Ferrari chooses Michelin

For the 1978 season, Michelin took over from Goodyear as Ferrari’s supplier, introducing for the first time in F1 radial tyres. The Ferrari 312T3 was a beautiful and efficient race car designed by Mauro Forghieri, an evolution of the T-series with a three-litre engine with 12 horizontally opposed cylinders.

Argentinian Carlos Reutemann and young Canadian hot-shoe Gilles Villeneuve (picture above, at Long Beach, where the Argentinian won) made the best use of it, but the championship was dominated by the revolutionary ‘ground-effect’ Lotus 79, and Mario Andretti was crowned.

Nevertheless, it was a good 1978 campaign for the Scuderia, second in the Constructors’ standings (behind Lotus), thanks to Carlos Reutemann winning four Grand Prix and finishing third in the drivers’ standings, and Villeneuve winning his home race in Canada.