Automobile World Championship 1979

Automobile World Championship 1979

World Champion
Driver:	Jody Scheckter
Constructor:	Ferrari
Season dates
Number of races:	15th
<1978 season	1980 season>

The 1979 automobile world championship was the 30th season of the automobile world championship, which is now known as the Formula 1 world championship . Over 15 races were held between January 21, 1979 and October 7, 1979, the drivers' world championship and the International Cup of Formula 1 Constructors .

Jody Scheckter won the drivers' championship for the first and only time. Ferrari was the sixth time constructor world champion.

Teams and drivers

photo	team	chassis	engine	tires	No.	Regular driver	run
	Martini Racing Team Lotus	Lotus 79 lotus 80	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	01	Mario Andretti	1-15
					02	Carlos Reutemann	1-15
	Team Tyrrell Candy Tyrrell Team	Tyrrell 009	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	03	Didier Pironi	1-15
					04th	Jean-Pierre Jarier	1-9, 12-15
						Geoff Lees	10
						Derek Daly	11
					33	Derek Daly	14, 15
	Parmalat Racing Team	Brabham BT46 Brabham BT48 Brabham BT49	Alfa Romeo 3.0 B12 Alfa Romeo 3.0 V12 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	05	Niki Lauda	1-13
						Ricardo Zunino	14, 15
					06th	Nelson Piquet	1-15
	Marlboro Team Texaco Löwenbräu Team McLaren	McLaren M28 McLaren M26 McLaren M29	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	07th	John Watson	1-15
					08th	Patrick Tambay	1-15
	ATS Wheels	ATS D2 ATS D3	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	09	Hans-Joachim Stuck	1-15
	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 312T3 Ferrari 312T4	Ferrari 3.0 B12	M.	11	Jody Scheckter	1-15
					12	Gilles Villeneuve	1-15
	Fittipaldi Automotive	Copersucar F5A Copersucar F6 Copersucar F6A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	14th	Emerson Fittipaldi	1-15
					19th	Alex Ribeiro	14, 15
	Equipe Renault Elf	Renault RS01 Renault RS10 Renault RS11 Renault RS12 Renault RS14	Renault 1.5 V6T	M.	15th	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	1-15
					16	René Arnoux	1-15
	Samson Shadow Racing Team Interscope Shadow Racing Team	Shadow DN9	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	17th	Jan Lammers	1-15
					18th	Elio de Angelis	1-15
	Olympus Cameras Wolf Racing	Wolf WR7 Wolf WR8 Wolf WR9	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	20th	James Hunt	1-7
						Keke Rosberg	8-15
	Team Ensign	Ensign N177 Ensign N179	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	22nd	Derek Daly	1-7
						Patrick Gaillard	8-12
						Marc Surer	13-15
	Team Merzario	Merzario A1B Merzario A3 Merzario A4	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	24	Arturo Merzario	1-6, 8-15
						Gianfranco Brancatelli	7th
	Ligier Gitanes	Ligier JS11	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	25th	Patrick Depailler	1-7
						Jacky Ickx	8-15
					26th	Jacques Laffite	1-15
	Albilad-Saudia Racing Team	Williams FW06 Williams FW07	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	27	Alan Jones	1-15
					28	Clay Regazzoni	1-15
	Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	Arrows A1B Arrows A2	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	29	Riccardo Patrese	1-15
					30th	Jochen Mass	1-15
	Team Rebaque	Lotus 79 Rebaque HR100	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	31	Hector Rebaque	1-6, 8-15
	Autodelta	Alfa Romeo 177 Alfa Romeo 179	Alfa Romeo 3.0 B12 Alfa Romeo 3.0 V12	G	35	Bruno Giacomelli	6, 8, 13-15
					36	Vittorio Brambilla	13-15
	Willi Kauhsen Racing Team	Kauhsen WK	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G	36	Gianfranco Brancatelli	5, 6

Racing calendar

No.	date	Grand Prix	route	Distance (km)	Pole position	Fastest race lap	winner	Overall leading driver	Overall leading designer
01	21th January	Argentina	Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires	316,304 km	Jacques Laffite	Jacques Laffite	Jacques Laffite	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
02	February 4th	Brazil	Autódromo de Interlagos	314.960 km	Jacques Laffite	Jacques Laffite	Jacques Laffite
03	3 March	South Africa	Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit	320.112 km	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Gilles Villeneuve	Gilles Villeneuve
04th	April 8th	USA West	Long Beach Grand Prix Circuit	261.705 km	Gilles Villeneuve	Gilles Villeneuve	Gilles Villeneuve	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
05	April 29	Spain	Circuito del Jarama	255.300 km	Jacques Laffite	Gilles Villeneuve	Patrick Depailler		Ligier-Ford
06th	May 13th	Belgium	Circuit Zolder	298.340 km	Jacques Laffite	Gilles Villeneuve	Jody Scheckter	Jacques Laffite	Ferrari
07th	May 27th	Monaco	Circuit de Monaco	251.712 km	Jody Scheckter	Patrick Depailler	Jody Scheckter	Jody Scheckter
08th	July 1	France	Circuit de Dijon-Prenois	304,000 km	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	René Arnoux	Jean-Pierre Jabouille
09	July 14th	Great Britain	Silverstone Circuit	320.892 km	Alan Jones	Clay Regazzoni	Clay Regazzoni
10	29th of July	Germany	Hockenheimring	305.505 km	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Gilles Villeneuve	Alan Jones
11	12. August	Austria	Österreichring	320.868 km	René Arnoux	René Arnoux	Alan Jones
12	26th of August	Netherlands	Circuit Park Zandvoort	316.950 km	René Arnoux	Gilles Villeneuve	Alan Jones
13	the 9th of September	Italy	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	290,000 km	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Clay Regazzoni	Jody Scheckter
14th	30. September	Canada	Île Notre-Dame Circuit	317.520 km	Alan Jones	Alan Jones	Alan Jones
15th	October 7th	USA East	Watkins Glen International	320.665 km	Alan Jones	Nelson Piquet	Gilles Villeneuve

Race reports

Argentina Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 Argentina Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1: 36: 03.21
2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus Ford	+ 14.94
3	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	+1: 28.81
PP	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1: 44.20
SR	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1: 46.91

The Argentine Grand Prix at the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires took place on January 21, 1979 and covered a distance of 53 laps (316.304 km).

Brazilian Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1: 40: 09.64
2	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	+ 5.28
3	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus Ford	+ 44.14
PP	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	2: 23.07
SR	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	2: 28.76

The Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autódromo de Interlagos took place on February 4, 1979 and covered a distance of 40 laps (314.96 km).

South Africa Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 Grand Prix of South Africa

space	driver	team	time
1	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 41: 49.96
2	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	+ 3.42
3	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	+ 22.11
PP	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1: 11.80
SR	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 14.41

The South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit took place on March 3, 1979 and covered a distance of 78 laps (320.112 km).

US Grand Prix West

→ Main article : USA Grand Prix West 1979

space	driver	team	time
1	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 50: 25.40
2	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	+ 29.38
3	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	+ 59.69
PP	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 18.83
SR	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 21.20

The US West Grand Prix at the Long Beach Grand Prix Circuit took place on April 8, 1979 and covered a distance of 80.5 laps (261.706 km).

Spanish Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 Spanish Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	1: 39: 11.84
2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus Ford	+ 20.94
3	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	+ 27.31
PP	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1: 14.50
SR	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 16.44

The Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuito del Jarama took place on April 29, 1979 and covered a distance of 75 laps (255.300 km).

Belgian Grand Prix

→ Main article : Belgian Grand Prix 1979

space	driver	team	time
1	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1: 39: 59.53
2	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	+ 15.36
3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	+ 35.17
PP	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1: 21.13
SR	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 23.09

The Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit Zolder took place on May 13, 1979 and covered a distance of 70 laps of 4.262 km (298.34 km).

Monaco Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 Monaco Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1: 55: 22.48
2	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	+ 0.44
3	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus Ford	+ 8.57
PP	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1: 26.45
SR	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	1: 28.82

The Monaco Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco took place on May 27, 1979 and covered a distance of 76 laps of 3.312 km (251.712 km).

French Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 French Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1: 35: 20.42
2	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	+ 14.59
3	René Arnoux	Renault	+ 14.83
PP	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1: 07.19
SR	René Arnoux	Renault	1: 09.16

The French Grand Prix at the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois took place on July 1, 1979 and covered a distance of 80 laps (304.0 km).

Great Britain Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 British Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1: 26: 11.17
2	René Arnoux	Renault	+ 24.28
3	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	+ 1 lap
PP	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 11.88
SR	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1: 14.40

The Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone took place on July 14, 1979 and went over a distance of 68 laps (320.892 km).

Grand Prix of Germany

→ Main article : 1979 German Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 24: 48.83
2	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	+ 2.91
3	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	+ 18.39
PP	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1: 48.48
SR	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 41.89

The German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring took place on July 29, 1979 and covered a distance of 45 laps (305.505 km).

Grand Prix of Austria

→ Main article : Grand Prix of Austria 1979

space	driver	team	time
1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 27: 38.01
2	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	+ 36.05
3	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	+ 46.77
PP	René Arnoux	Renault	1: 34.07
SR	René Arnoux	Renault	1: 35.77

The Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring took place on August 12, 1979 and covered a distance of 54 laps of 5.942 km (320.868 km).

Grand Prix of the Netherlands

Alan Jones at the Dutch GP

→ Main article : Dutch Grand Prix 1979

space	driver	team	time
1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 41: 19.775
2	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	+ 21.783
3	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	+1: 03.253
PP	René Arnoux	Renault	1: 15.461
SR	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 19.438

The Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Park Zandvoort took place on August 26, 1979 and covered a distance of 75 laps of 4.226 km (316.95 km).

Italian Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 Italian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1: 22: 00,220
2	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	+ 0.460
3	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	+ 4.780
PP	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1: 34.58
SR	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1: 35.60

The Italian Grand Prix in Monza took place on September 9, 1979 and covered a distance of 50 laps (290 km).

Jody Scheckter was confirmed as driver world champion in 1979 after the race.

Canadian Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1979 Canadian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 52: 06.892
2	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	+ 1.080
3	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	+1: 13.656
PP	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 29.892
SR	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 31.272

The Canadian Grand Prix at the Île Notre-Dame Circuit took place on September 30, 1979 and covered a distance of 72 laps (317.52 km).

US Grand Prix East

→ Main article : 1979 US East Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1: 52: 17.734
2	René Arnoux	Renault	+ 48.787
3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	+ 53.199
PP	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1: 35.615
SR	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	1: 40.054

The US East Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International took place on October 7, 1979 and covered a distance of 59 laps of 5.435 km (320.665 km).

World championship ratings

The six first-placed drivers in each race received points according to the following scheme:

Distribution of points
space	1	2	3	4th	5	6th
Points	9	6th	4th	3	2	1

In the driver standings, the best four results of the first seven and the best four of the remaining eight races were counted (the total points in brackets). All results were evaluated in the constructors' classification.

Driver ranking

Item	driver	constructor																Points
01	J. Scheckter	Ferrari	DNF	(6)	2	2	(4)	1	1	( 7 )	( 5 )	4th	4th	2	1	( 4 )	DNF	51 (60)
02	G. Villeneuve	Ferrari	DNF	5	1	1	7th	( 7 )	DNF	2	(14)	( 8 )	2	DNF	2	(2)	1	47 (53)
03	A. Jones	Williams-Ford	9	DNF	DNF	3	DNF	DNF	DNF	(4)	DNF	1	1	1	(9)	1	DNF	40 (43)
04th	J. Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1	1	DNF	DNF	DNF	2	DNF	8th	DNF	3	3	3	DNF	DNF	DNF	36
05	C. Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	10	15th	9	DNF	DNF	DNF	2	(6)	1	2	(5)	DNF	3	3	DNF	29 (32)
06th	P. Depailler	Ligier-Ford	4th	2	DNF	5	1	DNF	(5)									20 (22)
07th	C. Reutemann	Lotus Ford	2	3	(5)	DNF	2	(4)	3	13	8th	DNF	DNF	DNF	7th	DNF	DNF	20 (25)
08th	R. Arnoux	Renault	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNS	9	DNF	DNF	3	2	DNF	6th	DNF	DNF	DNF	2	17th
09	J. Watson	McLaren-Ford	3	8th	DNF	DNF	DNF	6th	4th	(11)	4th	5	(9)	DNF	DNF	6th	6th	15th
10	D. Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	DNF	4th	DNF	DSQ	6th	3	DNF	DNF	(10)	9	7th	DNF	(10)	5	3	14th
11	J.-P. Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	DNF	DNF	3	6th	5	11	DNF	5	3			DNF	6th	DNF	DNF	14th
12	M. Andretti	Lotus Ford	5	DNF	4th	4th	3	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	5	10	DNF	14th
13	J.-P. Jabouille	Renault	DNF	10	DNF	DNS	DNF	DNF	NC	1	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	14th	DNF	DNF	9
14th	N. Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo / Ford	DNF	DNF	6th	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	4th			4th
15th	E. de Angelis	Shadow Ford	7th	12	DNF	7th	DNF	DNF	DNQ	16	12	11	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	4th	3
16	N. Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo / Ford	DNF	DNF	7th	8th	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	12	DNF	4th	DNF	DNF	DNF	3
17th	J. Ickx	Ligier-Ford								DNF	6th	DNF	DNF	5	DNF	DNF	DNF	3
18th	J. Mass	Arrows Ford	8th	7th	12	9	8th	DNF	6th	15th	DNF	6th	DNF	6th	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	3
19th	H.-J. Piece	ATS Ford	DNS	DNF	DNF	DSQ	14th	8th	DNF	DNS	DNQ	DNF	DNF	DNF	11	DNF	5	2
20th	R. Patrese	Arrows Ford	DNS	9	11	DNF	10	5	DNF	14th	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	13	DNF	DNF	2
21st	E. Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	6th	11	13	DNF	11	9	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	8th	8th	7th	1
-	H. Rebaque	Rebaque Ford	DNF	DNQ	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF		12	9	DNF	DNQ	7th	DNQ	DNF	DNQ	0
-	P. Tambay	McLaren-Ford	DNF	DNF	10	DNF	13	DNQ	DNQ	10	7th	DNF	10	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	0
-	R. Zunino	Brabham-Ford														7th	DNF	0
-	G. Lees	Tyrrell-Ford										7th						0
-	D. Daly	Ensign-Ford	11	13	DNQ	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ									0
		Tyrrell-Ford											8th			DNF	DNF	0
-	J. Hunt	Wolf-Ford	DNF	DNF	8th	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF									0
-	J. Lammers	Shadow Ford	DNF	14th	DNF	DNF	12	10	DNQ	18th	11	10	DNF	DNF	DNQ	9	DNQ	0
-	K. Rosberg	Wolf-Ford								9	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNQ	DNF	0
-	V. Brambilla	Alfa Romeo													12	DNF	DNQ	0
-	P. Gaillard	Ensign-Ford								DNQ	13	DNQ	DNF	DNQ				0
-	B. Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo						DNF		17th					DNF		DNF	0
-	A. Merzario	Merzario-Ford	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	DNF	DNQ	DNQ		DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	0
-	M. Surer	Ensign-Ford													DNQ	DNQ	DNF	0

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Constructors' championship

1	Ferrari	113
2	Williams - Ford	75
3	Ligier - Ford	61
4th	Lotus - Ford	39
5	Tyrrell - Ford	28
6th	Renault	26th
7th	McLaren - Ford	15th
8th	Brabham - Alfa Romeo	7th
9	Arrows - Ford	5
10	Shadow - Ford	3
11	ATS - Ford	2
12	Fittipaldi - Ford	1
13	Rebaque - Ford	0
14th	Ensign - Ford	0
15th	Wolf - Ford	0
16	Alfa Romeo	0

News in brief Formula 1

• In Dijon , Renault , a turbo engine won for the first time in Formula 1.
• James Hunt resigned from active motorsport.
• Patrick Depailler was seriously injured while kite flying and therefore only competed in the first seven races of the season.
• At Silverstone , the Williams team celebrated their first GP victory with Clay Regazzoni.
• Jody Scheckter won the last driver's world title for Ferrari for more than two decades.
• Niki Lauda stepped back: "I don't feel like driving in circles anymore."

Web links

Commons : 1979 Automobile World Championship  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official Formula 1 website Results Season 1979 (English)