Round 3 · 1979
South African Grand Prix
Kyalami, South Africa · Sat 3 Mar · 00:00 UTC
Race
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Time / Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 3 | 1:41:49.960 | 9 |
| 2 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 2 | +3.420 | 6 |
| 3 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | 9 | +22.110 | 4 |
| 4 | Mario Andretti | Lotus-Borgward | 8 | +27.880 | 3 |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Lotus-Borgward | 11 | +1:06.970 | 2 |
| 6 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 4 | +1 Lap | 1 |
| 7 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | 12 | +1 Lap | |
| 8 | James Hunt | Wolf | 13 | +1 Lap | |
| 9 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | 22 | +2 Laps | |
| 10 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | 17 | +3 Laps | |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 16 | +3 Laps | |
| 12 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | 20 | +4 Laps | |
| 13 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | 18 | +4 Laps | |
| — | Hector Rebaque | Lotus-Borgward | 23 | Engine | |
| — | René Arnoux | Renault | 10 | Tyre | |
| — | Alan Jones | Williams | 19 | Suspension | |
| — | John Watson | McLaren | 14 | Ignition | |
| — | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | 24 | Accident | |
| — | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 1 | Engine | |
| — | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 6 | Accident | |
| — | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | 7 | Throttle | |
| — | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | 15 | Accident | |
| — | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | 5 | Accident | |
| — | Jan Lammers | Shadow | 21 | Accident |