1979 British Grand Prix

Previous race

Jabouille won the French Grand Prix at Dijon for Renault — the team’s first Formula One victory and the first ever win for a turbocharged engine. The closing laps featured a legendary wheel-to-wheel duel between Villeneuve and Arnoux over second place, the two touching wheels and swapping positions repeatedly across the final two laps. Villeneuve described it as “my best memory of Grand Prix racing.” Jabouille was the first Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix since Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1948.

Championship standings

Scheckter maintains the championship lead after finishing fifth in France.

Entrants

McLaren has a new M29 for Watson at Silverstone, replacing the troublesome M28. Williams modified the FW07 between races to correct aerodynamic leakage and introduced a new system to keep the skirts in contact with the ground at all times, resulting in the fastest times in pre-Silverstone testing. Alfa Romeo has not appeared for this race.

James Hunt, who retired from driving last month, joins Murray Walker as BBC television commentator for the first time.

Milestones

This is the 25th Grand Prix start for Williams.