1979 U.S. Grand Prix
| Racing data | ||
|---|---|---|
| 15th of 15 races of the 1979 automobile world championship | ||
|
||
| Surname: | XXII United States Grand Prix | |
| Date: | October 7, 1979 | |
| Place: | Watkins Glen | |
| Course: | Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course | |
| Length: | 320.665 km in 59 laps of 5.435 km
|
|
| Weather: | wet and cold | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver: |
 Alan Jones
|
 Williams
|
| Time: | 1: 35.615 min | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver: |
.svg){kind=small} Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham
|
| Time: | 1: 40.054 min | |
| Podium | ||
| First: |
 Gilles Villeneuve
|
 Ferrari
|
| Second: |
 René Arnoux
|
Renault
|
| Third: |
Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell
|
The 1979 US Grand Prix was held on October 7th as the 15th and final race of the 1979 Automobile World Championship in Watkins Glen.
Reports
background
After Jody Scheckter had been the 1979 World Champion since the Italian Grand Prix , the only open question before the season finale in Watkins Glen was whether Alan Jones or Schecker's team-mate Gilles Villeneuve would secure the runner-up in the world championship.
30 vehicles were registered for the race. The only change compared to the Canadian Grand Prix last weekend was that Bruno Giacomelli , the second Alfa Romeo factory driver, was allowed to take part.
training
Alan Jones secured pole position for the second time in a row with a lead of around 1.3 seconds. Next to him, Nelson Piquet qualified for the front row in the promising new Brabham BT49 . Gilles Villeneuve followed in the second row next to Jacques Laffite . Clay Regazzoni and Carlos Reutemann formed the third row on the grid.
Since only 24 pilots were allowed to take part in the race despite the increased number of participants, six drivers could not qualify.
run
Since it had rained until shortly before the start, all the drivers started the race on rain tires. Villeneuve had the best start, allowing him to take the lead from Jones, Reutemann and Laffite.
Favored by the early failures of Laffite and Reutemann, Regazzoni was able to take third place in the seventh round. When both Scheckter and Scheckter had slicks fitted to the pits , Jean-Pierre Jabouille took third place. When the latter was canceled five laps later due to an engine failure, his team-mate René Arnoux took over the position.
On the 31st lap, Villeneuve also had dry tires fitted, which meant that Jones briefly took the lead. When he drove up five laps later to change tires, one of the mechanics made a mistake by not fastening one of the wheels adequately. Jones lost his bike when he hit the track again and was eliminated.
Gilles Villeneuve won the race with a comfortable margin over René Arnoux and Didier Pironi . Elio de Angelis and Hans-Joachim Stuck gave their respective teams the first and therefore only World Championship points of the season as fourth and fifth place in the last race of the year.
Registration list
Classifications
Starting grid
| Item | driver | constructor | time | Ø speed | begin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford
|
1: 35.615 | 204.633 km / h | 1 |
| 2 |
Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham-Ford
|
1: 36.914 | 201.890 km / h | 2 |
| 3 |
Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari
|
1: 36.948 | 201.820 km / h | 3 |
| 4th |
Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Ford
|
1: 37.066 | 201.574 km / h | 4th |
| 5 |
 Clay Regazzoni
|
Williams-Ford
|
1: 37.128 | 201.446 km / h | 5 |
| 6th |
 Carlos Reutemann
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 37.872 | 199.914 km / h | 6th |
| 7th |
René Arnoux
|
Renault
|
1: 38.195 | 199.257 km / h | 7th |
| 8th |
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault
|
1: 38.218 | 199.210 km / h | 8th |
| 9 |
Ricardo Zunino
|
Brabham-Ford
|
1: 38.509 | 198.621 km / h | 9 |
| 10 |
Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
1: 38.823 | 197.990 km / h | 10 |
| 11 |
Jean-Pierre Jarier
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
1: 38.945 | 197.746 km / h | 11 |
| 12 |
 Keke Rosberg
|
Wolf-Ford
|
1: 39.035 | 197.567 km / h | 12 |
| 13 |
John Watson
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 39.233 | 197.172 km / h | 13 |
| 14th |
 Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
ATS Ford
|
1: 39.329 | 196.982 km / h | 14th |
| 15th |
 Derek Daly
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
1: 39.468 | 196.706 km / h | 15th |
| 16 |
.svg){kind=small} Jody Scheckter
|
Ferrari
|
1: 39.576 | 196.493 km / h | 16 |
| 17th |
 Mario Andretti
|
Lotus Ford
|
1: 40.144 | 195.379 km / h | 17th |
| 18th |
Bruno Giacomelli
|
Alfa Romeo
|
1: 40.277 | 195.120 km / h | 18th |
| 19th |
Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows Ford
|
1: 40.337 | 195.003 km / h | 19th |
| 20th |
Elio de Angelis
|
Shadow Ford
|
1: 40.625 | 194.445 km / h | 20th |
| 21st |
Marc Surer
|
Ensign-Ford
|
1: 40.635 | 194.425 km / h | 21st |
| 22nd |
Patrick Tambay
|
McLaren-Ford
|
1: 40.731 | 194.240 km / h | 22nd |
| 23 |
Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford
|
1: 40.741 | 194.221 km / h | 23 |
| 24 |
 Jacky Ickx
|
Ligier-Ford
|
1: 40.745 | 194.213 km / h | 24 |
| DNQ |
Vittorio Brambilla
|
Alfa Romeo
|
1: 40.789 | 194.128 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
Jochen Mass
|
Arrows Ford
|
1: 40.824 | 194.061 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
 Jan Lammers
|
Shadow Ford
|
1: 42.088 | 191.658 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
 Hector Rebaque
|
Rebaque Ford
|
1: 43.060 | 189.851 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
Alex Ribeiro
|
Fittipaldi-Ford
|
1: 45.183 | 186.019 km / h | - |
| DNQ |
Arturo Merzario
|
Merzario-Ford
|
1: 49.318 | 178.982 km / h | - |
run
| Item | driver | constructor | Round | Stops | time | begin | Fastest lap | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari
|
59 | 1 | 1: 52: 17.734 | 3 | 1: 42.029 | |
| 2 |
René Arnoux
|
Renault
|
59 | 0 | + 48.787 | 7th | 1: 41.322 | |
| 3 |
Didier Pironi
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
59 | 0 | + 53.199 | 10 | 1: 42.108 | |
| 4th |
Elio de Angelis
|
Shadow Ford
|
59 | 0 | +1: 30.512 | 20th | 1: 42.147 | |
| 5 |
Hans-Joachim Stuck
|
ATS Ford
|
59 | 0 | +1: 41.199 | 14th | 1: 43,400 | |
| 6th |
John Watson
|
McLaren-Ford
|
58 | 0 | + 1 lap | 13 | 1: 40.264 | |
| 7th |
Emerson Fittipaldi
|
Fittipaldi-Ford
|
54 | 0 | + 5 rounds | 23 | 1: 53.048 | |
| - |
Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham-Ford
|
53 | 1 | DNF | 2 | 1: 40.054 | Engine failure |
| - |
Derek Daly
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
52 | 0 | DNF | 15th | 1: 42.887 | Driving error |
| - |
Jody Scheckter
|
Ferrari
|
48 | 1 | DNF | 16 | 1: 53.574 | Tire damage |
| - |
Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows Ford
|
44 | 0 | DNF | 19th | 1: 46.278 | Suspension damage |
| - |
Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford
|
36 | 1 | DNF | 1 | 1: 47.622 | lost wheel |
| - |
Marc Surer
|
Ensign-Ford
|
32 | 0 | DNF | 21st | 1: 57.377 | Engine failure |
| - |
Clay Regazzoni
|
Williams-Ford
|
29 | 1 | DNF | 5 | 1: 48.378 | Driving error |
| - |
Ricardo Zunino
|
Brabham-Ford
|
25th | 0 | DNF | 9 | 2: 02.393 | Driving error |
| - |
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|
Renault
|
24 | 0 | DNF | 8th | 1: 59.042 | Engine failure |
| - |
Patrick Tambay
|
McLaren-Ford
|
20th | 0 | DNF | 22nd | 2: 03.637 | Engine failure |
| - |
Keke Rosberg
|
Wolf-Ford
|
20th | 0 | DNF | 12 | 2: 01.546 | Oil loss |
| - |
Jean-Pierre Jarier
|
Tyrrell-Ford
|
18th | 0 | DNF | 11 | 2: 00.685 | collision |
| - |
Mario Andretti
|
Lotus Ford
|
15th | 1 | DNF | 17th | 2: 04.813 | Gearbox damage |
| - |
Carlos Reutemann
|
Lotus Ford
|
6th | 0 | DNF | 6th | 2: 01.981 | Driving error |
| - |
Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Ford
|
3 | 0 | DNF | 4th | 2: 08.018 | Driving error |
| - |
Jacky Ickx
|
Ligier-Ford
|
2 | 0 | DNF | 24 | 2: 10.062 | Driving error |
| - |
Bruno Giacomelli
|
Alfa Romeo
|
0 | 0 | DNF | 18th | - | Driving error |
World Cup stands after the race
The first six of the race got 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point (s) respectively.
Driver ranking
|
|
Constructors' championship
|
|
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ "Training" ( Memento of December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on September 9, 2012)
- ^ "Report" (accessed on September 9, 2012)
- ^ "World Cup stands" ( Memento from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Motorsportarchiv.de; accessed on September 9, 2012)
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