He was one lap off the pace and finished 19th at Buenos Aires in the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix. Lunger's McLaren was 20th at Rio de Janeiro in the 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix and was 11th at Johannesburg in the 1978 South African Grand Prix, in March. Lunger started 24th, in last position, for the 1978 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. His qualifying time was 1:20.39. He went on to score his career best F1 finish, 8th place, albeit, one lap behind winner Carlos Reutemann. In the 1978 Austrian Grand Prix he finished 8th, 2 laps off the winning pace. Lunger started an Ensign from 24th position in the 1978 United States Grand Prix. His time was 1:43.067. He finished 13th.