Round 3 · 3 March 1979
South African Grand Prix
Kyalami · Midrand, South Africa
Championship progression
Drivers' standings
Before the race
26 drivers
After Round 2
1
Jacques Laffite
Ligier
18
pts
2
Carlos Reutemann
Team Lotus
10
pts
3
Patrick Depailler
Ligier
9
pts
4
John Watson
McLaren
4
pts
5
Didier Pironi
Tyrrell
3
pts
View full pre-race standings
6
Gilles Villeneuve
Ferrari
2
pts
7
Mario Andretti
Team Lotus
2
pts
8
Emerson Fittipaldi
Fittipaldi
1
pts
9
Jody Scheckter
Ferrari
1
pts
-
Jochen Mass
Arrows
0
pts
-
Elio de Angelis
Shadow
0
pts
-
Alan Jones
Williams
0
pts
-
Riccardo Patrese
Arrows
0
pts
-
Clay Regazzoni
Williams
0
pts
-
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Renault
0
pts
-
Derek Daly
Ensign
0
pts
-
Jan Lammers
Shadow
0
pts
-
Hector Rebaque
Team Lotus
0
pts
-
James Hunt
Wolf
0
pts
-
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Tyrrell
0
pts
-
Hans-Joachim Stuck
ATS
0
pts
-
René Arnoux
Renault
0
pts
-
Niki Lauda
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
0
pts
-
Patrick Tambay
McLaren
0
pts
-
Nelson Piquet
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
0
pts
-
Arturo Merzario
Merzario
0
pts
After the race
26 drivers
After Round 3
1
Jacques Laffite
Ligier
—
18
+0
2
Carlos Reutemann
Team Lotus
—
12
+2
3
Gilles Villeneuve
Ferrari
↑3
11
+9
4
Patrick Depailler
Ligier
↓1
9
+0
5
Jody Scheckter
Ferrari
↑4
7
+6
View full post-race standings
6
Mario Andretti
Team Lotus
↑1
5
+3
7
John Watson
McLaren
↓3
4
+0
8
Jean-Pierre Jarier
Tyrrell
↑991
4
+4
9
Didier Pironi
Tyrrell
↓4
3
+0
10
Emerson Fittipaldi
Fittipaldi
↓2
1
+0
11
Niki Lauda
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
↑988
1
+1
-
Jochen Mass
Arrows
—
0
+0
-
Elio de Angelis
Shadow
—
0
+0
-
Nelson Piquet
Brabham-Alfa Romeo
—
0
+0
-
James Hunt
Wolf
—
0
+0
-
Clay Regazzoni
Williams
—
0
+0
-
Riccardo Patrese
Arrows
—
0
+0
-
Alan Jones
Williams
—
0
+0
-
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Renault
—
0
+0
-
Patrick Tambay
McLaren
—
0
+0
-
Derek Daly
Ensign
—
0
+0
-
Jan Lammers
Shadow
—
0
+0
-
Hector Rebaque
Team Lotus
—
0
+0
-
René Arnoux
Renault
—
0
+0
-
Hans-Joachim Stuck
ATS
—
0
+0
-
Arturo Merzario
Merzario
—
0
+0
Circuit map
Layout unavailable
This historic circuit or layout has not yet been matched to the geometry archive.
Geometry mapping needed
Race classification
24 starters| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Grid | Status / time | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VIL Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 3 | 1:41:49.960 | 9 |
| 2 | SCH Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 2 | +3.420 | 6 |
| 3 | JAR Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 9 | +22.110 | 4 |
| 4 | AND Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 8 | +27.880 | 3 |
| 5 | REU Carlos Reutemann | Team Lotus | 11 | +1:06.970 | 2 |
| 6 | LAU Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 4 | 1L | 1 |
| 7 | PIQ Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 12 | 1L | 0 |
| 8 | HUN James Hunt | Wolf | 13 | 1L | 0 |
| 9 | REG Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 22 | 2L | 0 |
| 10 | TAM Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 17 | 3L | 0 |
| 11 | PAT Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 16 | 3L | 0 |
| 12 | MAS Jochen Mass | Arrows | 20 | 4L | 0 |
| 13 | FIT Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 18 | 4L | 0 |
| R | REB Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | 23 | — | 0 |
| R | ARN René Arnoux | Renault | 10 | — | 0 |
| R | JON Alan Jones | Williams | 19 | — | 0 |
| R | WAT John Watson | McLaren | 14 | — | 0 |
| R | STU Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 24 | — | 0 |
| R | JAB Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1 | — | 0 |
| R | LAF Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 6 | — | 0 |
| R | PIR Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 7 | — | 0 |
| R | DE Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 15 | — | 0 |
| R | DEP Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 5 | — | 0 |
| R | LAM Jan Lammers | Shadow | 21 | — | 0 |