Round 1 · 21 January 1979
1979 Argentine Grand Prix: results
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) won the 1979 Argentine Grand Prix, round 1 of the championship, held on 21 January 1979 at Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez (Argentina), starting from position 1. Carlos Reutemann (Team Lotus) and John Watson (McLaren) completed the podium. He won from pole.
Final classification
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Time / gap | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1 | 1:36:03.210 | 9 | Finished |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Team Lotus | 3 | +14.940 s | 6 | Finished |
| 3 | John Watson | McLaren | 6 | +88.810 s | 4 | Finished |
| 4 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 2 | +101.720 s | 3 | Finished |
| 5 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 7 | +1 Lap | 2 | +1 Lap |
| 6 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 11 | +1 Lap | 1 | +1 Lap |
| 7 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 16 | +1 Lap | — | +1 Lap |
| 8 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 14 | +2 Laps | — | +2 Laps |
| 9 | Alan Jones | Williams | 15 | +2 Laps | — | +2 Laps |
| 10 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 17 | +2 Laps | — | +2 Laps |
| 11 | Derek Daly | Ensign | 24 | +2 Laps | — | +2 Laps |
| 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 10 | — | — | Engine |
| 13 | Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | 19 | — | — | Suspension |
| 14 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 21 | — | — | Transmission |
| 15 | James Hunt | Wolf | 18 | — | — | Electrical |
| 16 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 4 | — | — | Engine |
| 17 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 12 | — | — | Engine |
| 18 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 23 | — | — | Fuel system |
| 19 | René Arnoux | Renault | 25 | — | — | Engine |
| 20 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 5 | — | — | Collision |
| 21 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 8 | — | — | Collision |
| 22 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 9 | — | — | Collision |
| 23 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 20 | — | — | Collision |
| 24 | Arturo Merzario | Merzario | 22 | — | — | Collision |
| 25 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 13 | — | — | Accident |
| 26 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | — | — | — | Withdrew |