Champions and mixed fortunes

Mixed fortunes for four champions –Peterson, Andretti, Depailler, Hunt – in what it seems like a pensive mood for the four of them, sitting together on the armco during the 1978 Formula One season.

Ronnie Peterson (far left) had left Tyrrell and joined Mario Andretti at Team Lotus. Sadly, Peterson lost his life in a fiery accident at the start of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza… Patrick Depailler (sitting far right) at Team Tyrrell, enjoyed the more conventional and competitive Tyrrell 008 and was soon going to score the first victory of his F1 career, at Monaco in May.

Mario Andretti, lead driver at Lotus, was putting all his efforts and experience in Colin Chapman’s revolutionary ground-effect Lotus 78 and its evolution the Lotus 79, and was on his way to become the 1978 F1 World Champion, while James Hunt (standing far right), the 1976 F1 World Champion, was still a hard-charger for McLaren (picture-below), but his M26 was not competitive enough.