Villeneuve masters Long Beach

Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari 312T4, takes the first pole position of his Formula One career, sets the fastest lap of the race, and wins the 1979 US Grand Prix West, held in the streets of Long Beach, California. For the spectacular Canadian who reached F1 in the second half of 1977, it is already the third Grand Prix victory.

Villeneuve’s win came by almost half a minute over team mate Jody Scheckter, and Alan Jones joined them on the podium for Williams. It was thus the third F1 win of Villeneuve’s career, after the Canadian Grand Prix in 1978 and the South African Grand Prix in 1979.

After a season long battle for the championship, Jody Scheckter, who was very consistent – won in Belgium, Monaco and Italy – and enjoyed better reliability than his flamboyant team mate (picture below), took the 1979 Drivers’ World Championship. Villeneuve was second, while Ferrari won the Constructors’ Championship.