1979 Dutch Grand Prix

Netherlands  1979 Dutch Grand Prix
Race details
Race 12 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
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 Renault
Time 1:15.461
Fastest lap
Driver Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari
Time 1:19.438 on lap 39
Podium
First Williams-Ford
Second Ferrari
Third Ligier-Ford

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

Alan Jones at the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 27 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 75 1:41:19.775 2 9
2 11 South Africa Jody Scheckter Ferrari 75 +21.783 secs 5 6
3 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Ford 75 +1:03.253 7 4
4 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Alfa Romeo 74 +1 Lap 11 3
5 25 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ligier-Ford 74 +1 Lap 20 2
6 30 Germany Jochen Mass Arrows-Ford 73 +2 Laps 18 1
7 31 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Lotus-Ford 73 +2 Laps 24
Ret 3 France Didier Pironi Tyrrell-Ford 51 Suspension 10
Ret 12 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 49 Tyre 6
Ret 18 Italy Elio de Angelis Shadow-Ford 40 Transmission 22
Ret 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Wolf-Ford 33 Engine 8
Ret 15 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Renault 26 Clutch 4
Ret 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford 22 Engine 12
Ret 4 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Tyrrell-Ford 20 Spun Off 16
Ret 9 Germany Hans-Joachim Stuck ATS-Ford 19 Transmission 15
Ret 17 Netherlands Jan Lammers Shadow-Ford 12 Gearbox 23
Ret 1 United States Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford 9 Suspension 17
Ret 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 7 Brakes 19
Ret 8 France Patrick Tambay McLaren-Ford 6 Engine 14
Ret 5 Austria Niki Lauda Brabham-Alfa Romeo 4 Withdrew 9
Ret 14 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Fittipaldi-Ford 2 Electrical 21
Ret 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Lotus-Ford 1 Suspension 13
Ret 16 France René Arnoux Renault 1 Suspension 1
Ret 28 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni Williams-Ford 0 Collision 3
DNQ 22 France Patrick Gaillard Ensign-Ford
DNQ 24 Italy Arturo Merzario Merzario-Ford
Source:[1]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 South Africa Jody Scheckter 44 (48)
2 France Jacques Laffite 36
3 Australia Alan Jones 34
4 Canada Gilles Villeneuve 32
5 Switzerland Clay Regazzoni 24

Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Constructor Points
1 Italy Ferrari 80
2 France Ligier-Ford 61
3 United Kingdom Williams-Ford 58
4 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 37
5 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 21

References

  1. "1979 Dutch Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
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1979 Austrian Grand Prix
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