- Winner
- Gilles Villeneuve
- Team
- Ferrari
- Top listed
- Gilles Villeneuve, René Arnoux, and Didier Pironi
- Race date
- October 7, 1979
- Pole
- Alan Jones
- Fastest lap
- Nelson Piquet
- Classified drivers
- 30
- Circuit
- Watkins Glen International
The decisive result
Gilles Villeneuve finished first for Ferrari. René Arnoux is listed 2 for Renault, with Didier Pironi 3 for Tyrrell.
Grid to finish
Elio de Angelis from P20 to P4 (+16), Emerson Fittipaldi from P23 to P7 (+16), and Hans-Joachim Stuck from P14 to P5 (+9) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Alan Jones started from the listed P1 grid position.
Status and fastest lap
The classification lists 6 DNQ, 6 Spun off, 5 Finished, 3 Accident, and 3 Engine. Nelson Piquet holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:40.054 on lap 51. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.
This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.