82nd, Lauda Triumphs with Controversial Brabham Fan Car at Anderstorp
Like most of Gordon Murray’s designs, the Brabham BT46B was a paragon of proportional elegance. It had a feature unlike any other, though, and also holds the distinction of winning every world championship grand prix it started… albeit just the one.
Colin Chapman had recently created an F1 template that endures by using aerodynamics as a performance aid – and for much of 1978 his Lotus 79 was borderline untouchable. In Sweden, however, it came up against Murray’s BT46B, which featured a large fan mounted vertically beneath the rear wing. Brabham argued that its primary function was to cool the car’s Alfa Romeo flat-12: the fact it also sucked air from beneath the chassis, creating a partial vacuum and colossal downforce, was apparently happy coincidence.
Mario Andretti took pole for Lotus, ahead of the Brabhams of John Watson and Niki Lauda… but there was a strong feeling that the latter had both been sandbagging. Andretti took the lead at the start, with Lauda second as Watson dropped swiftly to fifth, behind Riccardo Patrese and Ronnie Peterson. The Ulsterman would retire after 20 laps, when a sticking throttle caused him to spin.