Patrick Depailler put Ligier back on top at the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix, leading throughout at Circuito del Jarama. The French team locked out the front row again, but Jacques Laffite’s retirement left Depailler to finish the job alone ahead of the two Lotus drivers, Carlos Reutemann and Mario Andretti.
Race Guide
Season: 1979 F1 World Championship
Race date: 29 April 1979
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC+02:00)
Circuit: Circuito del Jarama
Laps: 75 laps
Circuit length: 3.404 km
1978 winner: Mario Andretti
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| Pole time | 1:14.50 | |
| Fastest lap | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:16.440 on lap 72 | |
| First | Patrick Depailler | Ligier |
| Second | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus |
| Third | Mario Andretti | Lotus |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 27 April 1979 | Friday free practice | 12:00–13:00 |
| 27 April 1979 | Friday qualifying | 14:30–16:00 |
| 28 April 1979 | Saturday free practice | 10:00–11:00 |
| 28 April 1979 | Saturday qualifying | 90 minutes; start unconfirmed |
| 29 April 1979 | Warm-up | 12:00–12:30 |
| 29 April 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 5 leading the 1979 F1 World Championship on 20 points, with Jacques Laffite on 18. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 33 points.
Race entries
Europe’s opening round brought a wave of new machinery. Mario Andretti raced the Lotus 80, Williams introduced the FW07 for Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni, and Jean-Pierre Jabouille received Renault’s new RS10. Gianfranco Brancatelli attempted his World Championship debut with Kauhsen. The separate morning-practice and afternoon-qualifying format used at Long Beach was now adopted more widely.
Friday free practice
The opening hour began two hours late, officially because medical support had not arrived. That gave Lotus and Renault extra time to finish their new cars. A strong wind complicated gearing choices, while Renault then lost running to a turbo-control problem and James Hunt changed Wolf chassis after finding his newer car short of power.
Friday qualifying
Gilles Villeneuve headed a Ferrari one-two, with both Ligiers and both Lotuses following. The session was interrupted by Nelson Piquet’s engine failure, while Williams explored aerodynamic settings on its new FW07. Kauhsen finally got Gianfranco Brancatelli running, but persistent minor problems left the newcomer struggling to complete representative laps.
Saturday free practice
Renault’s development weekend remained difficult: René Arnoux went off after a rear-suspension failure and the new car suffered another turbo problem. James Hunt compared differently set-up Wolf chassis before favouring the older one. Emerson Fittipaldi also returned to his established car, while Shadow worked on Jan Lammers’s final drive and Elio de Angelis tried the spare.
Saturday qualifying
Jacques Laffite seized pole, with Patrick Depailler alongside him and Gilles Villeneuve third. Ligier’s final-session improvement restored the advantage Ferrari had held on Friday. Mario Andretti continued refining the new Lotus and moved up to fourth, displacing Jody Scheckter from the second row.
Carlos Reutemann lost time to a radiator change and qualified eighth in the older Lotus, behind both Brabhams. The new Williams cars showed encouraging midfield pace, but Derek Daly, Arturo Merzario and Gianfranco Brancatelli missed the cut. For Kauhsen, the first attempt ended before race day.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:14.50 |
| 2 | 25 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 1:14.79 |
| 3 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:14.82 |
| 4 | 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 1:15.07 |
| 5 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 1:15.10 |
| 6 | 5 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 1:15.45 |
| 7 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 1:15.61 |
| 8 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus | 1:15.67 |
| 9 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:15.78 |
| 10 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 1:16.04 |
| 11 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:16.06 |
| 12 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 1:16.08 |
| 13 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | 1:16.23 |
| 14 | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 1:16.61 |
| 15 | 20 | James Hunt | Wolf | 1:16.88 |
| 16 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 1:16.92 |
| 17 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 1:17.04 |
| 18 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | 1:17.11 |
| 19 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 1:17.35 |
| 20 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 1:17.45 |
| 21 | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 1:17.57 |
| 22 | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 1:17.85 |
| 23 | 31 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus | 1:18.42 |
| 24 | 17 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 1:18.79 |
| DNQ | 22 | Derek Daly | Ensign | 1:19.30 |
| DNQ | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 1:20.46 |
| DNQ | 36 | Gianfranco Brancatelli | Kauhsen | 1:23.24 |
Sunday warm-up
The half-hour warm-up allowed several drivers to settle on their race cars. Jody Scheckter used the spare Ferrari, James Hunt chose the older Wolf and Emerson Fittipaldi stayed with the F5A. Gilles Villeneuve was first onto the circuit as the teams completed their checks ahead of the late-afternoon start.
What happened in the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix?
Patrick Depailler beat Jacques Laffite away and the Ligiers quickly escaped. Carlos Reutemann made a strong start to lead the pursuit, while Gilles Villeneuve twice spun at the hairpin and dropped back. Laffite’s challenge ended with an engine failure after a missed gear, leaving Depailler clear at the front.
Niki Lauda briefly worked his Brabham into third, only for overheating to end his race. Mario Andretti adapted to front-wing damage and later passed Jody Scheckter, securing a podium on the Lotus 80’s debut. Williams showed speed despite a difficult afternoon: Alan Jones recovered from punctures and set competitive laps before gearbox trouble stopped him.
Depailler completed his second career victory, ahead of Reutemann and Andretti. Scheckter finished fourth, with Jean-Pierre Jarier and Didier Pironi taking the remaining points for Tyrrell. Villeneuve recovered to seventh and set the fastest lap after fitting fresh tyres, but that brought no championship bonus under the period’s rules.
After the race, Gilles Villeneuve headed the drivers’ standings with 20 points, followed by Patrick Depailler on 20. Ligier – Ford led the constructors’ table on 38, with Ferrari on 36.
1979 Spanish Grand Prix race results
The 1979 Spanish Grand Prix was held on 29 April 1979.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 75 | 1:39:11.84 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus | 75 | + 20.94 | 6 |
| 3 | 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus | 75 | + 27.31 | 4 |
| 4 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 75 | + 28.68 | 3 |
| 5 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 75 | + 30.39 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 75 | + 48.43 | 1 |
| 7 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 75 | + 52.31 | 0 |
| 8 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 75 | + 1:14.84 | 0 |
| 9 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 74 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| 10 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 74 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| 11 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 74 | + 1 Lap | 0 |
| 12 | 17 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 73 | + 2 Laps | 0 |
| 13 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 72 | + 3 Laps | 0 |
| 14 | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 69 | + 6 Laps | 0 |
| Ret | 5 | Niki Lauda | Brabham | 63 | Water Leak | 0 |
| Ret | 31 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus | 58 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | 54 | Gearbox | 0 |
| Ret | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 52 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 32 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 20 | James Hunt | Wolf | 26 | Brakes | 0 |
| Ret | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 21 | Turbo | 0 |
| Ret | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | 21 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 15 | Engine | 0 |
| Ret | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 15 | Injection | 0 |
| DNQ | 22 | Derek Daly | Ensign | 0 | ||
| DNQ | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 0 | ||
| DNQ | 36 | Gianfranco Brancatelli | Kauhsen | 0 |
1979 Spanish Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 72 | 1:16.440 |
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 Spanish Grand Prix.
1979 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
| POS | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canadian | Ferrari | 20 |
| 2 | Patrick Depailler | French | Ligier | 20 |
| 3 | Jacques Laffite | French | Ligier | 18 |
| 4 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentine | Lotus | 18 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | South African | Ferrari | 16 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | American | Lotus | 12 |
| 7 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | French | Tyrrell | 7 |
| 8 | John Watson | British | McLaren | 4 |
| 9 | Alan Jones | Australian | Williams | 4 |
| 10 | Didier Pironi | French | Tyrrell | 4 |
| 11 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazilian | Fittipaldi | 1 |
| 12 | Niki Lauda | Austrian | Brabham | 1 |
| – | Elio de Angelis | Italian | Shadow | 0 |
| – | Jochen Mass | German | Arrows | 0 |
| – | Nelson Piquet | Brazilian | Brabham | 0 |
| – | James Hunt | British | Wolf | 0 |
| – | Riccardo Patrese | Italian | Arrows | 0 |
| – | Clay Regazzoni | Swiss | Williams | 0 |
| – | René Arnoux | French | Renault | 0 |
| – | Patrick Tambay | French | McLaren | 0 |
| – | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | French | Renault | 0 |
| – | Derek Daly | Irish | Ensign | 0 |
| – | Jan Lammers | Dutch | Shadow | 0 |
| – | Hans-Joachim Stuck | German | ATS | 0 |
| – | Hector Rebaque | Mexican | Lotus | 0 |
| – | Arturo Merzario | Italian | Merzario | 0 |
1979 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ligier – Ford | 38 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 36 |
| 3 | Lotus – Ford | 30 |
| 4 | Tyrrell – Ford | 11 |
| 5 | McLaren – Ford | 4 |
| 6 | Williams – Ford | 4 |
| 7 | Brabham – Alfa Romeo | 1 |
| 8 | Fittipaldi – Ford | 1 |
| — | Shadow – Ford | 0 |
| — | Arrows – Ford | 0 |
| — | Wolf – Ford | 0 |
| — | Renault | 0 |
| — | Ensign – Ford | 0 |
| — | ATS – Ford | 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
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