1979 French Grand Prix

1979 French Grand Prix
Race 8 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
Race details
Date July 1, 1979
Location Dijon
Course length 3.801 km (2.361 miles)
Distance 80 laps, 304.08 km (188.88 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver Renault
Time 1:07.19
Fastest lap
Driver France René Arnoux Renault
Time 1:09.16 on lap 71
Podium
First Renault
Second Ferrari
Third Renault
Lap leaders

The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon-Prenois near Dijon, France.

It marked not just the first victory of a forced-induction car in Formula One since the Alfa Romeo 159's victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1951, but also the first victory of a turbocharged car in Formula One, with Renault overcoming the reliability problems that had initially plagued their car. For Jean-Pierre Jabouille it was a victory on home soil, driving a French car (Renault), on French tyres (Michelin), powered by a French engine (Renault), burning French fuel (Elf). Jabouille was the first Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix since Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1948.

The race featured one of the fiercest battles ever for second place, between Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve and Renault driver René Arnoux, who on several occasions during the final laps touched wheels and swapped positions. The fight is often cited as one of the most memorable pieces of racing in Formula One.[1] Villeneuve, who passed the finish line less than a quarter of a second ahead of Arnoux, later described the occasion as "my best memory of Grand Prix racing".[2]

  1. ^ "Autosport.com on the 1979 French Grand Prix". Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  2. ^ "Formula1.com on the 1979 French Grand Prix". Archived from the original on 8 July 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2009.