1979 Dutch Grand Prix

1979 Dutch Grand Prix
Race 12 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
Race details
Date	August 26, 1979
Location	Zandvoort
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.252 km (2.642 mi)
Distance	75 laps, 318.9 km (198.15 mi)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	René Arnoux	Renault
Time	1:15.461
Fastest lap
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:19.438 on lap 39
Podium
First	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford
Second	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari
Third	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1979 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 26 August 1979 at Zandvoort.

Summary[]

René Arnoux put his Renault on pole position but the slow start of the turbocharged car allowed Alan Jones to break free. Arnoux and Clay Regazzoni collided, eliminating the Williams on the spot while the poleman only lasted to the end of the lap as he limped back to the pits. Jody Scheckter fell to last place on the first lap and began the task of working through the field. Gilles Villeneuve, who made it through the first lap ahead of Jean-Pierre Jabouille, passed Jones at Tarzan on lap 11. He gave the lead back to Jones when he spun on lap 47. On lap 51, just after passing the pits, Villeneuve's left rear tyre exploded causing him to spin. He regained control to begin one of the wildest laps in history. He drove an entire lap on two tyres, the right front was in the air and the left rear was shredding rubber and sparking with the pavement. Reaction was mixed. It was either an act of the ultimate competitor not wanting to give up or an irresponsible, emotional decision. Either way he was out as his suspension was too damaged to rejoin the race. Jones finished first giving him his third consecutive and Williams their fourth consecutive victory. However, Scheckter worked his way up to finish second and due to Jones' poor performance in the first half of the season, the Ferrari driver only needed 4 more points to ensure a Ferrari would win the driver's title.

Classification[]

Qualifying[]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Gap
1	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:17.100	1:15.461	—
2	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:16.883	1:15.646	+0.185
3	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1:16.316	1:16.228	+0.767
4	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	1:16.338	1:16.304	+0.843
5	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1:17.313	1:16.392	+0.931
6	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:16.939	1:16.946	+1.478
7	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	1:17.129	1:17.639	+1.668
8	20	Keke Rosberg	Wolf-Ford	1:18.180	1:17.280	+1.819
9	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:17.661	1:17.495	+2.034
10	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	1:18.398	1:17.625	+2.164
11	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:17.821	1:17.667	+2.206
12	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:21.799	1:17.750	+2.289
13	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	1:18.671	1:18.001	+2.540
14	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	1:21.892	1:18.147	+2.686
15	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	1:20.581	1:18.256	+2.795
16	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	1:18.946	1:18.430	+2.969
17	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	1:18.896	1:18.452	+2.991
18	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	1:18.817	1:18.606	+3.145
19	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:20.051	1:18.629	+3.168
20	25	Jacky Ickx	Ligier-Ford	1:18.706	1:19.143	+3.245
21	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:21.005	1:19.433	+3.972
22	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	1:21.065	1:20.709	+5.248
23	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	1:23.404	1:21.084	+5.623
24	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	1:21.502	1:21.344	+5.883
DNQ	22	Patrick Gaillard	Ensign-Ford	1:37.600	1:22.922	+7.461
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	1:23.613	-	+8.152
Source:[1]

Race[]

Alan Jones at the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	G	75	1:41:19.775	2	9
2	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	M	75	+21.783 secs	5	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	G	75	+1:03.253	7	4
4	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	74	+1 Lap	11	3
5	25	Jacky Ickx	Ligier-Ford	G	74	+1 Lap	20	2
6	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	G	73	+2 Laps	18	1
7	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	G	73	+2 Laps	24
Ret	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	G	51	Suspension	10
Ret	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	49	Tyre	6
Ret	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	G	40	Transmission	22
Ret	20	Keke Rosberg	Wolf-Ford	G	33	Engine	8
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	M	26	Clutch	4
Ret	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	G	22	Engine	12
Ret	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	G	20	Spun Off	16
Ret	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	G	19	Transmission	15
Ret	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	G	12	Gearbox	23
Ret	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	G	9	Suspension	17
Ret	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	G	7	Brakes	19
Ret	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	G	6	Engine	14
Ret	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	G	4	Withdrew	9
Ret	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	G	2	Electrical	21
Ret	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	G	1	Suspension	13
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	1	Suspension	1
Ret	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	G	0	Collision	3
DNQ	22	Patrick Gaillard	Ensign-Ford	G
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford	G
Source:[2][3]

Championship standings after the race[]

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jody Scheckter 44 (48) 2 Jacques Laffite 36 3 Alan Jones 34 4 Gilles Villeneuve 32 5 Clay Regazzoni 24 Source: [4]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 80 2 Ligier-Ford 61 3 Williams-Ford 58 4 Lotus-Ford 37 5 Tyrrell-Ford 21 Source: [4]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 4 results from the first 7 races and the best 4 results from the last 8 races counted towards the Drivers' Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References[]

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