The 1979 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 January 1979 at the Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires. The race had to be restarted because there was a huge crash at the second of the very fast esses after the pit straight that took off a number of drivers, including Jody Scheckter, Nelson Piquet, John Watson, Patrick Tambay and Mario Andretti.
After qualifying, James Hunt's WR7 was declared illegal, as the clutch-driven impeller blades which drew air through the air coiler were ruled an 'aerodynamic device'. Wolf mechanics modified the fan, and the car was allowed to start.
Classification
Qualifying classification
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;"
!Pos.
!No.
!Driver
!Constructor
!Time
!Grid
|-
!1
|26
| Jacques Laffite
|Ligier-Ford
|1:44.20
|1
|-
!2
|25
| Patrick Depailler
|Ligier-Ford
|1:45.24
|2
|-
!3
|2
| Carlos Reutemann
|Lotus-Ford
|1:45.34
|3
|-
!4
|4
| Jean-Pierre Jarier
|Tyrrell-Ford
|1:45.36
|4
|-
!5
|11
| Jody Scheckter
|Ferrari
|1:45.58
|5
|-
!6
|7
| John Watson
|McLaren-Ford
|1:45.76
|6
|-
!7
|1
| Mario Andretti
|Lotus-Ford
|1:45.96
|7
|-
!8
|3
| Didier Pironi
|Tyrrell-Ford
|1:46,43
|8
|-
!9
|8
| Patrick Tambay
|McLaren-Ford
|1:46.56
|9
|-
!10
|12
| Gilles Villeneuve
|Ferrari
|1:46.88
|10
|-
!11
|14
| Emerson Fittipaldi
|Fittipaldi-Ford
|1:47.15
|11
|-
!12
|15
| Jean-Pierre Jabouille
|Renault
|1:47.46
|12
|-
!13
|29
| Riccardo Patrese
|Arrows-Ford
|1:48.33
|
|-
!14
|30
| Jochen Mass
|Arrows-Ford
|1:48.34
|13
|-
!15
|27
| Alan Jones
|Williams-Ford
|1:48.44
|14
|-
!16
|17
| Elio de Angelis
|Shadow-Ford
|1:48.51
|15
|-
!17
|28
| Clay Regazzoni
|Williams-Ford
|1:48.64
|16
|-
!18
|20
| James Hunt
|Wolf-Ford
|1:48.77
|17
|-
!19
|31
| Héctor Rebaque
|Lotus-Ford
|1:49.36
|18
|-
!20
|6
| Nelson Piquet
|Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|1:49.49
|19
|-
!21
|18
| Jan Lammers
|Shadow-Ford
|1:49.51
|20
|-
!22
|24
| Arturo Merzario
|Merzario-Ford
|1:50.26
|21
|-
!23
|5
| Niki Lauda
|Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|1:50.29
|22
|-
!24
|22
| Derek Daly
|Ensign-Ford
|1:51.05
|23
|-
!25
|9
| Hans-Joachim Stuck
|ATS-Ford
|1:51.28
|
|-
!26
|16
| René Arnoux
|Renault
|1:51.52
|24
|}
Race classification
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Tyre !! Laps !! Time/Retired !! Grid !! Points
|-
! 1
| 26
| Jacques Laffite
| Ligier-Ford
|
| 53
| 1:36:03.21
| 1
| 9
|-
! 2
| 2
| Carlos Reutemann
| Lotus-Ford
|
| 53
| +14.94 secs
| 3
| 6
|-
! 3
| 7
| John Watson
| McLaren-Ford
|
| 53
| +1:28.81
| 6
| 4
|-
! 4
| 25
| Patrick Depailler
| Ligier-Ford
|
| 53
| +1:41.72
| 2
| 3
|-
! 5
| 1
| Mario Andretti
| Lotus-Ford
|
| 52
| +1 Lap
| 7
| 2
|-
! 6
| 14
| Emerson Fittipaldi
| Fittipaldi-Ford
|
| 52
| +1 Lap
| 11
| 1
|-
! 7
| 18
| Elio de Angelis
| Shadow-Ford
|
| 52
| +1 Lap
| 16
|
|-
! 8
| 30
| Jochen Mass
| Arrows-Ford
|
| 51
| +2 Laps
| 14
|
|-
! 9
| 27
| Alan Jones
| Williams-Ford
|
| 51
| +2 Laps
| 15
|
|-
! 10
| 28
| Clay Regazzoni
| Williams-Ford
|
| 51
| +2 Laps
| 17
|
|-
! 11
| 22
| Derek Daly
| Ensign-Ford
|
| 51
| +2 Laps
| 24
|
|-
!
| 12
| Gilles Villeneuve
| Ferrari
|
| 48
| Engine
| 10
|
|-
!
| 31
| Héctor Rebaque
| Lotus-Ford
|
| 46
| Suspension
| 19
|
|-
!
| 17
| Jan Lammers
| Shadow-Ford
|
| 42
| Transmission
| 21
|
|-
!
| 20
| James Hunt
| Wolf-Ford
|
| 41
| Electrical
| 18
|
|-
!
| 4
| Jean-Pierre Jarier
| Tyrrell-Ford
|
| 15
| Engine
| 4
|
|-
!
| 15
| Jean-Pierre Jabouille
| Renault
|
| 15
| Engine
| 12
|
|-
!
| 5
| Niki Lauda
| Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
| 8
| Fuel System
| 23
|
|-
!
| 16
| René Arnoux
| Renault
|
| 6
| Engine
| 26
|
|-
!
| 11
| Jody Scheckter
| Ferrari
|
| 0
| Collision
| 5
|
|-
!
| 3
| Didier Pironi
| Tyrrell-Ford
|
| 0
| Collision
| 8
|
|-
!
| 8
| Patrick Tambay
| McLaren-Ford
|
| 0
| Collision
| 9
|
|-
!
| 6
| Nelson Piquet
| Brabham-Alfa Romeo
|
| 0
| Collision
| 20
|
|-
!
| 24
| Arturo Merzario
| Merzario-Ford
|
| 0
| Collision
| 22
|
|-
!
| 29
| Riccardo Patrese
| Arrows-Ford
|
| 0
| Accident
| 13
|
|-
!
| 9
| Hans-Joachim Stuck
| ATS-Ford
|
| 0
|
| 25
|
|-
!colspan="9"|
|}
Notes
- This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Dutch driver and future Le Mans winner Jan Lammers and Italian driver and future Grand Prix winner Elio de Angelis.
- This was the 1st Grand Slam for Ligier and for a French driver.
- This was the 50th Grand Prix start for Ligier.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Driver
! Points
|-
|align="center"| 1
| Jacques Laffite
| 9
|-
|align="center"| 2
| Carlos Reutemann
| 6
|-
|align="center"| 3
| John Watson
| 4
|-
|align="center"| 4
| Patrick Depailler
| 3
|-
|align="center"| 5
| Mario Andretti
| 2
|-
!colspan=3|Source:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Constructor
! Points
|-
|align="center"| 1
| Ligier-Ford
| 12
|-
|align="center"| 2
| Lotus-Ford
| 8
|-
|align="center"| 3
| McLaren-Ford
| 4
|-
|align="center"| 4
| Fittipaldi-Ford
| 1
|-
!colspan=3|Source: