Round 3 · 3 March 1979
1979 South African Grand Prix: results
Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) won the 1979 South African Grand Prix, round 3 of the championship, held on 3 March 1979 at Kyalami (South Africa), starting from position 3. Jody Scheckter (Ferrari) and Jean-Pierre Jarier (Tyrrell) completed the podium. Pole position went to Jean-Pierre Jabouille.
Final classification
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Time / gap | Pts | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 3 | 1:41:49.960 | 9 | Finished |
| 2 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 2 | +3.420 s | 6 | Finished |
| 3 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 9 | +22.110 s | 4 | Finished |
| 4 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | 8 | +27.880 s | 3 | Finished |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Team Lotus | 11 | +66.970 s | 2 | Finished |
| 6 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 4 | +1 Lap | 1 | +1 Lap |
| 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 12 | +1 Lap | — | +1 Lap |
| 8 | James Hunt | Wolf | 13 | +1 Lap | — | +1 Lap |
| 9 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 22 | +2 Laps | — | +2 Laps |
| 10 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 17 | +3 Laps | — | +3 Laps |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 16 | +3 Laps | — | +3 Laps |
| 12 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 20 | +4 Laps | — | +4 Laps |
| 13 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 18 | +4 Laps | — | +4 Laps |
| 14 | Hector Rebaque | Team Lotus | 23 | — | — | Engine |
| 15 | René Arnoux | Renault | 10 | — | — | Tyre |
| 16 | Alan Jones | Williams | 19 | — | — | Suspension |
| 17 | John Watson | McLaren | 14 | — | — | Ignition |
| 18 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 24 | — | — | Accident |
| 19 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1 | — | — | Engine |
| 20 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 6 | — | — | Accident |
| 21 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 7 | — | — | Throttle |
| 22 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 15 | — | — | Accident |
| 23 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 5 | — | — | Accident |
| 24 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 21 | — | — | Accident |