Complete calendar with 15 races
The 1979 Formula 1 season witnessed Ferrari's remarkable resurgence as Jody Scheckter claimed the World Championship at his first attempt for the Scuderia, leading home teammate Gilles Villeneuve in a perfectly executed one-two finish at Monza that secured both titles. The South African's tactical intelligence and Villeneuve's selfless support delivered Ferrari's last Drivers' Championship for 21 years, marking both the pinnacle of the ground effect era and the end of an epoch for the famous Italian team.
Scheckter's three victories - in Belgium, Monaco, and Italy - combined with consistent points scoring throughout the season gave him 51 points and a narrow four-point margin over Villeneuve in the final standings. The partnership between the calculating South African and the wildly spectacular French-Canadian proved perfect, with Villeneuve's speed keeping rivals honest while Scheckter maximized every points-scoring opportunity. At Monza, Villeneuve honored team orders to hold position behind Scheckter, ensuring Ferrari's championship triumph on home soil and demonstrating the kind of team discipline that championship campaigns required.
Gilles Villeneuve emerged as one of Formula 1's most spectacular performers, winning three races - South Africa, Long Beach, and the United States - with displays of breathtaking car control and fearless commitment that made him a legend. His wheel-to-wheel battle with René Arnoux at Dijon for second place produced one of the most thrilling sequences in motorsport history, the two drivers exchanging positions multiple times in the closing laps with barely a paint scrape between them. Villeneuve's willingness to subordinate his own championship ambitions to Scheckter's at Monza exemplified his team-first mentality, though many felt he deserved to fight for the title on merit.
The season's early phase was dominated by Ligier's innovative JS11, with Jacques Laffite winning the opening two rounds in Argentina and Brazil to establish the French team as championship favorites. The car's superior ground effect aerodynamics initially gave Ligier a significant advantage, but development stagnated as rivals caught up. Laffite would add just one more victory in Germany, finishing fourth in the championship with 36 points as Ligier's early promise faded. Teammate Patrick Depailler won in Spain before suffering career-threatening leg injuries in a hang-gliding accident, demonstrating the dangers drivers faced even away from the circuit.
Alan Jones and Williams emerged as the season's revelation, the Australian winning four races in the second half of the season - Britain, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands - as the Williams FW07 evolved into the grid's fastest car. Jones's breakthrough came at Silverstone where he dominated in front of his adopted British fans, and his late-season charge nearly cost Scheckter the championship. The Williams team's rapid development, guided by technical director Patrick Head and designer Frank Dernie, signaled a shift in Formula 1's competitive order that would dominate the early 1980s.
Clay Regazzoni scored Williams's maiden Grand Prix victory at Silverstone, the Swiss veteran's fourth career win proving he remained competitive at 39 years old. The emotional triumph for both driver and team marked a milestone in Williams's evolution from struggling independent to championship contender. Regazzoni's experience and development work on the FW07 laid the groundwork for Jones's subsequent successes and the team's future dominance.
The ground effect era reached its zenith in 1979, with every competitive team running cars featuring underfloor venturi tunnels and sliding skirts. The aerodynamic arms race generated incredible cornering speeds but also created significant physical demands on drivers, who endured high G-forces and increasingly stiff suspension setups required to maintain optimal ride height. The technological escalation would eventually prompt regulatory intervention as concerns mounted about safety and escalating costs.
Mario Andretti's title defense with Lotus faltered as the team struggled to recapture their 1978 form. The American managed just a single podium finish, highlighting how quickly competitive advantage could evaporate in Formula 1's relentless development race. Colin Chapman's team, devastated by Ronnie Peterson's death and struggling with the increasingly complex Lotus 80 design, fell from dominance to mid-field competitiveness in a single season.
Ferrari secured the Constructors' Championship with 113 points, their third consecutive title and final championship until 1982. The success of the 312T4, designed by Mauro Forghieri, represented the culmination of Ferrari's ground effect development program. Scheckter's championship - achieved through consistency rather than outright dominance - proved to be Ferrari's last Drivers' title until Michael Schumacher's 2000 triumph, making him both the Scuderia's most recent champion of the 20th century and the last to win for Ferrari in the 1970s.
The season's 15 races across four continents delivered competitive variety with ten different winners from seven teams, showcasing Formula 1's technical diversity and driver quality. Scheckter's tactical championship, Villeneuve's selfless support, and Williams's emergence as the sport's newest powerhouse team marked 1979 as a transitional year - the end of Ferrari's golden period and the beginning of a new era dominated by British ground effect specialists. Scheckter would retire after a winless 1980 season, while Villeneuve's legend would grow tragically short, but their partnership delivered Ferrari one final moment of glory before two decades in the championship wilderness.