Race results
Race startJanuary 28, 1978 at 21:00Brasilia Standard Time
| POS. | NO. | Driver | Team | TIME | Laps | Grid | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 1:49:59.86 | 63 | 4 | 9 |
| 2 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | +49.130 | 63 | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 1 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | +57.020 | 63 | 10 | 4 |
| 4 | 5 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | +1:33.120 | 63 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow | +1 Lap | 62 | 15 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | +1 Lap | 62 | 19 | 1 |
| 7 | 9 | Jochen Mass | ATS | +1 Lap | 62 | 20 | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | John Watson | Brabham | +2 Laps | 61 | 21 | 0 |
| 9 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | +2 Laps | 61 | 14 | 0 |
| 10 | 36 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | +4 Laps | 59 | 18 | 0 |
| 11 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | +5 Laps | 58 | 8 | 0 |
| - | 25 | Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | DNF (Physical) | 40 | 22 | 0 |
| - | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | DNF (Spun off) | 35 | 6 | 0 |
| - | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | DNF (Spun off) | 34 | 5 | 0 |
| - | 7 | James Hunt | McLaren | DNF (Spun off) | 25 | 2 | 0 |
| - | 16 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow | DNF (Fuel system) | 25 | 9 | 0 |
| - | 20 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | DNF (Accident) | 16 | 12 | 0 |
| - | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus | DNF (Collision) | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| - | 22 | Danny Ongais | Ensign | DNF (Brakes) | 13 | 23 | 0 |
| - | 30 | Brett Lunger | McLaren | DNF (Overheating) | 11 | 13 | 0 |
| - | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell | DNF (Accident) | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| - | 18 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees | DNF (Accident) | 5 | 24 | 0 |
| - | 23 | Lamberto Leoni | Ensign | DNF (Transmission) | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| - | 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS | DNS (Withdrew) | 0 | 16 | 0 |