| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season | ||
| Date | March 2, 1979 | |
| Location | Kyalami Gauteng, South Africa |
|
| Course | Permanent racing facility 4.104 km (2.550 mi) |
|
| Distance | 78 laps, 320.112 km (198.908 mi) | |
| Weather | Wet | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault |
| Time | 1:11.80 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| Time | 1:14.412 on lap 23 | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| Second | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari |
| Third | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford |
The 1979 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 3 March 1979 at Kyalami.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 78 | 1:41:49.96 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 78 | +3.42 secs | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford | 78 | +22.11 secs | 9 | 4 |
| 4 | 1 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | 78 | +27.88 secs | 8 | 3 |
| 5 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford | 78 | +1:06.97 | 11 | 2 |
| 6 | 5 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 77 | +1 Lap | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 77 | +1 Lap | 12 | |
| 8 | 20 | James Hunt | Wolf-Ford | 77 | +1 Lap | 13 | |
| 9 | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford | 76 | +2 Laps | 22 | |
| 10 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford | 75 | +3 Laps | 17 | |
| 11 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 75 | +3 Laps | 16 | |
| 12 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford | 74 | +4 Laps | 20 | |
| 13 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford | 74 | +4 Laps | 18 | |
| Ret | 31 | Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Ford | 71 | Engine | 23 | |
| Ret | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 67 | Tyre | 10 | |
| Ret | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 63 | Suspension | 19 | |
| Ret | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 61 | Ignition | 14 | |
| Ret | 9 | Hans Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford | 57 | Accident | 24 | |
| Ret | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 47 | Engine | 1 | |
| Ret | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford | 45 | Accident | 6 | |
| Ret | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford | 25 | Throttle | 7 | |
| Ret | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford | 16 | Accident | 15 | |
| Ret | 25 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier-Ford | 4 | Accident | 5 | |
| Ret | 17 | Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford | 2 | Accident | 21 | |
| DNQ | 22 | Derek Daly | Ensign-Ford | ||||
| DNQ | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford |
|
|
| Previous race: 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1979 season |
Next race: 1979 United States Grand Prix West |
| Previous race: 1978 South African Grand Prix |
South African Grand Prix | Next race: 1980 South African Grand Prix |
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