1979 United States Grand Prix West
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Winner | |
| Pole position | |
| Fastest lap | |
| Circuit | Long Beach, 80 laps |
| Round | 4 of 15 |
| Race numbers | The 1979 United States Grand Prix West was the:
|
| More 1979 season | |
| More United States Grands Prix West |
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (CAN) Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 80 | 1hr 50m 25.400s | 9 | |
| 2 | +1 | (ZAF) Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 80 | +29.380s | 6 |
| 3 | +7 | (AUS) Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 80 | +59.690s | 4 |
| 4 | +2 | (USA) Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 80 | +1m 04.330s | 3 |
| 5 | -1 | (FRA) Patrick Depailler | Ligier-Ford Cosworth | 80 | +1m 23.520s | 2 |
| 6 | +1 | (FRA) Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 79 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | +13 | (ITA) Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +2 laps | |
| 8 | +4 | (BRA) Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 78 | +2 laps | |
| 9 | +4 | (DEU) Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 78 | +2 laps | |
| DQ | (FRA) Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 72 | DSQ | ||
| R | (MEX) Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (privateer) | 71 | DNF | ||
| R | (IRL) Derek Daly | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 69 | DNF | ||
| R | (GBR) John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 62 | DNF | ||
| DQ | (DEU) Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 49 | DSQ | ||
| R | (CHE) Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 48 | DNF | ||
| R | (NLD) Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 47 | DNF | ||
| R | (ITA) Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 40 | DNF | ||
| R | (ARG) Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 21 | DNF | ||
| R | (BRA) Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 19 | DNF | ||
| R | (ITA) Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford Cosworth | 13 | DNF | ||
| R | (FRA) Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford Cosworth | 8 | DNF | ||
| R | (GBR) James Hunt | Wolf-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
| R | (AUT) Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 0 | DNF | ||
| R | (FRA) Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
| Did not start | ||||||
| (FRA) Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | |||||
| (FRA) Rene Arnoux | Renault | |||||
Notes
- Didier Pironi and Hans-Joachim Stuck were both disqualified for receiving push starts.
- Jean-Pierre Jabouille did not start the Grand Prix due to an arm injury sustained in practice.
- Renault withdrew from the Grand Prix due to safety concerns after Jabouille‘s accident.
Starting grid
Pole time: 1:18.825
| Pos | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (CAN) Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 2 | ||
| 3 | (ZAF) Jody Scheckter | Ferrari |
| 4 | (FRA) Patrick Depailler | Ligier-Ford Cosworth |
| 5 | ||
| 6 | (USA) Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| 7 | (FRA) Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 8 | (GBR) James Hunt | Wolf-Ford Cosworth |
| 9 | (ITA) Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 10 | (AUS) Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 11 | (AUT) Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
| 12 | (BRA) Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo |
| 13 | (DEU) Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 14 | (NLD) Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
| 15 | (CHE) Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 16 | (BRA) Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth |
| 17 | (FRA) Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 18 | (GBR) John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 19 | (FRA) Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 20 | (ITA) Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
| 21 | (DEU) Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford Cosworth |
| 22 | (ITA) Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford Cosworth |
| 23 | (MEX) Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford Cosworth (privateer) |
| 24 | (IRL) Derek Daly | Ensign-Ford Cosworth |
| Started from the pit lane | ||
| (ARG) Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | |
| (FRA) Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford Cosworth | |
Championship standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (CAN) Gilles Villeneuve | 20 |
| 2 | (FRA) Jacques Laffite | 18 |
| 3 | (ZAF) Jody Scheckter | 13 |
| 4 | (ARG) Carlos Reutemann | 12 |
| 5 | (FRA) Patrick Depailler | 11 |
| 6 | (USA) Mario Andretti | 8 |
| 7 | (FRA) Jean-Pierre Jarier | 5 |
| 8 | (GBR) John Watson | 4 |
| = | (AUS) Alan Jones | 4 |
| 10 | (FRA) Didier Pironi | 3 |
| 11 | (BRA) Emerson Fittipaldi | 1 |
| = | (AUT) Niki Lauda | 1 |
Stats & milestones
- Last start
- Arturo Merzario
- Merzario
- Wins
- 3rd for Gilles Villeneuve
- 75th for Ferrari
- Race 1-2
- 33rd for Ferrari
- Podiums
- 29th for Jody Scheckter
- 4th for Gilles Villeneuve & Alan Jones
- 247th & 248th for Ferrari
- 3rd for Williams
- Poles
- 1st for Gilles Villeneuve (54th different polesitter, 1st Canadian driver; last until 1981)
- 88th for Ferrari NEW RECORD
- Fastest laps
- 3rd for Gilles Villeneuve
- 85th for Ferrari
- Front row starts
- 3rd for Gilles Villeneuve
- Pole & win
- 1st and only for Gilles Villeneuve (29th different driver to win from pole, 1st Canadian driver; last Canadian driver to win from pole until 1996)
- Win & fastest lap
- 2nd and last for Gilles Villeneuve (last Canadian driver to win and set the fastest lap until 1996)
- Hat-trick (pole, win & fastest lap)
- 1st and only for Gilles Villeneuve (23rd different driver to complete a hat-trick, 1st Canadian driver; last Canadian driver to complete a hat-trick until 1997)