1979 season/Round 3
South African Grand Prix 1979
- Kyalami
- Midrand
- 3 March 1979
- 78 laps
- 320.1 km
- 4.094 km a lap
- P1Gilles VilleneuveFerrari1:41:49.960
- P2Jody ScheckterFerrari+3.420
- P3Jean-Pierre JarierTyrrell+22.110
- Pole positionJean-Pierre JabouilleRenault · 1:11.800
- Fastest lapGilles Villeneuve1:14.412 · lap 23
- Winner started fromP3on the grid
Result
A number in the first column means classified. DNF, DNQ and DNS stand for retirement, did not qualify and did not start. ‘shared’ marks a car that two drivers shared between them – permitted in the 1950s, and both were classified.
Qualifying
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:11.800 | |
| 2 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 1:12.040 | +0.240 |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:12.070 | +0.270 |
| 4 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 1:12.120 | +0.320 |
| 5 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 1:12.150 | +0.350 |
| 6 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:12.260 | +0.460 |
| 7 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 1:12.330 | +0.530 |
| 8 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:12.360 | +0.560 |
| 9 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 1:12.550 | +0.750 |
| 10 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:12.690 | +0.890 |
| 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus | 1:12.750 | +0.950 |
| 12 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 1:13.070 | +1.270 |
| 13 | James Hunt | Wolf | 1:14.210 | +2.410 |
| 14 | John Watson | McLaren | 1:14.440 | +2.640 |
| 15 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 1:14.440 | +2.640 |
| 16 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 1:14.540 | +2.740 |
| 17 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 1:14.580 | +2.780 |
| 18 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1:14.610 | +2.810 |
| 19 | Alan Jones | Williams | 1:14.640 | +2.840 |
| 20 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 1:15.000 | +3.200 |
| 21 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 1:15.350 | +3.550 |
| 22 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 1:15.680 | +3.880 |
| 23 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus | 1:16.150 | +4.350 |
| 24 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 1:16.310 | +4.510 |
| 25 | Derek Daly | Ensign | 1:16.640 | +4.840 |
| 26 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 1:18.140 | +6.340 |
Fastest laps
Each driver's quickest lap of the race.
| Pos | Driver | Lap | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | 23 | 1:14.412 |
Championship after this race
The official standings after round 3. Arrows show the change against the round before.
| Pos | Driver | Points | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Laffite | 18 | |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | 12 | |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | 11 | ▲3 |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | 9 | ▼1 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | 7 | ▲3 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | 5 | |
| 7 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | 4 | |
| 7 | John Watson | 4 | ▼3 |
| 9 | Didier Pironi | 3 | ▼4 |
| 10 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 1 | ▼2 |