1978-1979 – Formula 1 (Vol 3)

1978-1979 – The Turbo Arrives

Volume 3 of our 1978-1979 Formula 1 Series contains more original films and
videos from the Turbo era of Formula 1 racing. Volume 3 is another
excellent reference for how F1 races were run back in the 70’s.

1978 Swedish Grand Prix – Mario Andretti in-car – (4 min.)  
A few practice laps with Mario Andretti in the John Player Special Lotus 79 around the Anderstorp
circuit in Sweden. This would be the last time Formula 1 would race in Sweden, as fans lost interest in
the sport after their hometown heroes Gunnar Nilsson and Ronnie Peterson perished in 1978. The
Anderstorp track is significant in that it was the site of the only wins of the most non-conventional F1
cars of the 1970’s; the Brabham “fan car” in 1978 and the Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler in 1976.

1978 Lotus – British Grand Prix – (16 min.)  
A nice 1978 BBC documentary about Lotus preparing for what was their home track, that
being Brands Hatch in England. Comments by Colin Chapman, Mario Andretti, and
Ronnie Peterson, and of course the beautiful John Player Special team cars, hauler, and
everything that is black and gold. Very nice footage, with stereo sound.

1978 Italian Grand Prix – One Lap with Jacques Laffite – (5 min.)  
Ligier-Gitanes driver Jacques Laffite takes us for a run around Monza (site of the Italian
Grand Prix) with an in-car camera. Four minutes of pure ecstasy for fans of vintage
Formula 1 as we hear the distinct sound of a screaming Matra V-12 engine.

1978 Italian Grand Prix Highlights – (16 min.)  
Edited live highlights of the 1978 Italian Grand Prix from Monza, commentary by Murray Walker. Niki Lauda
and John Watson would take 1-2 in their Brabhams, while Carlos Reutemann was third in his Ferrari, but this
race is most remembered for the horrible accident on lap one that would claim the life of Ronnie Peterson.
We pick up the highlights of this race after that tragedy (a detailed analysis of that crash can be found on
Volume 1 of this series), and begin with the restart. Before the restart, Jody Scheckter crashes heavily into a
guardrail, and walks away. Due to safety concerns, the other drivers wanted to examine the damaged
guardrail and vote on whether to start the race. The drivers agreed the guardrail must be fixed, so after a
6-hour delay, the race starts very late in the afternoon. On the restart, Villeneuve and Andretti left too soon,
and a 1-minute penalty would be assessed after the race. Andretti would take the lead on lap 35 of 40 (the
race was shortened due to the late start) with Villeneuve in hot pursuit. While Andretti and Villeneuve finished
1-2, when their penalties were added in, they ended up 6th and 7th respectively, and Niki Lauda would be
declared the winner, followed closely by John Watson and Carlos Reutemann.

1978 Texaco Commercial – James Hunt – (45 sec.)  
James Hunt did a series of funny commercials for his sponsor (Texaco) during the 1976-1978 seasons, with
British comedians Morecambe and Wise. This is the commercial with Hunt’s #7 McLaren from 1978.

1979 Formula 1 – Season Preview – (12 min.)  
Mario Andretti easily captured the 1978 Formula 1 Drivers Championship with his dominant Lotus 79,
designed by Colin Chapman. Mario would return for 1979, but would fail to win another Grand Prix, as the
new Lotus 80 would not be competitive with the new batch of ground effects cars. This news documentary
focuses on Lotus, but mostly on James Hunt’s switch from McLaren to Wolf, with the Olympus sponsorship
(which looked very similar to the John Player Special paint scheme). As the documentary unfold, Stirling
Moss sits in the new Brabham, explaining how advanced the new F1 cars are. Sadly, the Brabhams would
not be competitive in 1979, even with talents of Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet behind the wheel.

1979 Spanish Grand Prix – Highlights – (32 min.)  
From Jarama Spain, Jacques Laffite was on pole in his Ligier, but it was his teammate Patrick
Depailler that would lead from flag-to-flag, while Lotus teammates Carlos Reutemann and Mario
Andretti would finish 2-3. This is an old BBC broadcast, with Murray Walker on commentary.

1979 Belgian Grand Prix – Highlights – (50 min.)  
The next race following the Spanish Grand Prix was the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Belgium. Just like at Jarama,
the Ligiers were the strongest, with Laffite qualifying on pole again, and Patrick Depailler second. The biggest
surprise was Nelson Piquet putting the struggling Brabham-Alfa Romeo third on the grid. Mario Andretti crashed his
Lotus 80, and the old Lotus 79 was pulled out of the trailer, putting Andretti fourth on the grid, with Gilles Villeneuve
fifth on the grid in his Ferrari. Most of the race was between Ligier teammates Depailler and Laffite, with Depailler
leading until lap 18, when he was overtaken by Laffite. As Depailler was beginning to reel in Laffite, he lost control
and crashed on lap 46, ending his day. The lead changed hands again on lap 54 when Jody Scheckter’s Ferrari
passed Laffite for the lead. Scheckter would take the win, followed by Laffite, Didier Pironi (Tyrrell), Carlos
Reutemann (Lotus), and Riccardo Patrese (Arrows). Gilles Villeneuve, running third in his Ferrari, ran out of fuel on
the last lap, dropping him to 7th place. These are edited live highlights, broadcast by ITV.