1979 Brazilian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 2 of 15 in the 1979 Formula One season
Date	February 4, 1979
Location	São Paulo, Brazil
Course	Permanent race track 7.873 km (4.73 mi)
Distance	40 laps, 314.92 km (189.2 mi)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Time	2:23.07
Fastest lap
Driver	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Time	2:28.76 on lap 23
Podium
First	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford
Second	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford
Third	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford

The 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 4 February 1979 at Interlagos.

Race report[link]

The Ligier team dominated the race weekend with their superior ground-effect JS11. Frenchman Jacques Laffite dominated the race weekend and made the most of his superbly set-up Ligier by taking pole position, smashing Jean-Pierre Jarier's 1975 pole time by 7 seconds, setting fastest lap and leading every lap of the race up to the finish. Laffite's teammate Patrick Depailler started and finished 2nd. Laffite and the Ligier team completed their domination of the South American fortnight, Laffite also dominantly won in Argentina.

Classification[link]

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford	40	1:40:09.64	1	9
2	25	Patrick Depailler	Ligier-Ford	40	+5.28 secs	2	6
3	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Ford	40	+44.14 secs	3	4
4	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell-Ford	40	+1:25.88	8	3
5	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	39	+1 Lap	5	2
6	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	39	+1 Lap	6	1
7	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows-Ford	39	+1 Lap	19
8	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	39	+1 Lap	14
9	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	39	+1 Lap	16
10	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	39	+1 Lap	7
11	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi-Ford	39	+1 Lap	9
12	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Ford	39	+1 Lap	20
13	22	Derek Daly	Ensign-Ford	39	+1 Lap	23
14	17	Jan Lammers	Shadow-Ford	39	+1 Lap	21
15	28	Clay Regazzoni	Williams-Ford	38	+2 Laps	17
Ret	27	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	33	Fuel System	13
Ret	9	Hans Joachim Stuck	ATS-Ford	31	Steering	24
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	28	Spun Off	11
Ret	20	James Hunt	Wolf-Ford	7	Steering	10
Ret	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Ford	7	Collision	18
Ret	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	5	Gearbox	12
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	5	Accident	22
Ret	1	Mario Andretti	Lotus-Ford	2	Fuel Leak	4
Ret	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Ford	0	Electrical	15
DNQ	31	Hector Rebaque	Lotus-Ford
DNQ	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Ford

Notes[link]

• Lap Leaders: Jacques Laffite 40 laps (1-40).

Standings after the race[link]

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jacques Laffite 18 2 Carlos Reutemann 10 3 Patrick Depailler 9 4 John Watson 4 5 Didier Pironi 3

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ligier-Ford 27 2 Lotus-Ford 12 3 McLaren-Ford 4 4 Tyrrell-Ford 3 5 Ferrari 3

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Brazilian Grand Prix

Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Race information
Laps	71
Circuit length	4.309 km (2.677 mi)
Race length	305.909 km (190.067 mi)
Number of times held	40
First held	1972
Most wins (drivers)	Alain Prost (6)
Most wins (constructors)	McLaren (11)
Last race (2011):
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:11.918
Podium	1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:32:17.464 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 16.983 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes + 27.638
Fastest lap	Mark Webber Red Bull 1:15.324

The Brazilian Grand Prix (Portuguese: Grande Prêmio do Brasil) is a Formula One championship race which occurs at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, a district in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

History[link]

A Brazilian Grand Prix was first held at Interlagos in São Paulo in 1972, although it was not part of the Formula One World Championship. The following year, however, the race was first included in the official calendar. In 1978 the Brazilian Grand Prix moved to Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro, briefly returning to Interlagos for the next two seasons before becoming the sole host from 1981 onwards, due to safety concerns with the 5-mile Interlagos circuit and the slums of São Paulo being at odds with the glamorous image of Formula One. During the 1980's at Jacarepaguá most of the races were held in hot temperatures and were from a physical standpoint extremely brutal; most drivers who won the race on the very demanding circuit at Rio often finished in a state of exhaustion. 1989 was the last race at Jacarepaguá, this race was won by British driver Nigel Mansell in his Ferrari, the first Grand Prix won by a car with a semi-automatic gearbox. In 1990 the Grand Prix returned to a shortened Interlagos, where it has stayed since. The 2004 event marked the first time since the race's admission to the Formula One Championship calendar that it was not one of the first three rounds of the championship season. In 2005, for the first time, the Brazilian GP decided the World Championship, won by Fernando Alonso. On November 2, 2008, Felipe Massa became the latest home winner of the Brazilian GP; his victory in the last race of the 2008 season was still not enough to secure the championship as he lost to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.

The Interlagos circuit has created some of the most exciting and memorable races in recent Formula One history, and is regarded as one of the most challenging and exciting circuits on the F1 calendar. Along with Spa-Francorchamps, it is rare in that the circuit in its modern form is one of the few with a lengthy history in the sport not considered to have lost much of its mystique or challenge in its adaptation for the modern, much more safety-conscious era of 21st century Formula One.

Particularly memorable recent Brazilian Grands Prix include the 2003 race, which saw a maiden Grand Prix victory, highly unexpectedly, and amidst chaotic and unusual circumstances, for Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella. Heavy rain before and during the race produced problems with tyre selection which caught out many teams, which allowed the weak Minardi team to have a real chance for victory the only time ever, because they were the only team who prepared to the rainfall, but their drivers were also soon out. And treacherous track conditions caused multiple drivers to spin out of the race, including then-reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher, ending a remarkable run of race finishes dating back to the German Grand Prix 2001. Amidst this, a number of drivers, including McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard, led the race, and, when a heavy accident involving Renault's Fernando Alonso blocked the circuit and brought out the red flag, confusion reigned. Fisichella led the race at the time, having just overtaken Räikkönen; however, it was the Finn who was declared the race winner under the count back rule, which stipulates that the race result in such circumstances is taken from the running order two laps prior to the race being stopped. This decision was overturned days later in the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris after new evidence came to light which proved that Fisichella had crossed the finish line in the lead for a second time before Alonso's accident, and therefore was the rightful winner.

The 2001 Grand Prix was notable for marking the explosive arrival of Juan Pablo Montoya onto the Formula One scene. The Colombian driver stunningly muscled his way past Michael Schumacher early on and led easily until an incident in which Arrows' Jos Verstappen ran into the back of his Williams-BMW and ended his race. Montoya did eventually lay to rest the ghost of this event by winning the 2004 race in his final Grand Prix for Williams before moving to McLaren, holding off his future team-mate Kimi Räikkönen to take a hard-fought victory. The 2001 race is also notable for two brothers, Michael Schumacher and Ralf Schumacher, sharing a row on the starting grid for the first time.

Autódromo José Carlos Pace, the venue for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

At the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix, his third place behind winner Juan Pablo Montoya and championship rival Kimi Räikkönen enough to clinch the title with two races remaining.

For 2006 the Brazilian Grand Prix, as in 2004, was moved to the prestigious position of hosting the final round of the season, in what was Michael Schumacher's first farewell to Formula One, before his return for the 2010 Formula One season. Starting from 10th position on the grid, Schumacher did an astonishing job on his last race. He fell to 19th position on the ninth lap due to a flat tyre caused by a minor collision with Giancarlo Fisichella when the former was trying to overturn the latter. After pitting for a new tyre he returned to the race, just in front of leader Massa, so almost being overlapped, passing several drivers to take the chequered flag in fourth place, after a dazzling passing manoeuvre on Kimi Räikkönen. His performance was not enough to give 'Schumi' his eighth trophy, as Fernando Alonso, who needed only one point to become World Champion again, finished in second place. Brazilian Felipe Massa took pole position and led the race from start to finish for the second victory of his career and celebrations from his Brazilian supporters.

In March 2008, the mayor of São Paulo announced that he had signed a new deal with Bernie Ecclestone to continue the holding of the Brazilian Grand Prix. This deal allows the Brazilian race to be on the calendar until 2015. With this, Interlagos is set for major improvements in its pit and paddock facilities.^[1]

In the final race of the 2008 season at the Brazilian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton became the youngest Formula One world champion, to that point in Formula One history. After adopting a conservative strategy without risks for most of the race to secure at least 5th place, and the title, a late-race rain shower caused unexpected trouble. First, Hamilton was pushed down to 5th place by German Toyota driver Timo Glock who didn't enter the pits for intermediates like most other front runners. With just 3 laps to go, Sebastian Vettel then also overtook the Briton on the track which meant he would end up with equal points to Massa, but with one victory less. While everybody was focussing on the battle between these two (Vettel managed to stay in front in the end), against all expectations both were able to overtake Glock, who had lost all grip with his dry weather tyres, in the very last corner before the finishing straight. This meant that, while the McLaren driver's title rival Felipe Massa won the race in his Ferrari, Hamilton ultimately grabbed the fifth place he needed to become champion. Renault's Fernando Alonso, the previous youngest champion, was second ahead of Massa's team-mate Kimi Räikkönen and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

Five Brazilian drivers have won the Brazilian Grand Prix, with Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Felipe Massa each winning twice, and Jose Carlos Pace winning once. The most ever is by the Frenchman Alain Prost, who has won it 6 times (including 5 times at Jacarepaguá). Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann and Michael Schumacher have both won 4 times.

Winners[link]

Repeat winners (drivers)[link]

Embolded drivers are still competing in the Formula One championship
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

# Wins	Driver	Years Won
6	Alain Prost	1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990
4	Carlos Reutemann	1972, 1977, 1978, 1981
	Michael Schumacher	1994, 1995, 2000, 2002
2	Emerson Fittipaldi	1973, 1974
	Nelson Piquet	1983, 1986
	Nigel Mansell	1989, 1992
	Ayrton Senna	1991, 1993
	Mika Häkkinen	1998, 1999
	Juan Pablo Montoya	2004, 2005
	Felipe Massa	2006, 2008
	Mark Webber	2009, 2011

Repeat winners (constructors)[link]

Embolded constructors are still competing in the Formula One championship
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Number of wins	Constructor	Years Won
11	McLaren	1974, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005
10	Ferrari	1976, 1977, 1978, 1989, 1990, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008
6	Williams	1981, 1986, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2004
3	Brabham	1972, 1975, 1983
	Red Bull	2009, 2010, 2011
2	Benetton	1994, 1995
	Renault	1980, 1982

By year[link]

Jacarepaguá, used from 1978 and 1981-1989

The original Interlagos, used from 1972-1977 and 1979-1980

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location	Report
2011	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	Interlagos 4.3 km circuit	Report
2010	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault		Report
2009	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault		Report
2008	Felipe Massa	Ferrari		Report
2007	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari		Report
2006	Felipe Massa	Ferrari		Report
2005	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes		Report
2004	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW		Report
2003	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Ford		Report
2002	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari		Report
2001	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes		Report
2000	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari		Report
1999	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes		Report
1998	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes		Report
1997	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault		Report
1996	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault		Report
1995	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Renault		Report
1994	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Ford		Report
1993	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Ford		Report
1992	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Renault		Report
1991	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Honda		Report
1990	Alain Prost	Ferrari		Report
1989	Nigel Mansell	Ferrari	Jacarepaguá	Report
1988	Alain Prost	McLaren-Honda		Report
1987	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG		Report
1986	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda		Report
1985	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG		Report
1984	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG		Report
1983	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW		Report
1982	Alain Prost	Renault		Report
1981	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford		Report
1980	René Arnoux	Renault	Interlagos 8 km circuit	Report
1979	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Ford		Report
1978	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Jacarepaguá	Report
1977	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	Interlagos 8 km circuit	Report
1976	Niki Lauda	Ferrari		Report
1975	Carlos Pace	Brabham-Ford		Report
1974	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren-Ford		Report
1973	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford		Report
1972	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	Interlagos 8 km circuit	Report

Sponsors[link]

• Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 1999-2004
• Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil 2009-present

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brazilian Grand Prix

• Brazilian Grand Prix (Official Site)
• Satellite picture of Autódromo José Carlos Pace by Google Maps
• Satellite picture of Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet by Google Maps

Coordinates: 23°42′04″S 46°41′49″W / 23.701°S 46.697°W / -23.701; -46.697

Look up Grand Prix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Grand Prix (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃pʁi], meaning "Grand Prize"; plural Grands Prix) may refer to:

Competitions[link]

• Grand Prix (snooker), a former name of the World Open
• Six-red World Grand Prix, a former name of the Sangsom Six-red World Championship
• IAAF Grand Prix Final, an athletics competitions replaced by the IAAF World Athletics Final
• Grand Prix de Futsal, international futsal competition
• Grand Prix gliding
• Grand Prix tennis circuit
• ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
• FIVB World Grand Prix
• World Grand Prix (darts)
• Grand Prix (Magic: The Gathering)
• Aero GP, flying competition
• IAAF Super Grand Prix, a series of athletics meetings held until 2009
• Some of the meetings in the series that succeeded the IAAF Super Grand Prix
  • Adidas Grand Prix
  • British Grand Prix (athletics)
  • London Grand Prix
  • Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix
  • Shanghai Golden Grand Prix