At the end of the 1977 season, Niki Lauda left Scuderia Ferrari due to disagreements with the team's "patron," Enzo Ferrari. Rumors suggested that the two had made an informal bet on who would be the first to win another world title. Lauda moved to Brabham, while Enzo Ferrari immediately set his sights on a young Canadian talent, Gilles Villeneuve, signing him for the last two races of the '77 season and confirming him as the second driver for 1978 alongside Argentine Carlos Reutemann.
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| FERRARI 312 T3, Gilles Villeneuve Jarama, Spanish GP 1978 |
Despite the emergence of ground-effect cars such as the revolutionary Lotus 79, Ferrari remained faithful to a traditional flat-bottom configuration. This was because the design of Ferrari’s V12 Boxer engine did not allow for efficient rear extractor tunnels, unlike the more compact Ford V8 used by Lotus. For the 1978 season, Mauro Forghieri further developed the 312 T project, creating the Ferrari 312 T3, an evolution of the T2 from previous seasons.
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| FERRARI 312 T3, Carlos Reutemann Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1978 |
A significant change involved tire supply: Ferrari abandoned Goodyear in favor of Michelin, which introduced radial tire technology. This solution provided a larger contact patch compared to conventional tires, forcing the Maranello engineers to modify the suspension geometry and chassis stiffness. Aerodynamics also saw improvements: the nose was lengthened, the front wing widened, the car’s body lowered with radiators repositioned further back, and the rear wing raised to improve airflow.
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| FERRARI 312 T3, Gilles Villeneuve Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1978 |
In the first part of the season, Reutemann's Ferrari 312 T3 was able to compete with the Lotus 79, while Villeneuve’s early races with the Maranello team were forgettable, with three consecutive retirements due to mechanical failures caused by his aggressive driving style. From the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, Colin Chapman’s car became overwhelmingly dominant, relegating Ferrari to a secondary role. Mauro Forghieri then redirected efforts toward designing the future 312 T4, Ferrari’s first ground-effect car. Only towards the end of the season—helped by the tragic death of Ronnie Peterson at Monza and Mario Andretti securing the title early—did Ferrari manage to claim two victories: Carlos Reutemann triumphed at Watkins Glen in the United States, and Gilles Villeneuve took his first career win in front of his home crowd at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
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| FERRARI 312 T3, Carlos Reutemann Long Beach, USA West GP 1978 |
Overall, the Ferrari 312 T3 secured four victories, finishing second in the Constructors' Championship. Carlos Reutemann ended the season third in the drivers' standings, behind the dominant Lotus 79 drivers. A total of five 312 T3 chassis were built, one of which was used in 1979 by Villeneuve to test an innovative semi-automatic gearbox designed by Forghieri. This system, a forerunner of modern sequential transmissions, featured two buttons on the steering wheel for shifting gears, eliminating the traditional gear lever and clutch pedal. Despite positive results in Fiorano testing, with over 100 trouble-free laps completed, the project was abandoned due to Villeneuve’s lack of confidence in the system.
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