Era 05 · Ground effect · season 30

1979

Ferrari won 6 races out of 15, and the world title went to Jody Scheckter.

The title was decided in round 13 – Italian Grand Prix.

In 1979 Renault took the first win for a turbo engine: Jean-Pierre Jabouille won his home French Grand Prix at Dijon, where Gilles Villeneuve and René Arnoux fought over second place all the way to the flag. Williams, with Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni, won five races in the second half of the season.

Ferrari, with Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve, scored points more consistently than anyone. Scheckter won three races and clinched the title early by winning the Italian Grand Prix, where Villeneuve finished second. The next Ferrari driver to win the title did so only in 2000.

Written from the facts · checked by our editors
Drivers’ standings · championship points
01Jody ScheckterFerrari51
02Gilles VilleneuveFerrari47
03Alan JonesWilliams40
04Jacques LaffiteLigier36
05Clay RegazzoniWilliams29
06Patrick DepaillerLigier20
07Carlos ReutemannLotus20
08René ArnouxRenault17
09John WatsonMcLaren15
10Didier PironiTyrrell14
11Jean-Pierre JarierTyrrell14
12Mario AndrettiLotus14
13Jean-Pierre JabouilleRenault9
14Niki LaudaBrabham4
15Nelson PiquetBrabham3
15Elio de AngelisShadow3
17Jacky IckxLigier3
18Jochen MassArrows3
19Riccardo PatreseArrows2
19Hans-Joachim StuckATS2
21Emerson FittipaldiFittipaldi1
Constructors’ championship
01Ferrari113
02Williams75
03Ligier61
04Lotus39
05Tyrrell28
06Renault26

The season’s 15 races

Jones 4Scheckter 3Villeneuve 3Laffite 2Regazzoni 1