Points
0
Wins
P18
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Shadow
Championship Pace3%
62 pts off the lead.
2
Points
0
Wins
P19
Vittorio Brambilla
Surtees
Championship Pace2%
63 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P20
Derek Daly
Hesketh
Championship Pace2%
63 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P21
Hector Rebaque
Team Lotus
Championship Pace2%
63 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P22
Brett Lunger
McLaren
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P23
Bruno Giacomelli
McLaren
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P24
Jochen Mass
ATS
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P25
Jean-Pierre Jarier
ATS
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P26
René Arnoux
Martini
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P27
Rolf Stommelen
Arrows
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P28
Nelson Piquet
Ensign
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P29
Keke Rosberg
Theodore
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P30
Rupert Keegan
Surtees
Championship Pace0%
64 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
About the 1978 championships · How F1 points work

Mario Andretti leads the 1978 Drivers Championship with 64 points, holding a 13-point advantage over Ronnie Peterson (Team Lotus). A gap of fewer than 25 points — one race win — means the title race remains mathematically open every single weekend.

In the 1978 Constructors Championship, Team Lotus leads with 86 points — a 28-point margin over Ferrari. The Constructors title is decided by the combined points haul of a team's two drivers from every race, making car reliability, pit stop execution, and strategic pairing as important as raw pace.

The current FIA points system awards points to the top ten finishers in every Grand Prix: 25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1. An additional point goes to the driver who sets the fastest lap of the race, provided they finish inside the top ten. Sprint events — held on Saturday at select rounds — offer a separate points structure: 8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 for the top eight finishers, counting toward both championships independently of the main race result.

A driver must hold an FIA Super Licence and score at least one championship point to register on the standings. DNFs score zero, but a classified finish — completing at least 90% of the race distance — earns the driver’s finishing position even without a points reward.