1979 French Grand Prix
The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon.
| 1979 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | July 1, 1979 | ||
| Location | Dijon | ||
| Course length | 3.801 km (2.361 mi) | ||
| Distance | 80 laps, 304.08 km (188.88 mi) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:07.19 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 René Arnoux | Renault | |
| Time | 1:09.16 on lap 71 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Renault | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Renault | ||
|
Lap leaders
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It marked the first victory of a turbocharged car in Formula One, with Renault overcoming the reliability problems that had initially plagued their car. For Jean-Pierre Jabouille it was a victory on home soil, driving a French car (Renault), on French tyres (Michelin), powered by a French engine (Renault), burning French fuel (Elf). Jabouille was the first Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix since Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1948.
The race featured one of the fiercest battles ever for second place, between Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve and Renault driver René Arnoux, who on several occasions during the final laps touched wheels and swapped positions. The fight is often cited as one of the most memorable pieces of racing in Formula One.[1] Villeneuve, who passed the finish line less than a quarter of a second ahead of Arnoux, later described the occasion as "my best memory of Grand Prix racing".[2]
Qualifying
Qualifying classification
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time | No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:07,19 | 1 |
| 2 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:07,45 | 2 |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:07,65 | 3 |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:08,13 | 4 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 1:08,15 | 5 |
| 6 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:08,20 | 6 |
| 7 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:08,23 | 7 |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford | 1:08,55 | 8 |
| 9 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford | 1:08,65 | 9 |
| 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:08,80 | 10 |
| 11 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:08,95 | 11 |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | 1:09,35 | 12 |
| 13 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford | 1:09,36 | 13 |
| 14 | Jacky Ickx | Ligier-Ford | 1:09,68 | 14 |
| 15 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:09,97 | 15 |
| 16 | Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford | 1:10,15 | 16 |
| 17 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:10,59 | 17 |
| 18 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:10,61 | 18 |
| 19 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:10,70 | 19 |
| 20 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford | 1:10,92 | 20 |
| 21 | Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford | 1:11,14 | 21 |
| 22 | Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford | 1:11,40 | 22 |
| 23 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford | 1:11,75 | DNS |
| 24 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus-Ford | 1:11,97 | 23 |
| 25 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford | 1:12,23 | 24 |
| DNQ | Patrick Gaillard | Ensign-Ford | 1:13,00 | — |
| DNQ | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford | 1:14,95 | — |
Race
Classification
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Notes
- Lap leaders: Gilles Villeneuve 46 laps (1–46); Jean-Pierre Jabouille 34 laps (47–80).
- First win for Renault in Formula One.
- First win for turbocharged car in Formula One, marked by the Renault RS10.
- First win for Jean-Pierre Jabouille.
- Keke Rosberg replaced the retiring James Hunt at Walter Wolf Racing for the rest of the season.
- Jacky Ickx replaced Patrick Depailler after he suffered a hang-gliding accident in France.
Championship standings after the race
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- 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
- "Autosport.com on the 1979 French Grand Prix". Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- "Formula1.com on the 1979 French Grand Prix". Archived from the original on 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- "1979 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- "France 1979 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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FIA Formula One World Championship 1979 season |
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