1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix

The 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix was a non-championship Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola on 16 September 1979.

1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix
Non-championship race in the 1979 Formula One season
Race details
Date	16 September 1979
Official name	Dino Ferrari Grand Prix
Location	Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.060 km (3.144 miles)
Distance	40 laps, 202.40 km (125.76 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:32.91
Fastest lap
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:33.61
Podium
First	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo
Second	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Cosworth
Third	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari

The event was held in order for the Imola circuit to qualify for World Championship status from the 1980 season onwards, as part of plans to share the Italian Grand Prix with Monza in alternate years. The 1980 Italian Grand Prix was indeed held at Imola, but the race returned permanently to Monza in 1981, with Imola instead given its own race, the San Marino Grand Prix, which was held until 2006.

Sixteen cars entered the race; the eventual winner was Niki Lauda, driving a Brabham-Alfa Romeo. Carlos Reutemann was second in a Lotus-Ford, while Jody Scheckter, who had won the Drivers' Championship at Monza the previous week, was third in his Ferrari. This was the last F1 race in which Brabham used Alfa Romeo engines, and Lauda's last race with the team before he quit the sport during practice for the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks later.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:32.910	—
2	11	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	1:33.240	+0.330
3	2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Cosworth	1:33.937	+1.027
4	5	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	1:34.808	+1.898
5	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Cosworth	1:35.265	+2.355
6	36	Vittorio Brambilla	Alfa Romeo	1:35.375	+2.465
7	20	Keke Rosberg	Theodore-Ford	1:35.649	+2.739
8	4	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Cosworth	1:35.926	+3.016
9	14	Alex Ribeiro	Fittipaldi-Cosworth	1:37.285	+4.375
10	39	Giacomo Agostini	Williams-Cosworth	1:38.554	+5.644
11	35	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:39.082	+6.172
12	40	Gimax	Williams-Cosworth	1:40.066	+7.156
13	24	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Cosworth	1:41.863	+8.953
14	18	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Cosworth	1:58.623	+25.713
15	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Cosworth	-	-
16	19	Beppe Gabbiani	Shadow-Cosworth	-	-
Source:

Race

Pos	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid
1	Niki Lauda	Brabham-Alfa Romeo	40	1:03:55.89	4
2	Carlos Reutemann	Lotus-Cosworth	40	+ 8.09	3
3	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	40	+ 26.22	2
4	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Cosworth	40	+ 39.76	5
5	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell-Cosworth	40	+ 47.40	8
6	Keke Rosberg	Wolf-Cosworth	40	+ 1:08.33	7
7	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	40	+ 1:14.38	1
8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren-Cosworth	39	+ 1 Lap	15
9	Vittorio Brambilla	Alfa Romeo	39	+ 1 Lap	6
10	Giacomo Agostini	Williams-Cosworth	39	+ 1 Lap	10
11	Arturo Merzario	Merzario-Cosworth	38	+ 2 Laps	13
Ret	Gimax	Williams-Cosworth	32	Clutch	12
Ret	Alex Ribeiro	Fittipaldi-Cosworth	26	Gearbox	9
Ret	Elio de Angelis	Shadow-Cosworth	17	Spun off	14
Ret	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	4	Engine	11
DNS	Beppe Gabbiani	Shadow-Cosworth	0	Engine	16