Gilles Villeneuve ended the 1979 F1 World Championship with victory in a wet United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International. Alan Jones had the speed to challenge, but a disastrous pit stop removed the Williams, leaving Villeneuve to secure second in the championship behind Ferrari team-mate Jody Scheckter.
Race Guide
Season: 1979 F1 World Championship
Race date: 7 October 1979
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC-04:00)
Circuit: Watkins Glen International
Laps: 59 laps
Circuit length: 5.435 km
1978 winner: Carlos Reutemann
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Alan Jones | Williams |
| Pole time | 1:35.615 | |
| Fastest lap | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:40.054 on lap 51 | |
| First | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| Second | René Arnoux | Renault |
| Third | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 4 October 1979 | Thursday unofficial testing | Start time unconfirmed |
| 5 October 1979 | Friday free practice | 10:00–11:00 scheduled |
| 5 October 1979 | Friday qualifying | 12:30–14:00 |
| 6 October 1979 | Saturday free practice | One hour; delayed start |
| 6 October 1979 | Saturday qualifying | Extended until 14:30 |
| 7 October 1979 | Warm-up | After 11:30; delayed from 09:30 |
| 7 October 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 15 leading the 1979 F1 World Championship on 51 points, with Gilles Villeneuve on 44. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 104 points.
Race entries
The enlarged field continued from Canada, with three Tyrrells, two Fittipaldis and both works Alfa Romeos allowed into practice. Wolf rebuilt a car for Keke Rosberg after his Canadian accident. Ricardo Zunino continued at Brabham following Niki Lauda’s retirement, while the finale would be Jacky Ickx’s last Grand Prix start.
Thursday unofficial testing
Many teams used the additional running to prepare for a bumpy circuit made more demanding by stiff ground-effect suspension. Drivers had to find lines around surface damage while keeping their cars settled. The short turnaround from Canada also left Wolf completing its rebuilt car and the other teams servicing machinery after the previous weekend.
Friday free practice
Steady rain kept much of the field under cover. Eighteen drivers ventured out, with little incentive to take risks beyond learning the conditions. Bruno Giacomelli hit standing water and crashed his Alfa Romeo on a slowing-down lap; the damage was repairable, but the incident illustrated how quickly the wet surface could catch a driver out.
Friday qualifying
Gilles Villeneuve produced an extraordinary wet-weather display, setting a time more than nine seconds faster than Jody Scheckter. Only a handful of drivers recorded laps in the heavy rain. Vittorio Brambilla spun twice and damaged his rear wing, while Alan Jones struggled for traction and René Arnoux went off after limited running.
Saturday free practice
A cold wind dried the circuit, bringing the full field out to recover lost time. Ricardo Zunino changed Brabham cars after a fuel leak, Clay Regazzoni lost an engine and Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari required a hurried engine change. Marc Surer suffered a suspension failure, while Derek Daly stopped when his fuel-pump drive belt broke.
Saturday qualifying
Alan Jones dominated the dry session, finishing more than a second clear of Nelson Piquet, who narrowly displaced Gilles Villeneuve from the front row. A stoppage to recover cars and repeated mechanical failures made the session hectic. Ricardo Zunino crashed but retained ninth, while Mario Andretti’s engine failure compounded a difficult home weekend.
Tyrrell shuffled its three drivers between cars as engines failed, and Jody Scheckter could manage only 16th. Bruno Giacomelli qualified the sole Alfa Romeo to make the race. The dry times decided the grid, leaving Villeneuve’s remarkable Friday performance as a warning of what he might do if the rain returned.
Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.
Sunday warm-up
Support-race delays, oil and damaged fencing pushed the final half-hour back by more than two hours. With the Grand Prix start also brought forward, teams had little spare time for major repairs. Brabham and Tyrrell restored their intended car assignments, while Carlos Reutemann retained the Lotus spare he preferred.
What happened in the 1979 United States Grand Prix?
Rain returned before the start. Gilles Villeneuve led on wet tyres, while Nelson Piquet and Mario Andretti’s slick-tyre gamble failed. Alan Jones pursued the Ferrari as retirements steadily reduced the field. Jody Scheckter recovered from an opening-lap delay and used an early switch to slicks to help Ferrari assess the drying track.
Jones caught and passed Villeneuve, but the race turned during the Williams tyre stop. The car was released before the right-rear wheel was secured, and the wheel came off soon afterwards. Villeneuve regained control, while Scheckter’s later tyre failure ended Ferrari’s hopes of a one-two.
Villeneuve managed falling oil pressure to win ahead of René Arnoux and Didier Pironi. Elio de Angelis scored his first points with fourth for Shadow, followed by Hans-Joachim Stuck and John Watson. The victory confirmed Ferrari’s one-two in the drivers’ championship and closed a season in which Ligier, Renault and Williams had all challenged the eventual champions.
After the race, Jody Scheckter headed the drivers’ standings with 51 points, followed by Gilles Villeneuve on 47. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 113, with Williams – Ford on 75.
1979 United States Grand Prix race results
The 1979 United States Grand Prix was held on 7 October 1979.
1979 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 51 | 1:40.054 |
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 United States Grand Prix.
1979 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
1979 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 113 |
| 2 | Williams – Ford | 75 |
| 3 | Ligier – Ford | 61 |
| 4 | Lotus – Ford | 39 |
| 5 | Tyrrell – Ford | 28 |
| 6 | Renault | 26 |
| 7 | McLaren – Ford | 15 |
| 8 | Brabham – Alfa Romeo | 7 |
| 9 | Arrows – Ford | 5 |
| 10 | Shadow – Ford | 3 |
| 11 | ATS – Ford | 2 |
| 12 | Fittipaldi – Ford | 1 |
| — | Brabham – Ford | 0 |
| — | Wolf – 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:
