Formula 1 historical archive

Gilles Villeneuve won the 1979 South African Grand Prix

Gilles Villeneuve won the 1979 South African Grand Prix for Ferrari, ahead of Jody Scheckter and Jean-Pierre Jarier at Kyalami Racing Circuit.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Gilles Villeneuve
Team
Ferrari
Top listed
Gilles Villeneuve, Jody Scheckter, and Jean-Pierre Jarier
Race date
March 3, 1979
Pole
Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Fastest lap
Gilles Villeneuve
Classified drivers
26
Circuit
Kyalami Racing Circuit

The decisive result

Gilles Villeneuve finished first for Ferrari. Jody Scheckter is listed 2 for Ferrari, with Jean-Pierre Jarier 3 for Tyrrell.

Grid to finish

Clay Regazzoni from P22 to P9 (+13), Héctor Rebaque from P23 to P14 (+9), and Jochen Mass from P20 to P12 (+8) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Jean-Pierre Jabouille started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 5 Accident, 5 Finished, 3 +1 lap, 2 +3 laps, and 2 +4 laps. Gilles Villeneuve holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:14.412 on lap 23. 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.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Gilles VilleneuveFerrari1:41:49.9609
2Jody ScheckterFerrari1:41:53.3806
3Jean-Pierre JarierTyrrell1:42:12.0704
4Mario AndrettiTeam Lotus1:42:17.8403
5Carlos ReutemannTeam Lotus1:42:56.9302
6Niki LaudaBrabham+1 lap1
7Nelson PiquetBrabham+1 lap0
8James HuntWolf+1 lap0
9Clay RegazzoniWilliams+2 laps0
10Patrick TambayMcLaren+3 laps0
11Riccardo PatreseArrows+3 laps0
12Jochen MassArrows+4 laps0
13Emerson FittipaldiFittipaldi+4 laps0
14Héctor RebaqueTeam LotusEngine0
DNFRené ArnouxRenaultTyre0
DNFAlan JonesWilliamsSuspension0
DNFJohn WatsonMcLarenIgnition0
DNFHans-Joachim StuckATS WheelsAccident0
DNFJean-Pierre JabouilleRenaultEngine0
DNFJacques LaffiteLigierAccident0