1979 F1 World Championship Season

Season:	30th World Championship season
Drivers’ Champion:	Jody Scheckter (only title, 17th different world champion, 1st South African champion)
Constructors’ Champion:	Ferrari (6th title)
Reigning drivers’ champion:	Mario Andretti
Reigning constructors’ champion:	Lotus
Races:	15
Winning drivers:	Alan Jones (4) Jody Scheckter (3) Gilles Villeneuve (3) Jacques Laffite (2) Patrick Depailler (1) Jean-Pierre Jabouille (1) Clay Regazzoni (1)
Winning constructors:	Ferrari (6) Williams (5) Ligier (3) Renault (1)
First-time winners (driver):	Jean-Pierre Jabouille
First-time winners (constructor):	Renault Williams
Other seasons:

Calendar

DT: Drivers’ title decider
CT: Constructors’ title decider

No.	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date	Race Result
1	Argentina	Buenos Aires	21 January	1979 Argentine Grand Prix
2	Brazil	Interlagos	04 February	1979 Brazilian Grand Prix
3	South Africa	Kyalami	03 March	1979 South African Grand Prix
4	USA West	Long Beach	08 April	1979 United States Grand Prix West
5	Spain	Jarama	29 April	1979 Spanish Grand Prix
6	Belgium	Zolder	13 May	1979 Belgian Grand Prix
7	Monaco	Monte Carlo	27 May	1979 Monaco Grand Prix
8	France	Dijon-Prenois	01 July	1979 French Grand Prix
9	Britain	Silverstone	14 July	1979 British Grand Prix
10	Germany	Hockenheim	29 July	1979 German Grand Prix
11	Austria	Osterreichring	12 August	1979 Austrian Grand Prix
12	Netherlands	Zandvoort	26 August	1979 Dutch Grand Prix
13	Italy DT CT	Monza	09 September	1979 Italian Grand Prix
14	Canada	Montreal	30 September	1979 Canadian Grand Prix
15	USA	Watkins Glen	07 October	1979 United States Grand Prix

Driver and constructor entries

Constructor	Driver	Round(s) entered
Alfa Romeo (works team)	Vittorio Brambilla	13-15
Alfa Romeo (works team)	Bruno Giacomelli	6, 8, 13, 15
Arrows (works team)	Jochen Mass	All
Arrows (works team)	Riccardo Patrese	All
ATS (works team)	Hans-Joachim Stuck	All
Brabham (works team)	Niki Lauda	1-14
	Nelson Piquet	All
	Ricardo Zunino	14-15
Ensign (works team)	Derek Daly	1-7
	Patrick Gaillard	8-12
	Marc Surer	13-15
Ferrari (works team)	Jody Scheckter	All
Ferrari (works team)	Gilles Villeneuve	All
Fittipaldi (works team)	Emerson Fittipaldi	All
Fittipaldi (works team)	Alex Ribeiro	14-15
Kauhsen (works team)	Gianfranco Brancatelli	5-6
Ligier (works team)	Patrick Depailler	1-7
	Jacky Ickx	8-15
	Jacques Laffite	All
Lotus (works team)	Mario Andretti	All
Lotus (works team)	Carlos Reutemann	All
Lotus (privateer)	Hector Rebaque	1-6, 8-12
McLaren (works team)	Patrick Tambay	All
McLaren (works team)	John Watson	All
Merzario (works team)	Gianfranco Brancatelli	7
Merzario (works team)	Arturo Merzario	1-6, 8-15
Rebaque (works team)	Hector Rebaque	13-15
Renault (works team)	Rene Arnoux	All
Renault (works team)	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	All
Shadow (works team)	Elio de Angelis	All
Shadow (works team)	Jan Lammers	All
Tyrrell (works team)	Derek Daly	11, 14-15
	Jean-Pierre Jarier	1-9, 12-15
	Geoff Lees	10
	Didier Pironi	All
Williams (works team)	Alan Jones	All
Williams (works team)	Clay Regazzoni	All
Wolf (works team)	James Hunt	1-7
Wolf (works team)	Keke Rosberg	8-15

Race winners

Highlight: Home driver/constructor

No.	Grand Prix	Circuit	Driver	Constructor	Start	Win Margin
1	Argentina	Buenos Aires	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	1	14.940s
2	Brazil	Interlagos	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	1	5.280s
3	South Africa	Kyalami	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	3	3.420s
4	USA West	Long Beach	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1	29.380s
5	Spain	Jarama	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	2	20.940s
6	Belgium	Zolder	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	7	15.360s
7	Monaco	Monte Carlo	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1	0.440s
8	France	Dijon-Prenois	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1	14.590s
9	Britain	Silverstone	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford Cosworth	4	24.280s
10	Germany	Hockenheim	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth	2	2.910s
11	Austria	Osterreichring	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth	2	36.050s
12	Netherlands	Zandvoort	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth	2	21.783s
13	Italy	Monza	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	3	0.460s
14	Canada	Montreal	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth	1	1.080s
15	USA	Watkins Glen	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	3	48.787s

Polesitters

Highlight: Home driver/constructor

No.	Grand Prix	Circuit	Driver	Constructor	Race	Pole Margin
1	Argentina	Buenos Aires	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	1	1.040s
2	Brazil	Interlagos	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	1	0.920s
3	South Africa	Kyalami	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	DNF	0.240s
4	USA West	Long Beach	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1	0.061s
5	Spain	Jarama	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	DNF	0.290s
6	Belgium	Zolder	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	2	0.070s
7	Monaco	Monte Carlo	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1	0.070s
8	France	Dijon-Prenois	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1	0.260s
9	Britain	Silverstone	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth	DNF	0.600s
10	Germany	Hockenheim	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	DNF	0.270s
11	Austria	Osterreichring	Rene Arnoux	Renault	6	0.210s
12	Netherlands	Zandvoort	Rene Arnoux	Renault	DNF	0.185s
13	Italy	Monza	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	14^R	0.124s
14	Canada	Montreal	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth	1	0.662s
15	USA	Watkins Glen	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth	DNF	1.299s

Fastest laps

Highlight: Home driver/constructor

No.	Grand Prix	Circuit	Driver	Constructor
1	Argentina	Buenos Aires	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth
2	Brazil	Interlagos	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford Cosworth
3	South Africa	Kyalami	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
4	USA West	Long Beach	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
5	Spain	Jarama	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
6	Belgium	Zolder	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
7	Monaco	Monte Carlo	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford Cosworth
8	France	Dijon-Prenois	Rene Arnoux	Renault
9	Britain	Silverstone	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford Cosworth
10	Germany	Hockenheim	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
11	Austria	Osterreichring	Rene Arnoux	Renault
12	Netherlands	Zandvoort	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
13	Italy	Monza	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford Cosworth
14	Canada	Montreal	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford Cosworth
15	USA	Watkins Glen	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford Cosworth

Qualifying results

See: 1979 F1 World Championship Qualifying Statistics

World Drivers’ Championship standings

The top six classified finishers of each race were awarded points on the following basis: 1st (9), 2nd (6), 3rd (4), 4th (3), 5th (2), 6th (1)

Only the best four results from the first seven races and the best four results from the last eight races counted towards the championship. Numbers shown without parentheses are the points scored that counted towards the championship; numbers in parentheses are the total number of points scored.

Highlight: Rookie
Bold: pole position
Underline: fastest lap
Bold & underline: pole & fastest lap

Pos	Driver	ARG	BRA	ZAF	USW	ESP	BEL	MCO	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	NLD	ITA	CAN	USA	Points
1	Jody Scheckter	R	6	2	2	4	1	1	7	5	4	4	2	1	4	R	51 (60)
2	Gilles Villeneuve	12^R	5	1	1	7	7^R	R	2	14^R	8	2	R	2	2	1	47 (53)
3	Alan Jones	9	R	R	3	R	R	R	4	R	1	1	1	9	1	R	40 (43)
4	Jacques Laffite	1	1	R	R	R	2	R	8	R	3	3	3	R	R	R	36
5	Clay Regazzoni	10	15	9	R	R	R	2	6	1	2	5	R	3	3	R	29 (32)
6	Patrick Depailler	4	2	R	5	1	R	5^R									20 (22)
=	Carlos Reutemann	2	3	5	R	2	4	3	13^R	8	R	R	R	7	R	R	20 (25)
8	Rene Arnoux	R	R	R	DNS	9	R	R	3	2	R	6	R	R	R	2	17
9	John Watson	3	8	R	R	R	6	4	11	4	5	9	R	R	6	6	15
10	Didier Pironi	R	4	R	DSQ	6	3	R	R	10	9	7	R	10	5	3	14
=	Jean-Pierre Jarier	R	DNS	3	6	5	11	R	5	3			R	6	R	R	14
=	Mario Andretti	5	R	4	4	3	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	5	10^R	R	14
13	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	R	10	R	DNS	R	R	NC	1	R	R	R	R	14^R	R	R	9
14	Niki Lauda	R	R	6	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	4			4
15	Nelson Piquet	R	R	7	8	R	R	R	R	R	12^R	R	4	R	R	R	3
=	Elio de Angelis	7	12	R	7	R	R	DNQ	16	12	11	R	R	R	R	4	3
=	Jacky Ickx								R	6	R	R	5	R	R	R	3
=	Jochen Mass	8	7	12	9	8	R	6	15	R	6	R	6	R	DNQ	DNQ	3
19	Riccardo Patrese	DNS	9	11	R	10	5	R	14	R	R	R	R	13	R	R	2
=	Hans-Joachim Stuck		R	R	DSQ	14	8	R	DNS	DNQ	R	R	R	11	R	5	2
21	Emerson Fittipaldi	6	11	13	R	11	9	R	R	R	R	R	R	8	8	7	1
	Hector Rebaque	R	DNQ	14^R	R	R	R		12	9	R	DNQ	7	DNQ	R	DNQ
	Patrick Tambay	R	R	10	R	13	DNQ	DNQ	10	7^R	R	10	R	R	R	R
	Ricardo Zunino														7	R
	Geoff Lees										7
	Derek Daly	11	13	DNQ	R	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ				8			R	R
	James Hunt	R	R	8	R	R	R	R
	Jan Lammers	R	14	R	R	12	10	DNQ	18	11	10	R	R	DNQ	9	DNQ
	Keke Rosberg								9	R	R	R	R	R	DNQ	R
	Vittorio Brambilla													12	R	DNQ
	Patrick Gaillard								DNQ	13	DNQ	R	DNQ
	Bruno Giacomelli						R		17					R		R
	Arturo Merzario	R	DNQ	DNQ	R	DNQ	DNQ		DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
	Marc Surer													DNQ	DNQ	R
	Gianfranco Brancatelli					DNQ	DNQ	DNPQ
	Alex Ribeiro														DNQ	DNQ
No.	Driver	ARG	BRA	ZAF	USW	ESP	BEL	MCO	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	NLD	ITA	CAN	USA	Points

Race to the title

The Race to the title graph shows how the title race played out over the course of the season between the top six drivers of 1979. Reigning world champion Mario Andretti, who finished equal 10th, is also shown.

World Constructors’ Championship standings

The top six classified finishers of each race were awarded points on the following basis: 1st (9), 2nd (6), 3rd (4), 4th (3), 5th (2), 6th (1)

Every race counted towards the championship. From this season constructors could score points with each of their cars as opposed to the highest placed car only system used previously.

Bold: pole position
Underline: fastest lap
Bold & underline: pole & fastest lap

Pos	Constructor	ARG	BRA	ZAF	USW	ESP	BEL	MCO	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	NLD	ITA	CAN	USA	Points
1	Ferrari	12^R	5	1	1	4	1	1	2	5	4	2	2	1	2	1	113
1	Ferrari		Ferrari	R	6	2	2	7	7^R	R	7	14^R	8	4	R	2	113	4	R
2	Williams-Ford Cosworth	9	15	9	3	R	R	2	4	1	1	1	1	3	1	R	75
2	Williams-Ford Cosworth		Williams-Ford Cosworth	10	R	R	R	R	R	R	6	R	2	5	R	9	75	3	R
3	Ligier-Ford Cosworth	1	1	R	5	1	2	5^R	8	6	3	3	3	R	R	R	61
3	Ligier-Ford Cosworth		Ligier-Ford Cosworth	4	2	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	5	R	61	R	R
4	Lotus-Ford Cosworth	2	3	4	4	2	4	3	12	8	R	R	7	5	10^R	R	39
			Lotus-Ford Cosworth	Lotus-Ford Cosworth	5	R	5	R	3	R	R	13^R	9	R	R	R		7	R	R
			Lotus-Ford Cosworth	Lotus-Ford Cosworth	R	DNQ	14^R	R	R	R		R	R	R	DNQ	R
5	Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth	R	4	3	6	5	3	R	5	3	7	7	R	6	5	3	28
			Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth	Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth	R	DNS	R	DSQ	6	11	R	R	10	9	8	R		10	R	R
			Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth	Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth															R	R
6	Renault	R	10	R	DNS	9	R	NC	1	2	R	6	R	14^R	R	2	26
6	Renault		Renault	R	R	R	DNS	R	R	R	3	R	R	R	R	R	26	R	R
7	McLaren-Ford Cosworth	3	8	10	R	13	6	4	10	4	5	9	R	R	6	6	15
7	McLaren-Ford Cosworth		McLaren-Ford Cosworth	R	R	R	R	R	DNQ	DNQ	11	7^R	R	10	R	R	15	R	R
8	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	R	R	6	8	R	R	R	R	R	12^R	R	4	4			7
8	Brabham-Alfa Romeo		Brabham-Alfa Romeo	R	R	7	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	7
9	Arrows-Ford Cosworth	8	7	11	9	8	5	6	14	R	6	R	6	13	R	R	5
9	Arrows-Ford Cosworth		Arrows-Ford Cosworth	DNS	9	12	R	10	R	R	15	R	R	R	R	R	5	DNQ	DNQ
10	Shadow-Ford Cosworth	7	12	R	7	12	10	DNQ	16	11	10	R	R	R	9	4	3
10	Shadow-Ford Cosworth		Shadow-Ford Cosworth	R	14	R	R	R	R	DNQ	18	12	11	R	R	DNQ	3	R	DNQ
11	ATS-Ford Cosworth		R	R	DSQ	14	8	R	DNS	DNQ	R	R	R	11	R	5	2
12	Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth	6	11	13	R	11	9	R	R	R	R	R	R	8	8	7	1
12	Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth		Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth														1	DNQ	DNQ
13	Brabham-Ford Cosworth														7	R
13	Brabham-Ford Cosworth		Brabham-Ford Cosworth															R	R
14	Wolf-Ford Cosworth	R	R	8	R	R	R	R	9	R	R	R	R	R	DNQ	R
15	Ensign-Ford Cosworth	11	13	DNQ	R	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	13	DNQ	R	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	R
16	Alfa Romeo						R		17					12	R	R
16	Alfa Romeo		Alfa Romeo													R			DNQ
17	Merzario-Ford Cosworth	R	DNQ	DNQ	R	DNQ	DNQ	DNPQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
18	Rebaque-Ford Cosworth													DNQ	R	DNQ
19	Kauhsen-Ford Cosworth					DNQ	DNQ
No.	Constructor	ARG	BRA	ZAF	USW	ESP	BEL	MCO	FRA	GBR	DEU	AUT	NLD	ITA	CAN	USA	Points

Race to the title

The Race to the title graph shows how the title race played out over the course of the season between the top five constructors of 1979.

Season statistics

See: 1979 F1 World Championship Season Statistics