| «1978-03» | South Africa Grand Prix - XII Grand Prix of South Africa |
| 1978-03-04 | Kyalami - 78 laps × 4.104 km : 320.112 km |
| Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time / Gap | Interval | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus • Ford Cosworth | 78 | 1:42:15.767 | 187.817 km/h | 9 |
| 2 | 11 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell • Ford Cosworth | 78 | +00.466 | +00.466 | 6 |
| 3 | 10 | 2 | John Watson | Brabham • Alfa Romeo | 78 | +04.442 | +03.976 | 4 |
| 4 | 18 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams • Ford Cosworth | 78 | +38.986 | +34.544 | 3 |
| 5 | 13 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier • Matra | 78 | +01:09.218 | +30.232 | 2 |
| 6 | 14 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell • Ford Cosworth | 77 | +1 lap | 1 | |
| 7 | 2 | 5 | Mario Andretti | Lotus • Ford Cosworth | 77 | +1 lap | ||
| 8 | 17 | 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS • Ford Cosworth | 77 | +1 lap | ||
| 9 | 22 | 36 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows • Ford Cosworth | 77 | +1 lap | ||
| 10 | 21 | 25 | Hector Rebaque | Lotus • Ford Cosworth | 77 | +1 lap | ||
| 11 | 20 | 30 | Brett Lunger | McLaren • Ford Cosworth | 76 | +2 laps | ||
| 12 | 19 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees • Ford Cosworth | 76 | +2 laps | ||
| 7 | 35 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows • Ford Cosworth | 63 | engine | |||
| 5 | 20 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf • Ford Cosworth | 59 | accident | |||
| 4 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren • Ford Cosworth | 56 | accident | |||
| 9 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 55 | accident | |||
| 8 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 55 | oil leak | |||
| 23 | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees • Ford Cosworth | 52 | oil line | |||
| 1 | 1 | Niki Lauda | Brabham • Alfa Romeo | 52 | engine | |||
| 15 | 9 | Jochen Mass | ATS • Ford Cosworth | 43 | engine | |||
| 26 | 37 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario • Ford Cosworth | 39 | suspension | |||
| 6 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 38 | vapor lock | |||
| 24 | 32 | Keke Rosberg | Theodore • Ford Cosworth | 14 | engine | |||
| 16 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Copersucar • Ford Cosworth | 9 | transmission | |||
| 25 | 24 | Eddie Cheever | Hesketh • Ford Cosworth | 8 | engine | |||
| 3 | 7 | James Hunt | McLaren • Ford Cosworth | 5 | engine | |||
| DNQ | 31 | René Arnoux | Martini • Ford Cosworth | |||||
| DNQ | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow • Ford Cosworth | |||||
| DNQ | 22 | Lamberto Leoni | Ensign • Ford Cosworth | |||||
| DNQ | 16 | Hans Joachim Stuck | Shadow • Ford Cosworth |
Fastest lap - 01:17.090 - 191.651 km/h - Mario Andretti (lap 2)