Round 3 · 4 March 1978
1978 South African Grand Prix: results
Ronnie Peterson (Team Lotus) won the 1978 South African Grand Prix, round 3 of the championship, held on 4 March 1978 at Kyalami (South Africa), starting from position 12. Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell) and John Watson (Brabham) completed the podium. Pole position went to Niki Lauda.
Final classification
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Time / gap | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | 12 | 1:42:15.767 | 9 | Finished |
| 2 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | 11 | +0.466 s | 6 | Finished |
| 3 | John Watson | Brabham | 10 | +4.442 s | 4 | Finished |
| 4 | Alan Jones | Williams | 18 | +30.986 s | 3 | Finished |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 13 | +69.218 s | 2 | Finished |
| 6 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 14 | +1 Lap | 1 | +1 Lap |
| 7 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 2 | +1 Lap | — | +1 Lap |
| 8 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | 17 | +1 Lap | — | +1 Lap |
| 9 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows | 22 | +1 Lap | — | +1 Lap |
| 10 | Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | 21 | +1 Lap | — | +1 Lap |
| 11 | Brett Lunger | McLaren | 20 | +2 Laps | — | +2 Laps |
| 12 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees | 19 | +2 Laps | — | +2 Laps |
| 13 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 7 | — | — | Engine |
| 14 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 5 | — | — | Spun off |
| 15 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 4 | — | — | Accident |
| 16 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 8 | — | — | Oil leak |
| 17 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 9 | — | — | Spun off |
| 18 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 1 | — | — | Engine |
| 19 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees | 23 | — | — | Engine |
| 20 | Jochen Mass | ATS | 15 | — | — | Engine |
| 21 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 26 | — | — | Suspension |
| 22 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 6 | — | — | Engine |
| 23 | Keke Rosberg | Theodore | 24 | — | — | Clutch |
| 24 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 16 | — | — | Transmission |
| 25 | Eddie Cheever | Hesketh | 25 | — | — | Oil leak |
| 26 | James Hunt | McLaren | 3 | — | — | Engine |