1979 Argentine Grand Prix
| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season | ||
 | ||
| Date | January 21, 1979 | |
| Location | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| Course | Permanent road course 5.81 km (3.61 mi) | |
| Distance | 53 laps, 307.93 km (191.33 mi) | |
| Weather | Dry | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver |  Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Ford |
| Time | 1:44.20 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver | Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Ford |
| Time | 1:46.91 on lap 42 | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Ford |
| Second |  Carlos Reutemann |
Lotus-Ford |
| Third |  John Watson |
McLaren-Ford |
The 1979 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 21 January 1979 at the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
Classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Ford | 53 | 1:36:03.21 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann |
Lotus-Ford | 53 | +14.94 secs | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 7 | John Watson |
McLaren-Ford | 53 | +1:28.81 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 25 | Patrick Depailler |
Ligier-Ford | 53 | +1:41.72 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | 1 |  Mario Andretti |
Lotus-Ford | 52 | +1 Lap | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 14 |  Emerson Fittipaldi |
Fittipaldi-Ford | 52 | +1 Lap | 11 | 1 |
| 7 | 18 |  Elio de Angelis |
Shadow-Ford | 52 | +1 Lap | 16 | |
| 8 | 30 |  Jochen Mass |
Arrows-Ford | 51 | +2 Laps | 14 | |
| 9 | 27 |  Alan Jones |
Williams-Ford | 51 | +2 Laps | 15 | |
| 10 | 28 |  Clay Regazzoni |
Williams-Ford | 51 | +2 Laps | 17 | |
| 11 | 22 |  Derek Daly |
Ensign-Ford | 51 | +2 Laps | 24 | |
| Ret | 12 |  Gilles Villeneuve |
Ferrari | 48 | Engine | 10 | |
| Ret | 31 |  Hector Rebaque |
Lotus-Ford | 46 | Suspension | 19 | |
| Ret | 17 |  Jan Lammers |
Shadow-Ford | 42 | Transmission | 21 | |
| Ret | 20 | James Hunt |
Wolf-Ford | 41 | Electrical | 18 | |
| Ret | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Tyrrell-Ford | 15 | Engine | 4 | |
| Ret | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille |
Renault | 15 | Engine | 12 | |
| Ret | 5 |  Niki Lauda |
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 8 | Fuel System | 23 | |
| Ret | 16 | René Arnoux |
Renault | 6 | Engine | 25 | |
| Ret | 11 |  Jody Scheckter |
Ferrari | 0 | Collision | 5 | |
| Ret | 3 | Didier Pironi |
Tyrrell-Ford | 0 | Collision | 8 | |
| Ret | 8 | Patrick Tambay |
McLaren-Ford | 0 | Collision | 9 | |
| Ret | 6 | Nelson Piquet |
Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 0 | Collision | 20 | |
| Ret | 24 | Arturo Merzario |
Merzario-Ford | 0 | Collision | 22 | |
| DNS | 29 | Riccardo Patrese |
Arrows-Ford | 0 | Accident | 13 | |
| DNQ | 9 | Hans Joachim Stuck |
ATS-Ford |
Notes
- Lap Leaders: Patrick Depailler 10 laps (1-10); Jacques Laffite 43 laps (11-53).
- The race had to be restarted because there was a huge crash at the second of the very fast esses after the pit straight that took off a number of drivers, including Jody Scheckter, Nelson Piquet, John Watson, Patrick Tambay and Mario Andretti.
- Formula One debut for Elio de Angelis.
- Local hero Carlos Reutemann charged through the field up from 6th to 2nd, although it wasn't enough to catch Jacques Laffite.
Standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
| Previous race: 1978 Canadian Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1979 season |
Next race: 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1978 Argentine Grand Prix |
Argentine Grand Prix | Next race: 1980 Argentine Grand Prix |
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