South African Grand Prix
Kyalami
Grand Prix starting grid
Race starts
Grid positions from race-result records; not a separately verified pre-race grid.
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niki Lauda | Brabham |
| 2 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus |
| 3 | James Hunt | McLaren |
| 4 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf |
| 6 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault |
| 7 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows |
| 8 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 9 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari |
| 10 | John Watson | Brabham |
| 11 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell |
| 12 | Ronnie Peterson | Team Lotus |
| 13 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| 14 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell |
| 15 | Jochen Mass | ATS |
| 16 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi |
| 17 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | ATS |
| 18 | Alan Jones | Williams |
| 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees |
| 20 | Brett Lunger | McLaren |
| 21 | Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus |
| 22 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows |
| 23 | Rupert Keegan | Surtees |
| 24 | Keke Rosberg | Theodore |
| 25 | Eddie Cheever | Hesketh |
| 26 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario |