1979 Canadian Grand Prix
Template:Infobox Grand Prix race report
The 1979 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September 1979 at the Circuit Île Notre-Dame, Montreal.
During practice Niki Lauda announced his retirement from Formula One (he subsequently returned in 1982 with McLaren). The Brabham team, who had replaced their Alfa Romeo-engined BT48 with the Cosworth DFV-engined BT49, recruited Argentine newcomer Ricardo Zunino as Lauda's replacement.
The organizers would not let the Alfa Romeo factory team compete unless they pre-qualified. They refused to do so but a compromise was reached where one of their drivers would be allowed to take part in practice. The other, Bruno Giacomelli, was not allowed to enter the race.
The race turned into a close duel between Alan Jones and Gilles Villeneuve that continued the entire race.
As of 2024, Regazzoni's podium remains the last for a Swiss driver in Formula One.
Qualifying
Qualifying classification
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time | No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:29.892 | 1 |
| 2 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:30.554 | 2 |
| 3 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford | 1:30.768 | 3 |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:30.775 | 4 |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford | 1:30.820 | 5 |
| 6 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:31.941 | 6 |
| 7 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:32.103 | 7 |
| 8 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:32.116 | 8 |
| 9 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 1:32.280 | 9 |
| 10 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | 1:32.651 | 10 |
| 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford | 1:32.682 | 11 |
| 12 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford | 1:32.858 | 12 |
| 13 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:33.065 | 13 |
| 14 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:33.090 | 14 |
| 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:33.297 | 15 |
| 16 | Jacky Ickx | Ligier-Ford | 1:33.355 | 16 |
| 17 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:33.362 | 17 |
| 18 | Vittorio Brambilla | Alfa Romeo | 1:33.378 | 18 |
| 19 | Ricardo Zunino | Brabham-Ford | 1:33.511 | 19 |
| 20 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford | 1:33.603 | 20 |
| 21 | Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford | 1:34.102 | 21 |
| 22 | Héctor Rebaque | Rebaque-Ford | 1:34.129 | 22 |
| 23 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford | 1:34.256 | 23 |
| 24 | Derek Daly | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:34.301 | 24 |
| DNQ | Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford | 1:34.365 | — |
| DNQ | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | 1:34.747 | — |
| DNQ | Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford | 1:35.061 | — |
| DNQ | Alex Ribeiro | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:36.901 | — |
| DNQ | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford | 1:37.590 | — |
Race
Classification
Notes
- This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Argentinian driver Ricardo Zunino.
- This was the 5th fastest lap, 5th Grand Prix win, 1st Grand Slam, and 10th and 11th podium finish for Williams.
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.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
References