Jody Scheckter earned his first Ferrari victory in an eventful 1979 Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit Zolder. Williams threatened a breakthrough, Ligier led again and Gilles Villeneuve staged a remarkable recovery, but Scheckter emerged with the nine points after the race changed direction several times.
Race Guide
Season: 1979 F1 World Championship
Race date: 13 May 1979
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC+02:00)
Circuit: Circuit Zolder
Laps: 70 laps
Circuit length: 4.262 km
1978 winner: Mario Andretti
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| Pole time | 1:21.13 | |
| Fastest lap | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:23.090 on lap 63 | |
| First | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari |
| Second | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| Third | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 1979 | Friday free practice | One hour; start unconfirmed |
| 11 May 1979 | Friday qualifying | 90 minutes; start unconfirmed |
| 12 May 1979 | Saturday free practice | One hour; start unconfirmed |
| 12 May 1979 | Saturday qualifying | 90 minutes; start unconfirmed |
| 13 May 1979 | Warm-up | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 13 May 1979 | Race | Start time unconfirmed |
All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.
Championship background
Gilles Villeneuve arrived at round 6 leading the 1979 F1 World Championship on 20 points, with Patrick Depailler on 20. Ligier – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 38 points.
Race entries
Alfa Romeo returned as a works constructor for the first time since 1951, with Bruno Giacomelli driving the 177. McLaren had rebuilt John Watson’s car after a testing accident, while Patrick Tambay had to use an older M26. Ferrari provided a new 312T4 for Jody Scheckter, and Williams continued developing its promising FW07.
Friday free practice
Drizzle discouraged running, with Wolf staying in the pits and McLaren still finishing its cars. Alfa Romeo enjoyed a relatively trouble-free first session, but Ensign faced a serious oil leak and Ligier worked on Patrick Depailler’s gearbox. The damp circuit limited the teams’ opportunities to judge their latest changes.
Friday qualifying
A briefly drying line tempted drivers towards slick tyres before the rain returned and upset their plans. Gilles Villeneuve judged the conditions well enough to finish fastest, with Jean-Pierre Jabouille second for Renault. Depailler missed the best conditions after a late start, while James Hunt’s brake trouble forced a change of car. A mistakenly credited Alfa Romeo time was corrected.
Saturday free practice
Dry conditions finally allowed more useful preparation. Gilles Villeneuve evaluated the spare Ferrari, but Mario Andretti spent much of the hour waiting while Lotus tightened inaccessible components at the rear of the new 80. With Friday’s times certain to fall, the morning was especially important for establishing a workable qualifying set-up.
Saturday qualifying
Jacques Laffite and Patrick Depailler secured another Ligier front row, ahead of Nelson Piquet and Alan Jones. The track offered surprisingly little extra reward for soft qualifying tyres. Depailler crashed and changed cars; Jones damaged his Williams’s skirts while avoiding the incident, yet still qualified fourth.
Piquet’s attack was interrupted by a water leak, while late contact between Mario Andretti and Jochen Mass left both teams with repairs. Bruno Giacomelli put the returning works Alfa Romeo 14th, ahead of both Renaults and McLarens. Patrick Tambay was among those who failed to qualify.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:21.13 |
| 2 | 25 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 1:21.20 |
| 3 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 1:21.35 |
| 4 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | 1:21.59 |
| 5 | 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:21.83 |
| 6 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:22.08 |
| 7 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 1:22.09 |
| 8 | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 1:22.40 |
| 9 | 20 | James Hunt | Wolf | 1:22.55 |
| 10 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus | 1:22.56 |
| 11 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 1:22.68 |
| 12 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 1:22.85 |
| 13 | 5 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 1:22.87 |
| 14 | 35 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:23.15 |
| 15 | 31 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus | 1:23.63 |
| 16 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 1:23.92 |
| 17 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:24.02 |
| 18 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:24.33 |
| 19 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | 1:24.37 |
| 20 | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 1:24.62 |
| 21 | 17 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 1:24.76 |
| 22 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 1:25.08 |
| 23 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1:25.18 |
| 24 | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 1:25.48 |
| DNQ | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 1:25.69 |
| DNQ | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 1:25.92 |
| DNQ | 22 | Derek Daly | Ensign | 1:27.83 |
| DNQ | 36 | Gianfranco Brancatelli | Kauhsen | 1:34.48 |
Sunday warm-up
Mario Andretti compared the repaired Lotus 80 with the older 79 and chose the latter for the race. Patrick Depailler settled into the spare Ligier and Gilles Villeneuve returned to his original Ferrari. Teams also added brake-cooling ducts, responding to the demands of Zolder’s repeated heavy braking.
What happened in the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix?
Patrick Depailler led initially, but Alan Jones fought past both Ligiers and appeared poised to give Williams its first victory. Electrical failure ended that bid. Depailler then crashed, and Jody Scheckter closed on Jacques Laffite before passing him for the lead.
Gilles Villeneuve had lost almost a lap after early contact required a new nose and wheel. He charged back through the field, passing cars and setting the fastest lap until third place was within his grasp. His recovery ended painfully when the Ferrari ran out of fuel on the final lap, leaving him classified seventh.
Scheckter took victory ahead of Laffite, with Didier Pironi inheriting his first podium. Carlos Reutemann recovered from a tyre stop to finish fourth, followed by Riccardo Patrese and John Watson. Alfa Romeo’s return ended in a collision between Bruno Giacomelli and Elio de Angelis, but its qualifying performance had offered encouragement.
After the race, Jacques Laffite headed the drivers’ standings with 24 points, followed by Jody Scheckter on 24. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 45, with Ligier – Ford on 44.
1979 Belgian Grand Prix race results
The 1979 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 13 May 1979.
1979 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 63 | 1:23.090 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.
1979 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix.
1979 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
| POS | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Laffite | French | Ligier | 24 |
| 2 | Jody Scheckter | South African | Ferrari | 24 |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canadian | Ferrari | 20 |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | French | Ligier | 20 |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentine | Lotus | 19 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | American | Lotus | 12 |
| 7 | Didier Pironi | French | Tyrrell | 8 |
| 8 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | French | Tyrrell | 7 |
| 9 | John Watson | British | McLaren | 5 |
| 10 | Alan Jones | Australian | Williams | 4 |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | Italian | Arrows | 2 |
| 12 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazilian | Fittipaldi | 1 |
| 13 | Niki Lauda | Austrian | Brabham | 1 |
| – | Elio de Angelis | Italian | Shadow | 0 |
| – | Jochen Mass | German | Arrows | 0 |
| – | Nelson Piquet | Brazilian | Brabham | 0 |
| – | Hans-Joachim Stuck | German | ATS | 0 |
| – | James Hunt | British | Wolf | 0 |
| – | Clay Regazzoni | Swiss | Williams | 0 |
| – | René Arnoux | French | Renault | 0 |
| – | Jan Lammers | Dutch | Shadow | 0 |
| – | Patrick Tambay | French | McLaren | 0 |
| – | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | French | Renault | 0 |
| – | Derek Daly | Irish | Ensign | 0 |
| – | Hector Rebaque | Mexican | Lotus | 0 |
| – | Bruno Giacomelli | Italian | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
| – | Arturo Merzario | Italian | Merzario | 0 |
1979 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 45 |
| 2 | Ligier – Ford | 44 |
| 3 | Lotus – Ford | 33 |
| 4 | Tyrrell – Ford | 15 |
| 5 | McLaren – Ford | 5 |
| 6 | Williams – Ford | 4 |
| 7 | Arrows – Ford | 2 |
| 8 | Brabham – Alfa Romeo | 1 |
| 9 | Fittipaldi – Ford | 1 |
| — | Shadow – Ford | 0 |
| — | ATS – Ford | 0 |
| — | Wolf – Ford | 0 |
| — | Renault | 0 |
| — | Ensign – Ford | 0 |
| — | Merzario – Ford | 0 |
| — | Kauhsen – Ford | 0 |
| — | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
Drivers counted their best 4 results from rounds 1–7 and their best 4 from rounds 8–15. Both cars could score constructor points, with every round counting.
1979 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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