1979 Belgian Grand Prix

1979 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 6 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
Race details
Date	13 May 1979
Location	Circuit Zolder Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Course length	4.262 km (2.648 miles)
Distance	70 laps, 298.340 km (185.380 miles)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Time	1:21.13
Fastest lap
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:23.09 on lap 63
Podium
First	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari
Second	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Third	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford

The 1979 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1979 at Zolder. It was the sixth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.

The 70-lap race was won by Jody Scheckter, driving a Ferrari. Scheckter collided with Clay Regazzoni's Williams-Ford on the second lap, but recovered to take his first victory of the season. Jacques Laffite finished second in a Ligier-Ford, having started from pole position, while Didier Pironi achieved his first podium finish with third in a Tyrrell-Ford.

The race also saw the first appearance of Alfa Romeo as a works team since 1951. Driving the Alfa Romeo 177, Bruno Giacomelli qualified 14th, ahead of both Renaults and both McLarens, before retiring following a collision with Elio de Angelis in the Shadow-Ford.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	70	1:39:59.53	7	9
2	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	70	+ 15.36	1	6
3	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	70	+ 35.17	12	4
4	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	70	+ 46.49	10	3
5	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	70	+ 1:04.31	16	2
6	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	70	+ 1:05.85	19	1
7	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	69	+ 1 Lap	6
8	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	69	+ 1 Lap	20
9	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	68	+ 2 Laps	23
10	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	68	+ 2 Laps	21
11	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	67	+ 3 Laps	11
Ret	25	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	46	Accident	2
Ret	20	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	40	Accident	9
Ret	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	39	Electrical	4
Ret	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	27	Brakes	5
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	23	Engine	3
Ret	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	23	Engine	13
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	22	Turbo	18
Ret	35	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	21	Collision	14
Ret	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	21	Collision	24
Ret	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	17	Spun Off	22
Ret	31	Héctor Rebaque	Lotus-Ford	13	Transmission	15
Ret	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	13	Turbo	17
Ret	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	1	Collision	8
DNQ	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford
DNQ	22	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford
DNQ	36	Gianfranco Brancatelli	Kauhsen-Ford
Source:

Lap leaders

Patrick Depailler 25 laps (1–18, 40–46); Jacques Laffite 12 laps (19–23, 47–53); Alan Jones 16 laps (24–39); Jody Scheckter 17 laps (54–70).

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Jacques Laffite	24
2	Jody Scheckter	24 (25)
3	Gilles Villeneuve	20
4	Patrick Depailler	20
5	Carlos Reutemann	19 (21)
Source:

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Ferrari	45
2	Ligier-Ford	44
3	Lotus-Ford	33
4	Tyrrell-Ford	15
5	McLaren-Ford	5
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Only the best 4 results from the first 7 races and the best 4 results from the last 8 races counted towards the Drivers' Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.