1979 Belgian Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Previous race
Depailler won in Spain with Reutemann second and Andretti third. Laffite’s engine blew while challenging for the lead, while Scheckter slipped to fourth.
Championship standings
The title picture remains close as the field arrives at Zolder two weeks after Spain.
Entrants
Alfa Romeo returns to Formula One as a works constructor for the first time since 1951, entering Bruno Giacomelli in the new 177. This is the old flat-12 engine; a new chassis for the V12 is under development. The field grows to 28 cars with Alfa’s arrival. Tyrrell arrives with new sponsorship from Italian domestic appliance maker Candy. McLaren’s troubles continue: Watson destroyed the M28 in testing, and Tambay failed to qualify with an older M26.
Milestones
This is the 50th Grand Prix start for a Dutch driver.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1979 Belgian Grand Prix” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 5 Races
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Jan | 🇦🇷 Argentine Grand Prix | Laffite | Laffite | Reutemann | Watson |
| 2 | 4 Feb | 🇧🇷 Brazilian Grand Prix | Laffite | Laffite | Depailler | Reutemann |
| 3 | 3 Mar | 🇿🇦 South African Grand Prix | Jabouille | Villeneuve | Scheckter | Jarier |
| 4 | 8 Apr | 🇺🇸 United States Grand Prix West | Villeneuve | Villeneuve | Scheckter | Jones |
| 5 | 29 Apr | 🇪🇸 Spanish Grand Prix | Laffite | Depailler | Reutemann | Andretti |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 20 | 2 |
| 2 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 20 | 1 |
| 3 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 18 | 2 |
| 4 | Carlos Reutemann | Team Lotus | 18 | 0 |
| 5 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 16 | 0 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 12 | 0 |
| 7 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | John Watson | McLaren | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | Alan Jones | Williams | 4 | 0 |
| 10 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 4 | 0 |
Constructors' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ligier | 38 | 3 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 36 | 2 |
| 3 | Team Lotus | 30 | 0 |
| 4 | Tyrrell | 11 | 0 |
| 5 | McLaren | 4 | 0 |