1979 Dutch Grand Prix
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The 1979 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 26 August 1979 at Zandvoort.
Arnoux put the Renault on pole but the slow start of the turbo allowed Jones to break free and the cars of Arnoux, Regazzoni, Jabouille, and Villeneuve to fight for second. Arnoux and Regazzoni collided eliminating the Williams on the spot. Arnoux only lasted to the end of the lap as he limped back to the pits. Scheckter fell to last place on the first lap and began the task of working through the field. Villeneuve, who made it through the first lap ahead of 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.
[edit] Classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 |  Alan Jones |
Williams-Ford | 75 | 1:41:19.775 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 11 |  Jody Scheckter |
Ferrari | 75 | +21.783 secs | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | 26 |  Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Ford | 75 | +1:03.253 | 7 | 4 |
| 4 | 6 |  Nelson Piquet |
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 74 | +1 Lap | 11 | 3 |
| 5 | 25 |  Jacky Ickx |
Ligier-Ford | 74 | +1 Lap | 20 | 2 |
| 6 | 30 |  Jochen Mass |
Arrows-Ford | 73 | +2 Laps | 18 | 1 |
| 7 | 31 |  Hector Rebaque |
Lotus-Ford | 73 | +2 Laps | 24 | |
| Ret | 3 | Didier Pironi |
Tyrrell-Ford | 51 | Suspension | 10 | |
| Ret | 12 |  Gilles Villeneuve |
Ferrari | 49 | Tyre | 6 | |
| Ret | 18 |  Elio de Angelis |
Shadow-Ford | 40 | Transmission | 22 | |
| Ret | 20 |  Keke Rosberg |
Wolf-Ford | 33 | Engine | 8 | |
| Ret | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille |
Renault | 26 | Clutch | 4 | |
| Ret | 7 |  John Watson |
McLaren-Ford | 22 | Engine | 12 | |
| Ret | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Tyrrell-Ford | 20 | Spun Off | 16 | |
| Ret | 9 | Hans Joachim Stuck |
ATS-Ford | 19 | Transmission | 15 | |
| Ret | 17 |  Jan Lammers |
Shadow-Ford | 12 | Gearbox | 23 | |
| Ret | 1 |  Mario Andretti |
Lotus-Ford | 9 | Suspension | 17 | |
| Ret | 29 | Riccardo Patrese |
Arrows-Ford | 7 | Brakes | 19 | |
| Ret | 8 | Patrick Tambay |
McLaren-Ford | 6 | Engine | 14 | |
| WD | 5 |  Niki Lauda |
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 4 | Withdrew | 9 | |
| Ret | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
Fittipaldi-Ford | 2 | Electrical | 21 | |
| Ret | 2 |  Carlos Reutemann |
Lotus-Ford | 1 | Suspension | 13 | |
| Ret | 16 | René Arnoux |
Renault | 1 | Suspension | 1 | |
| Ret | 28 |  Clay Regazzoni |
Williams-Ford | 0 | Accident | 3 | |
| DNQ | 22 | Patrick Gaillard |
Ensign-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 24 | Arturo Merzario |
Merzario-Ford |
[edit] Notes
- Pole position: René Arnoux - 1:15.461
- Fastest Lap: Gilles Villeneuve - 1:19.438
- Lap Leaders: Alan Jones 39 laps (1-10, 47-75); Gilles Villeneuve 36 laps (11-46).
| Previous race: 1979 Austrian Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship, 1979 season |
Next race: 1979 Italian Grand Prix |
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| Previous race: 1978 Dutch Grand Prix |
Dutch Grand Prix | Next race: 1980 Dutch Grand Prix |
