Formula 1 historical archive

Gilles Villeneuve won the 1979 United States Grand Prix West

Gilles Villeneuve won the 1979 United States Grand Prix West for Ferrari, ahead of Jody Scheckter and Alan Jones at Long Beach.

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 Alan Jones
Race date
April 8, 1979
Pole
Gilles Villeneuve
Fastest lap
Gilles Villeneuve
Classified drivers
26
Circuit
Long Beach

The decisive result

Gilles Villeneuve finished first for Ferrari. Jody Scheckter is listed 2 for Ferrari, with Alan Jones 3 for Williams.

Grid to finish

Elio de Angelis from P20 to P7 (+13), Alan Jones from P10 to P3 (+7), and Nelson Piquet from P12 to P8 (+4) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Gilles Villeneuve started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 5 Finished, 3 +2 laps, 3 Accident, 3 Transmission, and 2 Brakes. Gilles Villeneuve holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:21.200. 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 VilleneuveFerrari1:50:25.4009
2Jody ScheckterFerrari1:50:54.7806
3Alan JonesWilliams1:51:25.0904
4Mario AndrettiTeam Lotus1:51:29.7303
5Patrick DepaillerLigier1:51:48.9202
6Jean-Pierre JarierTyrrell+1 lap1
7Elio de AngelisShadow+2 laps0
8Nelson PiquetBrabham+2 laps0
9Jochen MassArrows+2 laps0
DNFHéctor RebaqueTeam LotusAccident0
DNFDerek DalyEnsignAccident0
DNFJohn WatsonMcLarenInjection0
DNFClay RegazzoniWilliamsEngine0
DNFJan LammersShadowSuspension0
DNFRiccardo PatreseArrowsBrakes0
DNFCarlos ReutemannTeam LotusTransmission0
DNFEmerson FittipaldiFittipaldiTransmission0
DNFArturo MerzarioMerzarioEngine0
DNFJacques LaffiteLigierBrakes0
DNFJames HuntWolfTransmission0