1979 French Grand Prix
| Date | Sunday, 1 July 1979 |
|---|---|
| Winner |
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| Pole position |
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| Fastest lap |
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| Circuit | Dijon-Prenois, 80 laps |
| Round | 8 of 15 |
| Race numbers | The 1979 French Grand Prix was the
|
| More 1979 season | |
| More French Grands Prix |
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 80 | 1hr 35m 20.420s | 9 | |
| 2 | +1 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 80 | +14.590s | 6 |
| 3 | -1 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 80 | +14.830s | 4 |
| 4 | +3 |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 80 | +36.610s | 3 |
| 5 | +5 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 80 | +1m 04.510s | 2 |
| 6 | +3 |  Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 80 | +1m 05.510s | 1 |
| 7 | -2 |  Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 79 | +1 lap | |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford Cosworth | 79 | +1 lap | ||
| 9 | +7 |  Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 79 | +1 lap | |
| 10 | +10 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +2 laps | |
| 11 | +4 |  John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +2 laps | |
| 12 | +11 |  Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (privateer) | 78 | +2 laps | |
| 13 |  Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 77 | DNF | ||
| 14 | +5 |  Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 77 | +3 laps | |
| 15 | +7 |  Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 75 | +5 laps | |
| 16 | +8 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 75 | +5 laps | |
| 17 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 75 | +5 laps | ||
| 18 | +3 |  Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 73 | +7 laps | |
| R | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 71 | DNF | ||
| R |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 53 | DNF | ||
| R | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 52 | DNF | ||
| R |  Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 51 | DNF | ||
| R |  Jacky Ickx | Ligier-Ford Cosworth | 45 | DNF | ||
| R |  Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 23 | DNF | ||
| Did not start | ||||||
| Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford Cosworth | |||||
Notes
- Carlos Reutemann ended lap 77 in P10 before retiring on the following lap.
Starting grid
Pole time: 1:07.190
| Pos | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault |
| 2 | Rene Arnoux | Renault |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari |
| 6 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
| 7 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford Cosworth |
| 9 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 11 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| 13 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| 14 | Jacky Ickx | Ligier-Ford Cosworth |
| 15 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 16 | Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford Cosworth |
| 17 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo |
| 18 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth |
| 19 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 20 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 21 | Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
| 22 | Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 23 | Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (privateer) |
| 24 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
Non-qualifiers
| Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|
| Patrick Gaillard | Ensign-Ford Cosworth |
| Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford Cosworth |
Championship standings
How the championship standings stood post-1979 French Grand Prix.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jody Scheckter | 30 |
| 2 | Gilles Villeneuve | 26 |
| 3 | Jacques Laffite | 24 |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | 20 |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann | 20 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | 12 |
| 7 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 9 |
| 8 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | 9 |
| 9 | Didier Pironi | 8 |
| = | John Watson | 8 |
| 11 | Clay Regazzoni | 7 |
| 12 | Alan Jones | 7 |
| 13 | Rene Arnoux | 4 |
| 14 | Riccardo Patrese | 2 |
| 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 1 |
| = | Niki Lauda | 1 |
| = | Jochen Mass | 1 |
Constructor
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 60 |
| 2 | Ligier-Ford Cosworth | 46 |
| 3 | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 37 |
| 4 | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 17 |
| 5 | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 14 |
| 6 | Renault | 13 |
| 7 | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 8 |
| 8 | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 3 |
| 9 | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1 |
| = | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1 |
Statistics & milestones
- Wins
- 1st for Jean-Pierre Jabouille (64th different winner, 6th French driver; first driver to win the French Grand Prix for Renault)
- 1st for Renault (26th different winner)
- Podiums
- 5th for Gilles Villeneuve, 1st for Jean-Pierre Jabouille & Rene Arnoux (132nd & 133rd different podium finishers, 13th & 14th French drivers)
- 251st for Ferrari, 1st & 2nd for Renault (38th different podium finisher)
- Poles
- 2nd for Jean-Pierre Jabouille
- 2nd for Renault
- Qualifying 1-2
- 1st for Renault (15th different constructor to qualify 1-2)
- Fastest laps
- 1st for Rene Arnoux (68th different fastest lap setter, 9th French driver)
- 1st for Renault (29th different fastest lap setter)
- Front row starts
- 2nd for Jean-Pierre Jabouille, 1st for Rene Arnoux (95th different front row starter, 11th French driver)
- Points finishes
- 1st for Rene Arnoux (197th different point scorer, 21st French driver)
- Pole & win
- 1st and only for Jean-Pierre Jabouille (30th different driver to win from pole, 2nd French driver)