1979 Argentine Grand Prix
| 1979 Argentine Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | January 21, 1979 | ||
| Location | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Course | Permanent road course | ||
| Course length | 5.81 km (3.61 miles) | ||
| Distance | 53 laps, 307.93 km (191.33 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ligier-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:44.20 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford | |
| Time | 1:46.91 on lap 42 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ligier-Ford | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Lap leaders | |||
The 1979 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 January 1979 at the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires. The race had to be restarted because there was a huge crash at the second of the very fast esses after the pit straight that took off a number of drivers, including Jody Scheckter, Nelson Piquet, John Watson, Patrick Tambay and Mario Andretti.
After qualifying, James Hunt's WR7 was declared illegal, as the clutch-driven impeller blades which drew air through the air coiler were ruled an 'aerodynamic device'. Wolf mechanics modified the fan, and the car was allowed to start.[1]
Classification
Qualifying classification
Race classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford | G | 53 | 1:36:03.21 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 |  Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford | G | 53 | +14.94 secs | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 7 |  John Watson | McLaren-Ford | G | 53 | +1:28.81 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 25 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier-Ford | G | 53 | +1:41.72 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | 1 |  Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | G | 52 | +1 Lap | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 14 | .svg.png){kind=small} Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford | G | 52 | +1 Lap | 11 | 1 |
| 7 | 18 |  Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford | G | 52 | +1 Lap | 16 | |
| 8 | 30 |  Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford | G | 51 | +2 Laps | 14 | |
| 9 | 27 | .svg.png){kind=small} Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | G | 51 | +2 Laps | 15 | |
| 10 | 28 | .svg.png){kind=small} Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford | G | 51 | +2 Laps | 17 | |
| 11 | 22 |  Derek Daly | Ensign-Ford | G | 51 | +2 Laps | 24 | |
| Ret | 12 | .svg.png){kind=small} Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | M | 48 | Engine | 10 | |
| Ret | 31 |  Héctor Rebaque | Lotus-Ford | G | 46 | Suspension | 19 | |
| Ret | 17 |  Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford | G | 42 | Transmission | 21 | |
| Ret | 20 | James Hunt | Wolf-Ford | G | 41 | Electrical | 18 | |
| Ret | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford | G | 15 | Engine | 4 | |
| Ret | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | M | 15 | Engine | 12 | |
| Ret | 5 |  Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | G | 8 | Fuel System | 23 | |
| Ret | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | M | 6 | Engine | 26 | |
| Ret | 11 | .svg.png){kind=small} Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | M | 0 | Collision | 5 | |
| Ret | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford | G | 0 | Collision | 8 | |
| Ret | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford | G | 0 | Collision | 9 | |
| Ret | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | G | 0 | Collision | 20 | |
| Ret | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford | G | 0 | Collision | 22 | |
| DNS | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | G | 0 | Accident | 13 | |
| DNS | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford | G | 0 | 25 | ||
Notes
- This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Dutch driver and future Le Mans winner Jan Lammers and Italian driver and future Grand Prix winner Elio de Angelis.
- This was the 1st Grand Slam for Ligier and for a French driver.
- This was the 50th Grand Prix start for Ligier.
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- ^ Taylor, Simon. "Lunch with... Walter Wolf". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "1979 Argentine Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "1979 Argentine Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 21 January 1979. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Argentina 1979 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.