1979 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1979 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1979 at Zolder. It was the sixth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.

1979 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 6 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
Race details
Date	13 May 1979
Location	Circuit Zolder Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Course length	4.262 km (2.648 miles)
Distance	70 laps, 298.340 km (185.380 miles)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Time	1:21.13
Fastest lap
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:23.09 on lap 63
Podium
First	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari
Second	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Third	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford
Lap leaders

The 70-lap race was won by Jody Scheckter, driving a Ferrari. Jacques Laffite finished second in a Ligier-Ford, having started from pole position, while Didier Pironi achieved his first podium finish with third in a Tyrrell-Ford.

The race also saw the first appearance of Alfa Romeo as a works team since 1951. Driving the Alfa Romeo 177, Bruno Giacomelli qualified 14th, ahead of both Renaults and both McLarens, before retiring following a collision with Elio de Angelis in the Shadow-Ford.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos	Driver	Constructor	Time	No
1	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1:21,13	1
2	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	1:21,20	2
3	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:21,35	3
4	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:21,59	4
5	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	1:21,83	5
6	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:22,08	6
7	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1:22,09	7
8	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1:22,40	8
9	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	1:22,55	9
10	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	1:22,56	10
11	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	1:22,68	11
12	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	1:22,85	12
13	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:22,87	13
14	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:23,15	14
15	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	1:23,63	15
16	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:23,92	16
17	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:24,02	17
18	René Arnoux	Renault	1:24,33	18
19	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:24,37	19
20	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	1:24,62	20
21	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	1:24,76	21
22	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	1:25,08	22
23	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:25,18	23
24	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	1:25,48	24
DNQ	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	1:25,69	—
DNQ	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	1:25,92	—
DNQ	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford	1:27,83	—
DNQ	Gianfranco Brancatelli	Kauhsen-Ford	1:34,48	—

Race

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	M	70	1:39:59.53	7	9
2	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	G	70	+ 15.36	1	6
3	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	G	70	+ 35.17	12	4
4	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	G	70	+ 46.49	10	3
5	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	G	70	+ 1:04.31	16	2
6	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	G	70	+ 1:05.85	19	1
7	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	69	+ 1 Lap	6
8	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	G	69	+ 1 Lap	20
9	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	G	68	+ 2 Laps	23
10	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	G	68	+ 2 Laps	21
11	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	G	67	+ 3 Laps	11
Ret	25	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	G	46	Accident	2
Ret	20	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	G	40	Accident	9
Ret	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	G	39	Electrical	4
Ret	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	G	27	Brakes	5
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	23	Engine	3
Ret	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	23	Engine	13
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	22	Turbo	18
Ret	35	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	G	21	Collision	14
Ret	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	G	21	Collision	24
Ret	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	G	17	Spun Off	22
Ret	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	G	13	Transmission	15
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	M	13	Turbo	17
Ret	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	G	1	Collision	8
DNQ	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	G
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	G
DNQ	22	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford	G
DNQ	36	Gianfranco Brancatelli	Kauhsen-Ford	G
Source:[1][2]

Notes

• This race saw the 10th pole position set by a French driver and the 5th fastest lap set by a Canadian driver.
• This was the 50th Grand Prix start for a Dutch driver.
• This was the 5th pole position for Ligier.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jacques Laffite 24 2 Jody Scheckter 24 (25) 3 Gilles Villeneuve 20 4 Patrick Depailler 20 5 Carlos Reutemann 19 (21) Source: [3]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 45 2 Ligier-Ford 44 3 Lotus-Ford 33 4 Tyrrell-Ford 15 5 McLaren-Ford 5 Source: [3]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 4 results from the first 7 races and the best 4 results from the last 8 races counted towards the Drivers' Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.