1978 Argentine Grand Prix

The **1978 Argentine Grand Prix** was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 15th January 1978. It was the first race in both the 1978 World Championship of Drivers and the 1978 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

## Background

The Formula One grid returned to Buenos Aires for the first time since 1976 and there were mixed thoughts in the paddock about the new season. The cars, utilising ground effect for the first time, were expected to be the fastest Formula One cars ever and lap records are expected to be smashed at every circuit. Due to the long straights and the massive amounts of grip now provided by ground effect, all of the teams ran their cars with low downforce setups, looking to gain as much straight-line speed as possible. However several drivers, including Max Westland, expressed their concerns about the safety of the new cars and the team's lack of testing with the new concept. Prior to the weekend, Westland said: "If you don't go fast enough, you understeer, if you go too fast you oversteer, and I think it will be a test of driving that fine line."

Williams replaced both of their race drivers just days before the race weekend, much to the surprise of everyone in the paddock. It is unknown what the reasons were for their dismissal and why it was so sudden.

## Qualifying

Stefan Van Damme took the first pole position of the season, setting a laptime which was almost ten seconds faster than the previous lap record set in 1976. He was followed by William Worchestershire-Smythe of Brabham-Alfa Romeo and Jeremy Spocinklass of Lotus. The replacement Williams driver, Stanley Robson, sat out qualifying due to a car issue that could not be resolved in time.

## Race Summary

Van Damme maintained the lead off the start, with Spocinklass slipstreaming past W-S to take second. Most drivers, except W-S, had chosen to start on the slower but more durable hard tyres to last the whole race. The start was uneventful until turn three, when Maria Parker lost control of her Ferrari near the exit of the fast corner and slammed into the outside barrier sideways at over 140mph. Parker had attempted to correct oversteer when the car suddenly gripped up again, resulting in the high-speed crash. The force of the impact tore off the entire left side of the car and Parker appeared motionless in the cockpit. By the time that the marshals and track doctor reached her, she was already dead.

João Coutinho had narrowly avoided hitting Parker's car as she span. His car understeered off the track on cold tyres and tapped the armco barrier but was undamaged. Wolf's Scott Amor also had a similar spin but managed to return to the track with no damage. Upon returning to the track, Amor drove into the path of McLaren's Max Westland, who avoided Amor but drove into Strip Weathers in the process. The contact caused Weathers to drive onto the grass and he crashed through a weak barrier but was unhurt. He somehow managed to recover his Renault car back into the race but would spin out on lap three.

At the start of lap three, Spocinklass ran wide, gifting second to W-S who had been putting the Lotus driver under pressure since the race start. The loss of momentum also allowed Tempestini to overtake Spocinklass easily on the straight following turn three. W-S pulled away on the soft tyres whilst Spocinklass and Tempestini battled for third. Tempestini pulled a slight gap to Spocinklass before a mis-shift allowed the Lotus driver to close up and aggressively overtake Tempestini at turn four. Tempestini attempted to fight back at the hairpin but locked up and went wide. The pair continued to swap positions multiple times during the following laps, until Tempestini eventually lost control under braking into the chicane and flew over the kerb into a gravel trap. The mistake gifted Spocinklass third, which he kept for the rest of the race. Spocinklass and Tempestini had a heated argument following the podium ceremony, with Tempestini arguing that Spocinklass had pushed him off the track unfairly.

Following the start, Van Damme pulled away and was untouchable for the entire race. He eventually finished over twenty seconds ahead of W-S and achieved a grand-slam in the process. Spocinklass' lengthy battle with Tempestini had cost him time during the race and he finished in third, twenty seconds behind W-S, who had managed his soft tyres carefully. Stanley Robson recovered from the back of the grid to take his first Formula One points. Van Damme refused to celebrate his race win upon hearing of Parker's accident and quickly left the circuit.

## Classification

   Fastest lap: Stefan Van Damme (Lotus) on lap 12 - 1:42.040