The 1979 USA West Grand Prix was Round 4 of the 1979 Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held on the streets of Long Beach, California, United States on Sunday, 8 April 1979. Gilles Villeneuve started on pole position for Ferrari and was the race winner.
1979 USA West 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 | 80 | 1:50:25.40 | 1:50:25.400 | - | - | 1:21.200 | 63 | 142.200 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | South Africa | Ferrari | Michelin | 80 | +29.380 | 1:50:54.780 | +29.380 | +29.380 | 1:21.280 | 141.573 | 3 | 6 | |
| 3 | 27 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 80 | +59.690 | 1:51:25.090 | +59.690 | +30.310 | 1:21.810 | 140.931 | 10 | 4 | |
| 4 | 1 | Mario Andretti | United States | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 80 | +1:04.330 | 1:51:29.730 | +1:04.330 | +4.640 | 1:21.710 | 140.833 | 6 | 3 | |
| 5 | 25 | Patrick Depailler | France | Ligier Ford | Goodyear | 80 | +1:23.520 | 1:51:48.920 | +1:23.520 | +19.190 | 1:21.410 | 140.430 | 4 | 2 | |
| 6 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 79 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:21.960 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 7 | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 78 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:23.260 | 20 | ||||
| 8 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | 78 | +2 laps | 1:51:02.800 | 2 laps | +1:51:02.800 | 1:22.990 | 137.889 | 12 | ||
| 9 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Germany | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 78 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1:23.010 | 13 | |||||
| DSQ | 3 | Didier Pironi | France | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 72 | Disqualified | 1:22.730 | 17 | ||||||
| DNF | 31 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 71 | Accident | 1:22.730 | 23 | ||||||
| DNF | 22 | Derek Daly | Ireland | Ensign Ford | Goodyear | 69 | Accident | 1:24.930 | 24 | ||||||
| DNF | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 62 | Injection | 1:23.200 | 18 | ||||||
| DSQ | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Germany | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 49 | Disqualified | 1:24.220 | 21 | ||||||
| DNF | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Switzerland | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 48 | Engine | 1:23.210 | 15 | ||||||
| DNF | 17 | Jan Lammers | Netherlands | Shadow Ford | Goodyear | 47 | Suspension | 1:22.440 | 14 | ||||||
| DNF | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 40 | Brakes | 1:23.090 | 9 | ||||||
| DNF | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 21 | Transmission | 1:21.940 | 2 | ||||||
| DNF | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Goodyear | 19 | Transmission | 1:23.330 | 16 | ||||||
| DNF | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Italy | Merzario Ford | Goodyear | 13 | Engine | 1:24.330 | 22 | ||||||
| DNF | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Ford | Goodyear | 8 | Brakes | 1:22.800 | 5 | ||||||
| DNF | 20 | James Hunt | Great Britain | Wolf Ford | Goodyear | 1 | Transmission | 8 | |||||||
| DNF | 5 | Niki Lauda | Austria | Brabham Alfa Romeo | Goodyear | Accident | 11 | ||||||||
| DNF | 8 | Patrick Tambay | France | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | Collision | 19 | ||||||||
| WIT | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | France | Renault | Michelin | ||||||||||
| WIT | 16 | René Arnoux | France | Renault | Michelin |
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | 1:20.186 | 1:18.825 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Lotus Ford | 1:20.126 | 1:18.886 | +0.041 |
| 3 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | South Africa | Ferrari | 1:20.291 | 1:18.911 | +0.086 |
| 4 | 25 | Patrick Depailler | France | Ligier Ford | 1:20.867 | 1:19.025 | +0.200 |
| 5 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Ford | 1:20.225 | 1:19.032 | +0.207 |
| 6 | 1 | Mario Andretti | United States | Lotus Ford | 1:20.574 | 1:19.454 | +0.629 |
| 7 | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | France | Tyrrell Ford | 1:20.916 | 1:19.580 | +0.755 |
| 8 | 20 | James Hunt | Great Britain | Wolf Ford | 1:20.913 | 1:19.643 | +0.818 |
| 9 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | 1:21.831 | 1:19.727 | +0.902 |
| 10 | 27 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | 1:22.532 | 1:19.910 | +1.085 |
| 11 | 5 | Niki Lauda | Austria | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 1:21.436 | 1:20.041 | +1.216 |
| 12 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 1:21.565 | 1:20.456 | +1.631 |
| 13 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Germany | Arrows Ford | 1:22.350 | 1:20.608 | +1.783 |
| 14 | 17 | Jan Lammers | Netherlands | Shadow Ford | 1:23.161 | 1:20.740 | +1.915 |
| 15 | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Switzerland | Williams Ford | 1:21.767 | 1:20.768 | +1.943 |
| 16 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | 1:22.498 | 1:21.033 | +2.208 |
| 17 | 3 | Didier Pironi | France | Tyrrell Ford | 1:22.000 | 1:21.192 | +2.367 |
| 18 | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | 1:23.725 | 1:21.304 | +2.479 |
| 19 | 8 | Patrick Tambay | France | McLaren Ford | 1:22.569 | 1:21.411 | +2.586 |
| 20 | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Shadow Ford | 1:23.433 | 1:21.961 | +3.136 |
| 21 | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Germany | ATS Ford | 1:23.724 | 1:22.828 | +4.003 |
| 22 | 24 | Arturo Merzario | Italy | Merzario Ford | - | 1:22.938 | +4.113 |
| 23 | 31 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Lotus Ford | 1:24.808 | 1:22.990 | +4.165 |
| 24 | 22 | Derek Daly | Ireland | Ensign Ford | 1:25.076 | 1:23.888 | +5.063 |
| WIT | 16 | René Arnoux | France | Renault | 1:22.088 | - | +3.263 |
| DNS | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | France | Renault | 1:21.635 | - | +2.810 |