1979 South African Grand Prix

1979 South African Grand Prix
1979 South African Grand Prix
Race 3 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
Race details
Date	3 March 1979
Official name	XXV Simba Grand Prix of South Africa
Location	Kyalami; Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance	78 laps, 320.112 km (198.908 miles)
Weather	Wet
Pole position
Driver	Jean-Pierre Jabouille;
Time	1:11.80
Fastest lap
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve
Time	1:14.412 on lap 23
Podium
First	Gilles Villeneuve;
Second	Jody Scheckter;
Third	Jean-Pierre Jarier;
	Lap leaders ;

The 1979 South African Grand Prix (formally the XXV Simba Grand Prix of South Africa) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 March 1979 at Kyalami. The race, contested over 78 laps, was the third race of the 1979 Formula One season and was won by Gilles Villeneuve, driving a Ferrari. Teammate and local driver Jody Scheckter finished second, while Jean-Pierre Jarier finished third in a Tyrrell-Ford.

Quick Facts Race details, Date ...

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time	Grid
1	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:11,80	1
2	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1:12.04	2
3	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:12.07	3
4	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:12.12	4
5	25	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	1:12.15	5
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1:12.26	6
7	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	1:12,33	7
8	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	1:12,36	8
9	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	1:12,55	9
10	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:12,69	10
11	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	1:12,75	11
12	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:13,07	12
13	20	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	1:14,21	13
14	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:14,44	14
15	17	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	1:14,44	15
16	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:14,54	16
17	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	1:14,58	17
18	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:14,61	18
19	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:14,64	19
20	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	1:15,00	20
21	18	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	1:15,35	21
22	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1:15,68	22
23	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	1:16,15	23
24	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	1:16.31	24
DNQ	22	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford	1:16.64	—
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	1:18.14	—

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	78	1:41:49.96	3	9
2	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	M	78	+ 3.42	2	6
3	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	G	78	+ 22.11	9	4
4	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	G	78	+ 27.88	8	3
5	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	G	78	+ 1:06.97	11	2
6	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	77	+ 1 Lap	4	1
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	77	+ 1 Lap	12
8	20	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	G	77	+ 1 Lap	13
9	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	G	76	+ 2 Laps	22
10	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	G	75	+ 3 Laps	17
11	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	G	75	+ 3 Laps	16
12	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	G	74	+ 4 Laps	20
13	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	G	74	+ 4 Laps	18
Ret	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	G	71	Engine	23
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	67	Tyre	10
Ret	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	G	63	Suspension	19
Ret	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	G	61	Ignition	14
Ret	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	G	57	Accident	24
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	M	47	Engine	1
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	G	45	Accident	6
Ret	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	G	25	Throttle	7
Ret	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	G	16	Accident	15
Ret	25	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	G	4	Accident	5
Ret	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	G	2	Accident	21
DNQ	22	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford	G
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	G
Source:^[1]^[2]

Qualifying