South African Grand Prix
Round 3 · 3 March 1979 ·Kyalami, Midrand, South Africa
Scheckter
Ferrari
2
Villeneuve
Ferrari
1
Jarier
Tyrrell
3
Race classification
| Pos. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Laps | Time | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve |  Canadian | Ferrari | 78 | 1:41:49.96 | 9 |
| 2 | Jody Scheckter |  South African | Ferrari | 78 | +3.42 | 6 |
| 3 | Jean-Pierre Jarier |  French | Tyrrell | 78 | +22.11 | 4 |
| 4 | Mario Andretti |  American | Team Lotus | 78 | +27.88 | 3 |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann |  Argentine | Team Lotus | 78 | +1:06.97 | 2 |
| 6 | Niki Lauda |  Austrian | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 77 | +1 Lap | 1 |
| 7 | Nelson Piquet |  Brazilian | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 77 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 8 | James Hunt |  British | Wolf | 77 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 9 | Clay Regazzoni |  Swiss | Williams | 76 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 10 | Patrick Tambay | French | McLaren | 75 | +3 Laps | 0 |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese |  Italian | Arrows | 75 | +3 Laps | 0 |
| 12 | Jochen Mass |  German | Arrows | 74 | +4 Laps | 0 |
| 13 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazilian | Fittipaldi | 74 | +4 Laps | 0 |
| R | Hector Rebaque |  Mexican | Team Lotus | 71 | Engine | 0 |
| R | René Arnoux | French | Renault | 67 | Tyre | 0 |
| R | Alan Jones |  Australian | Williams | 63 | Suspension | 0 |
| R | John Watson | British | McLaren | 61 | Ignition | 0 |
| R | Hans-Joachim Stuck | German | ATS | 57 | Accident | 0 |
| R | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | French | Renault | 47 | Engine | 0 |
| R | Jacques Laffite | French | Ligier | 45 | Accident | 0 |
| R | Didier Pironi | French | Tyrrell | 25 | Throttle | 0 |
| R | Elio de Angelis | Italian | Shadow | 16 | Accident | 0 |
| R | Patrick Depailler | French | Ligier | 4 | Accident | 0 |
| R | Jan Lammers |  Dutch | Shadow | 2 | Accident | 0 |
| F | Derek Daly |  Irish | Ensign | 0 | Did not qualify | 0 |
| F | Arturo Merzario | Italian | Merzario | 0 | Did not qualify | 0 |
- R
- Retired
- F
- Failed to qualify