The 1979 South African Grand Prix was Round 3 of the 1979 Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held at Kyalami in South Africa on Sunday, 3 March 1979. Jean-Pierre Jabouille started on pole position for Renault and Gilles Villeneuve was the race winner for Ferrari.
1979 South African Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | Michelin | 78 | 1:41:49.96 | 1:41:49.960 | - | - | 1:14.412 | 23 | 188.610 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | South Africa | Ferrari | Michelin | 78 | +3.420 | 1:41:53.380 | +3.420 | +3.420 | 1:14.730 | 188.505 | 2 | 6 | |
| 3 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 78 | +22.110 | 1:42:12.070 | +22.110 | +18.690 | 1:14.900 | 187.930 | 9 | 4 | |
| 4 | 1 | Mario Andretti | United States | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 78 | +27.880 | 1:42:17.840 | +27.880 | +5.770 | 1:14.670 | 187.753 | 8 | 3 | |
| 5 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 78 | +1:06.970 | 1:42:56.930 | +1:06.970 | +39.090 | 1:15.450 | 186.565 | 11 | 2 | |
| 6 | 5 | Niki Lauda | Austria | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1:42:14.730 | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:15.950 | 185.440 | 4 | 1 | |
| 7 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1:42:22.440 | 1 lap | +7.710 | 1:16.010 | 185.207 | 12 | ||
| 8 | 20 | James Hunt | Great Britain | Wolf Ford | Goodyear | 77 | +1 lap | 1:42:47.020 | 1 lap | +24.580 | 1:16.180 | 184.469 | 13 | ||
| 9 | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Switzerland | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 76 | +2 laps | 1:42:35.640 | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:17.350 | 182.410 | 22 | ||
| 10 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | France | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 75 | +3 laps | 1:42:35.720 | 3 laps | 1 lap | 1:16.540 | 180.008 | 17 | ||
| 11 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 75 | +3 laps | 1:42:40.560 | 3 laps | +4.840 | 1:17.320 | 179.866 | 16 | ||
| 12 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Germany | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 74 | +4 laps | 1:42:42.800 | 4 laps | 1 lap | 1:17.930 | 177.404 | 20 | ||
| 13 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Goodyear | 74 | +4 laps | 1:42:42.990 | 4 laps | +0.190 | 1:16.980 | 177.398 | 18 | ||
| DNF | 31 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 71 | Engine | 1:18.260 | 23 | ||||||
| DNF | 16 | René Arnoux | France | Renault | Michelin | 67 | Tyre | 1:15.310 | 10 | ||||||
| DNF | 27 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 63 | Suspension | 1:16.840 | 19 | ||||||
| DNF | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 61 | Ignition | 1:16.920 | 14 | ||||||
| DNF | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Germany | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 57 | Accident | 1:17.500 | 24 | ||||||
| DNF | 15 | Jean Pierre Jabouille | France | Renault | Michelin | 47 | Engine | 1:15.150 | 1 | ||||||
| DNF | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Ford | Goodyear | 45 | Accident | 1:14.470 | 6 | ||||||
| DNF | 3 | Didier Pironi | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 25 | Throttle | 1:16.230 | 7 | ||||||
| DNF | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 16 | Accident | 1:17.460 | 15 | ||||||
| DNF | 25 | Patrick Depailler | France | Ligier Ford | Goodyear | 4 | Accident | 1:22.500 | 5 | ||||||
| DNF | 17 | Jan Lammers | Netherlands | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 2 | Accident | 1:25.280 | 21 | ||||||
| DNQ | 22 | Derek Daly | Ireland | Ensign Ford | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Italy | Merzario Ford | Goodyear |