1979 German Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Alan Jones converted Williams’s growing pace into victory at the 1979 German Grand Prix, leading Clay Regazzoni home for the team’s first one-two. Renault took pole at Hockenheimring, but Jones seized the initiative and survived a tense finish with a deflating rear tyre.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault
Pole time	1:48.48
Fastest lap	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:51.890 on lap 40
First	Alan Jones	Williams
Second	Clay Regazzoni	Williams
Third	Jacques Laffite	Ligier

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
27 July 1979	Friday free practice	One hour; start unconfirmed
27 July 1979	Friday qualifying	12:30–14:00
28 July 1979	Saturday free practice	One hour; start unconfirmed
28 July 1979	Saturday qualifying	90 minutes; interrupted
29 July 1979	Warm-up	10:00–10:30
29 July 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 10 leading the 1979 F1 World Championship on 32 points, with Gilles Villeneuve on 26. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 62 points.

Race entries

Geoff Lees deputised for the unwell Jean-Pierre Jarier at Tyrrell, making his first Grand Prix start. Williams brought a newly built FW07 for Alan Jones, Patrick Tambay received McLaren’s second M29 and Emerson Fittipaldi returned to a substantially revised F6. The works Alfa Romeo team sat out the meeting.

Friday free practice

Jean-Pierre Jabouille showed Renault’s speed before spinning into the dusty run-off. Gilles Villeneuve damaged his Ferrari’s suspension and Jody Scheckter its skirts, while Alan Jones changed Williams cars after gearbox trouble. Nelson Piquet suffered an exhaust failure, and Elio de Angelis needed a new clutch. The opening hour left plenty of repair work.

Friday qualifying

Jean-Pierre Jabouille set the eventual pole lap, a dramatic improvement on the previous year. Alan Jones spent part of the session without a usable car as Williams dealt with oil-pressure and skirt problems, then recovered second place in the spare. Brabham’s progress was interrupted by further exhaust trouble for Niki Lauda and an engine failure for Nelson Piquet.

Saturday free practice

Jacky Ickx preferred Ligier’s spare after its suspension was adapted to the latest tyres, while Keke Rosberg also favoured the older Wolf. ATS replaced its transmission after handling and driveshaft problems. René Arnoux’s Renault suffered valve-gear trouble, leaving him unable to take part in the afternoon as the mechanics changed the engine.

Saturday qualifying

Alan Jones closed on Jean-Pierre Jabouille’s Friday benchmark but could not dislodge him from pole. Jacques Laffite took third and Nelson Piquet fourth. Renault initially watched from the pits, confident in its advantage, while Carlos Reutemann crashed heavily and brought a stoppage; he escaped serious injury but needed the spare Lotus.

Geoff Lees improved substantially to qualify his Tyrrell in the midfield. Piquet overcame an electrical failure by switching cars for a late charge, and Jody Scheckter headed Ferrari’s challenge in fifth. Patrick Gaillard and Arturo Merzario failed to qualify.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:48.48
2	27	Alan Jones	Williams	1:48.75
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	1:49.43
4	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	1:49.50
5	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1:50.00
6	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams	1:50.12
7	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham	1:50.37
8	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	1:50.40
9	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:50.41
10	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:50.48
11	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus	1:50.68
12	7	John Watson	McLaren	1:50.86
13	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus	1:50.94
14	25	Jacky Ickx	Ligier	1:51.07
15	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	1:51.47
16	4	Geoff Lees	Tyrrell	1:51.50
17	20	Keke Rosberg	Wolf	1:52.01
18	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows	1:52.74
19	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	1:52.93
20	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow	1:53.59
21	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow	1:53.73
22	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	1:54.01
23	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS	1:54.47
24	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	1:55.86
DNQ	22	Patrick Gaillard	Ensign	1:55.95
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario	2:01.84

Sunday warm-up

Carlos Reutemann was still feeling the effects of his qualifying accident as he prepared to start in the spare Lotus. Jacky Ickx and Keke Rosberg confirmed their preferred cars, while Niki Lauda encountered a gearbox concern. The dry, warm conditions promised another demanding race for engines and tyres.

What happened in the 1979 German Grand Prix?

Alan Jones led from the start, with Jean-Pierre Jabouille soon chasing him. The Renault’s attack ended when Jabouille ran wide and spun in the stadium section. Clay Regazzoni passed Jody Scheckter and Jacques Laffite to move into second, putting Williams in command once more.

Jones’s closing laps were uncomfortable. A misfire developed and his right-rear tyre slowly lost pressure, forcing him to adjust his driving rather than risk a pit stop. Regazzoni was instructed to hold position, protecting the team’s one-two as Jones nursed the car home.

Laffite completed the podium ahead of Scheckter, with John Watson fifth and Jochen Mass sixth. Nelson Piquet lost a likely points finish to a late engine failure, while tyre failures also ended the races of René Arnoux and Jacky Ickx. Williams had followed its first victory with another, this time with both drivers on the podium.

After the race, Jody Scheckter headed the drivers’ standings with 35 points, followed by Jacques Laffite on 28. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 65, with Ligier – Ford on 51.

1979 German Grand Prix race results

The 1979 German Grand Prix was held on 29 July 1979.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	27	Alan Jones	Williams	45	1:24:48.83	9
2	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams	45	+2.91	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier	45	+18.39	4
4	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	45	+31.20	3
5	7	John Watson	McLaren	45	+1:37.80	2
6	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows	44	+1 Lap	1
7	4	Geoff Lees	Tyrrell	44	+1 Lap	0
8	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	44	+1 Lap	0
9	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell	44	+1 Lap	0
10	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow	44	+1 Lap	0
11	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow	43	+2 Laps	0
12	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham	42	Engine	0
Ret	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows	34	Tyre	0
Ret	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren	30	Suspension	0
Ret	20	Keke Rosberg	Wolf	29	Engine	0
Ret	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham	27	Engine	0
Ret	25	Jacky Ickx	Ligier	24	Tyre	0
Ret	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus	22	Handling	0
Ret	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus	16	Transmission	0
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	9	Tyre	0
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	7	Spun Off	0
Ret	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi	4	Electrical	0
Ret	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus	1	Accident	0
Ret	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS	0	Suspension	0
DNQ	22	Patrick Gaillard	Ensign			0
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario			0

1979 German Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	40	1:51.890

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 German Grand Prix.

1979 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jody Scheckter	South African	Ferrari	35
2	Jacques Laffite	French	Ligier	28
3	Gilles Villeneuve	Canadian	Ferrari	26
4	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Williams	22
5	Patrick Depailler	French	Ligier	20
6	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Lotus	20
7	Alan Jones	Australian	Williams	16
8	Jean-Pierre Jarier	French	Tyrrell	13
9	John Watson	British	McLaren	13
10	Mario Andretti	American	Lotus	12
11	René Arnoux	French	Renault	10
12	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	French	Renault	9
13	Didier Pironi	French	Tyrrell	8
14	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Arrows	2
15	Jochen Mass	German	Arrows	2
16	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Fittipaldi	1
17	Niki Lauda	Austrian	Brabham	1
18	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ligier	1
–	Elio de Angelis	Italian	Shadow	0
–	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Brabham	0
–	Patrick Tambay	French	McLaren	0
–	Geoff Lees	British	Tyrrell	0
–	Hans-Joachim Stuck	German	ATS	0
–	James Hunt	British	Wolf	0
–	Hector Rebaque	Mexican	Lotus	0
–	Keke Rosberg	Finnish	Wolf	0
–	Jan Lammers	Dutch	Shadow	0
–	Derek Daly	Irish	Ensign	0
–	Patrick Gaillard	French	Ensign	0
–	Bruno Giacomelli	Italian	Alfa Romeo	0
–	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Merzario	0

1979 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	65
2	Ligier – Ford	51
3	Williams – Ford	38
4	Lotus – Ford	37
5	Tyrrell – Ford	21
6	Renault	19
7	McLaren – Ford	13
8	Arrows – Ford	4
9	Brabham – Alfa Romeo	1
10	Fittipaldi – Ford	1
—	Shadow – Ford	0
—	Wolf – Ford	0
—	ATS – Ford	0
—	Ensign – Ford	0
—	Alfa Romeo	0
—	Merzario – Ford	0
—	Kauhsen – 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

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1979 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	21 January
2	1979 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo de Interlagos, São Paulo	4 February
3	1979 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	3 March
4	1979 United States West Grand Prix	Long Beach Street Circuit, Long Beach, California	8 April
5	1979 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	29 April
6	1979 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder	13 May
7	1979 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
8	1979 French Grand Prix	Dijon-Prenois, Dijon	1 July
9	1979 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	14 July
10	1979 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	29 July
11	1979 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	12 August
12	1979 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	26 August
13	1979 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	1979 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Île Notre-Dame, Montréal	30 September
15	1979 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	7 October