1979 South African Grand Prix

1979 South African Grand Prix
Race 3 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
Race details
Date	3 March 1979
Official name	XXV Simba Grand Prix of South Africa
Location	Kyalami Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance	78 laps, 320.112 km (198.908 miles)
Weather	Wet
Pole position
Driver	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault
Time	1:11.80
Fastest lap
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:14.412 on lap 23
Podium
First	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Second	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari
Third	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1979 South African Grand Prix (formally the XXV Simba Grand Prix of South Africa) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 March 1979 at Kyalami. The race, contested over 78 laps, was the third race of the 1979 Formula One season and was won by Gilles Villeneuve, driving a Ferrari. Teammate and local driver Jody Scheckter finished second, while Jean-Pierre Jarier finished third in a Tyrrell-Ford.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time	Grid
1	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:11,80	1
2	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1:12.04	2
3	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:12.07	3
4	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:12.12	4
5	25	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	1:12.15	5
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1:12.26	6
7	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	1:12,33	7
8	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	1:12,36	8
9	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	1:12,55	9
10	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:12,69	10
11	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	1:12,75	11
12	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:13,07	12
13	20	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	1:14,21	13
14	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:14,44	14
15	17	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	1:14,44	15
16	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:14,54	16
17	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	1:14,58	17
18	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:14,61	18
19	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:14,64	19
20	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	1:15,00	20
21	18	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	1:15,35	21
22	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1:15,68	22
23	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	1:16,15	23
24	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	1:16.31	24
DNQ	22	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford	1:16.64	—
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	1:18.14	—

Race

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	78	1:41:49.96	3	9
2	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	M	78	+ 3.42	2	6
3	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	G	78	+ 22.11	9	4
4	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	G	78	+ 27.88	8	3
5	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	G	78	+ 1:06.97	11	2
6	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	77	+ 1 Lap	4	1
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	77	+ 1 Lap	12
8	20	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	G	77	+ 1 Lap	13
9	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	G	76	+ 2 Laps	22
10	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	G	75	+ 3 Laps	17
11	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	G	75	+ 3 Laps	16
12	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	G	74	+ 4 Laps	20
13	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	G	74	+ 4 Laps	18
Ret	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	G	71	Engine	23
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	67	Tyre	10
Ret	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	G	63	Suspension	19
Ret	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	G	61	Ignition	14
Ret	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	G	57	Accident	24
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	M	47	Engine	1
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	G	45	Accident	6
Ret	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	G	25	Throttle	7
Ret	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	G	16	Accident	15
Ret	25	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	G	4	Accident	5
Ret	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	G	2	Accident	21
DNQ	22	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford	G
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	G
Source:[1][2]

Notes

• This was the first pole position set by Renault and a Renault-powered car.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jacques Laffite 18 2 Carlos Reutemann 12 3 Gilles Villeneuve 11 4 Patrick Depailler 9 5 Jody Scheckter 7 Source: [3]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ligier-Ford 27 2 Ferrari 18 3 Lotus-Ford 17 4 Tyrrell-Ford 7 5 McLaren-Ford 4 Source: [3]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

1. "1979 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
2. "1979 South African Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 3 March 1979. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
3. "South Africa 1979 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.

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