Alan Jones and Gilles Villeneuve fought all the way to the flag in the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Île Notre-Dame. Jones prevailed by just over a second, while an already eventful weekend had seen Niki Lauda abruptly retire and Brabham introduce its new Ford-powered BT49.
Race Guide
Season: 1979 F1 World Championship
Race date: 30 September 1979
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC-04:00)
Circuit: Circuit Île Notre-Dame
Laps: 72 laps
Circuit length: 4.500 km
1978 winner: Gilles Villeneuve
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Alan Jones | Williams |
| Pole time | 1:29.892 | |
| Fastest lap | Alan Jones | Williams |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:31.272 on lap 65 | |
| First | Alan Jones | Williams |
| Second | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| Third | Clay Regazzoni | Williams |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 28 September 1979 | Planned pre-qualifying — cancelled | Cancelled |
| 28 September 1979 | Friday free practice | One hour; delayed start |
| 28 September 1979 | Friday qualifying | 90 minutes; start delayed by 30 minutes |
| 29 September 1979 | Saturday free practice | 10:00–11:00 |
| 29 September 1979 | Saturday qualifying | 90 minutes; interrupted |
| 30 September 1979 | Warm-up | 10:00–10:30 |
| 30 September 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
Jody Scheckter arrived at round 14 leading the 1979 F1 World Championship on 51 points, with Gilles Villeneuve on 38. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 95 points.
Race entries
Niki Lauda withdrew after Friday morning running and announced his retirement, prompting Brabham to recruit Ricardo Zunino alongside Nelson Piquet. Tyrrell added Derek Daly in a third car and Fittipaldi entered Alex Ribeiro. Alfa Romeo’s two-car entry became embroiled in an admission dispute, with only Vittorio Brambilla eventually permitted to practise on Saturday.
Planned pre-qualifying — cancelled
With 30 entries exceeding the permitted practice field, a preliminary session was proposed for Derek Daly, Alex Ribeiro and the two Alfa Romeos. Alfa Romeo refused the arrangement and the session was cancelled. Daly and Ribeiro were admitted, while both Alfa Romeos initially sat out; a later compromise allowed Brambilla to run on Saturday, but Bruno Giacomelli remained excluded.
Friday free practice
The delayed opening session gave the teams their first proper running on the revised temporary circuit. Niki Lauda completed only a few laps in the new Brabham before deciding to stop racing. John Watson lost a McLaren engine, while Gilles Villeneuve compared rear-wing positions and teams worked on brake cooling for the repeated short straights and heavy stops.
Friday qualifying
Alan Jones led a Williams one-two ahead of Clay Regazzoni. Nelson Piquet immediately showed the new Brabham’s promise, while Ricardo Zunino began his unexpected debut using borrowed racing equipment. Gilles Villeneuve changed Ferrari cars after losing power, and Carlos Reutemann found Lotus’s spare more agreeable than his usual chassis.
Saturday free practice
Vittorio Brambilla finally joined the running in Alfa Romeo’s new car. Ricardo Zunino concentrated on learning the Brabham, Riccardo Patrese preferred the older Arrows and teams inspected their brakes carefully. Wolf remained in the garage undergoing modifications, while a reluctant fuel system complicated Nelson Piquet’s final preparations.
Saturday qualifying
Alan Jones secured pole, but Gilles Villeneuve split the Williams cars to take second in front of his home supporters. Nelson Piquet qualified fourth, an outstanding debut for the BT49. Keke Rosberg crashed heavily and caused a lengthy stoppage for recovery and barrier repairs; he escaped injury but could not race.
Mechanical problems forced several drivers into spare cars. Brambilla qualified despite having only one day’s running, and Zunino also comfortably made the field. Jones remained the only driver under 90 seconds, leaving Villeneuve with a clear target for Sunday.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | 1:29.892 |
| 2 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:30.554 |
| 3 | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 1:30.768 |
| 4 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 1:30.775 |
| 5 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:30.820 |
| 6 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 1:31.941 |
| 7 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:32.103 |
| 8 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:32.116 |
| 9 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 1:32.280 |
| 10 | 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:32.651 |
| 11 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus | 1:32.682 |
| 12 | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 1:32.858 |
| 13 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 1:33.065 |
| 14 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 1:33.090 |
| 15 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1:33.297 |
| 16 | 25 | Jacky Ickx | Ligier | 1:33.355 |
| 17 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | 1:33.362 |
| 18 | 36 | Vittorio Brambilla | Alfa Romeo | 1:33.378 |
| 19 | 5 | Ricardo Zunino | Brabham | 1:33.511 |
| 20 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 1:33.603 |
| 21 | 17 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 1:34.102 |
| 22 | 31 | Héctor Rebaque | Rebaque | 1:34.129 |
| 23 | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 1:34.256 |
| 24 | 33 | Derek Daly | Tyrrell | 1:34.301 |
| DNQ | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 1:34.365 |
| DNQ | 22 | Marc Surer | Ensign | 1:34.747 |
| DNQ | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Wolf | 1:35.061 |
| DNQ | 19 | Alex Ribeiro | Fittipaldi | 1:36.901 |
| DNQ | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 1:37.590 |
Sunday warm-up
Brabham resolved Nelson Piquet’s fuel-system problem and Renault fitted a fresh engine for Jean-Pierre Jabouille. Carlos Reutemann was allowed to race the Lotus spare he preferred, while Jochen Mass ran as first reserve. Rain threatened but held off, and conditions improved before the 72-lap race.
What happened in the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix?
Gilles Villeneuve led away with Alan Jones immediately behind, and the pair soon separated themselves from the field. Jones kept the pressure on while managing his tyres and fuel, recovering quickly whenever traffic interrupted the pursuit. Nelson Piquet ran an impressive third in the new Brabham.
Jones finally drew alongside under braking for the hairpin late on lap 51 and emerged ahead. Villeneuve refused to surrender, closing again whenever the Williams eased its pace. Their contest continued to the finish, where Jones won by just over a second after 72 demanding laps.
Clay Regazzoni took third after Piquet retired with a split gearbox casing. Jody Scheckter recovered from a tyre stop to finish fourth, followed by Didier Pironi and John Watson. Ricardo Zunino reached seventh on debut despite a gear-linkage stop, while Brabham’s strong pace provided encouragement after Lauda’s sudden departure.
After the race, Jody Scheckter headed the drivers’ standings with 51 points, followed by Gilles Villeneuve on 44. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 104, with Williams – Ford on 75.
1979 Canadian Grand Prix race results
The 1979 Canadian Grand Prix was held on 30 September 1979.
1979 Canadian Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | 65 | 1:31.272 |
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 Canadian Grand Prix.
1979 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
1979 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 104 |
| 2 | Williams – Ford | 75 |
| 3 | Ligier – Ford | 61 |
| 4 | Lotus – Ford | 39 |
| 5 | Tyrrell – Ford | 24 |
| 6 | Renault | 20 |
| 7 | McLaren – Ford | 14 |
| 8 | Brabham – Alfa Romeo | 7 |
| 9 | Arrows – Ford | 5 |
| 10 | Fittipaldi – Ford | 1 |
| — | Shadow – Ford | 0 |
| — | Brabham – Ford | 0 |
| — | Wolf – Ford | 0 |
| — | ATS – Ford | 0 |
| — | Ensign – Ford | 0 |
| — | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
| — | Merzario – Ford | 0 |
| — | Kauhsen – Ford | 0 |
| — | Rebaque – Ford | 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
Seen in:
