1979 French Grand Prix
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Grand Prix race report
The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon-Prenois near Dijon, France.
It marked not just the first victory of a forced-induction car in Formula One since the Alfa Romeo 159's victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1951, but also the first victory of a turbocharged car in Formula One, with Renault overcoming the reliability problems that had initially plagued their car. For Jean-Pierre Jabouille it was a victory on home soil, driving a French car (Renault), on French tyres (Michelin), powered by a French engine (Renault), burning French fuel (Elf). Jabouille was the first Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix since Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1948.
The race featured one of the fiercest battles ever for second place, between Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve and Renault driver René Arnoux, who on several occasions during the final laps touched wheels and swapped positions. The fight is often cited as one of the most memorable pieces of racing in Formula One.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Villeneuve, who passed the finish line less than a quarter of a second ahead of Arnoux, later described the occasion as "my best memory of Grand Prix racing".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
QualifyingEdit
Qualifying classificationEdit
| Pos. | Driver | Constructor | Time | No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1:07,19 | 1 |
| 2 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:07,45 | 2 |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:07,65 | 3 |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:08,13 | 4 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 1:08,15 | 5 |
| 6 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 1:08,20 | 6 |
| 7 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:08,23 | 7 |
| 8 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Ford | 1:08,55 | 8 |
| 9 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams-Ford | 1:08,65 | 9 |
| 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:08,80 | 10 |
| 11 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:08,95 | 11 |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Ford | 1:09,35 | 12 |
| 13 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Ford | 1:09,36 | 13 |
| 14 | Jacky Ickx | Ligier-Ford | 1:09,68 | 14 |
| 15 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:09,97 | 15 |
| 16 | Keke Rosberg | Wolf-Ford | 1:10,15 | 16 |
| 17 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:10,59 | 17 |
| 18 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:10,61 | 18 |
| 19 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:10,70 | 19 |
| 20 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren-Ford | 1:10,92 | 20 |
| 21 | Jan Lammers | Shadow-Ford | 1:11,14 | 21 |
| 22 | Jochen Mass | Arrows-Ford | 1:11,40 | 22 |
| 23 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS-Ford | 1:11,75 | DNS |
| 24 | Héctor Rebaque | Lotus-Ford | 1:11,97 | 23 |
| 25 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow-Ford | 1:12,23 | 24 |
| DNQ | Patrick Gaillard | Ensign-Ford | 1:13,00 | — |
| DNQ | Arturo Merzario | Merzario-Ford | 1:14,95 | — |
RaceEdit
ClassificationEdit
NotesEdit
- This was the Formula One World Championship debut for French driver Patrick Gaillard.
- This race marked the 25th Grand Prix start for Renault and a Renault-powered car. It was also the first fastest lap set, podium finish and Grand Prix win for the French team and engine supplier.
Championship standings after the raceEdit
Template:Col-start Template:Col-2
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Jody Scheckter | 30 (34) | ||
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Gilles Villeneuve | 26 | ||
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Jacques Laffite | 24 | ||
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Patrick Depailler | 20 (22) | ||
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Carlos Reutemann | 20 (25) | ||
| Source: <ref name="champ">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||
- Constructors' Championship standings
| Pos | Constructor | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Ferrari | 60 | |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon Ligier-Ford | 46 | |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Lotus-Ford | 37 | |
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Tyrrell-Ford | 17 | |
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Williams-Ford | 14 | |
| Source: <ref name="champ"/> | |||
- 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.
ReferencesEdit
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1979 Monaco Grand Prix
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1980 French Grand Prix
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