Round 3 · 1979
South African Grand Prix
WinnerVINFerrari · from P3
PoleJAB
Fastest lap1:14.412Villeneuve · L23
Biggest gain+13Regazzoni P22→P9
Retirements11of 24 starters
Classification
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | +/− | Laps | Time / Status | Pits | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 3 | +2 | 78 | 1:41:49.960 FL | — | 9 | |
| 2 | Jody Scheckter SCK | Ferrari | 2 | 0 | 78 | +3.420 | — | 6 |
| 3 | Tyrrell | 9 | +6 | 78 | +22.110 | — | 4 | |
| 4 | Mario Andretti ANI | Team Lotus | 8 | +4 | 78 | +27.880 | — | 3 |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann REU | Team Lotus | 11 | +6 | 78 | +1:06.970 | — | 2 |
| 6 | Niki Lauda LAU | Brabham | 4 | -2 | 77 | +1 lap | — | 1 |
| 7 | Brabham | 12 | +5 | 77 | +1 lap | — | ||
| 8 | James Hunt HUN | Wolf | 13 | +5 | 77 | +1 lap | — | |
| 9 | Clay Regazzoni REA | Williams | 22 | +13 | 76 | +2 laps | — | |
| 10 | Patrick Tambay TAM | McLaren | 17 | +7 | 75 | +3 laps | — | |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese PAC | Arrows | 16 | +5 | 75 | +3 laps | — | |
| 12 | Jochen Mass MAJ | Arrows | 20 | +8 | 74 | +4 laps | — | |
| 13 | Fittipaldi | 18 | +5 | 74 | +4 laps | — | ||
| — | Patrick Depaille ANU | Ligier | 5 | 4 | DNF · L4 | — | ||
| — | Arturo Merzario MEZ | Merzario | — | 0 | DNQ | — | ||
| — | John Watson WAT | McLaren | 14 | 61 | DNF · L61 | — | ||
| — | ATS | 24 | 57 | DNF · L57 | — | |||
| — | Jacques Laffite LAF | Ligier | 6 | 45 | DNF · L45 | — | ||
| — | Alpine | 1 | 47 | DNF · L47 | — | |||
| — | Alan Jones JOE | Williams | 19 | 63 | DNF · L63 | — | ||
| — | Hector Rebaque REB | Team Lotus | 23 | 71 | DNF · L71 | — | ||
| — | Didier Pironi PIR | Tyrrell | 7 | 25 | DNF · L25 | — | ||
| — | Alpine | 10 | 67 | DNF · L67 | — | |||
| — | Derek Daly DAD | Ensign | — | 0 | DNQ | — | ||
| — | Elio de Angelis DEA | Shadow | 15 | 16 | DNF · L16 | — | ||
| — | Jan Lammers LAM | Shadow | 21 | 2 | DNF · L2 | — |
Session schedule
Grand PrixFinal
Recent winners at Kyalami
Circuit DNA| Season | Event | Winner | Team | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | South African Grand Prix | Ronnie Peterson PEO | Team Lotus | 11 |
| 1977 | South African Grand Prix | Niki Lauda LAU | Ferrari | 3 |
| 1976 | South African Grand Prix | Niki Lauda LAU | Ferrari | 2 |
| 1975 | South African Grand Prix | Jody Scheckter SCK | Tyrrell | 3 |
| 1974 | South African Grand Prix | Carlos Reutemann REU | Brabham | 4 |
| 1973 | South African Grand Prix | Jackie Stewart STJ | Tyrrell | 16 |
| 1972 | South African Grand Prix | Denny Hulme HUM | McLaren | 5 |
| 1971 | South African Grand Prix | Mario Andretti ANI | Ferrari | 4 |