1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix

The I Gran Premio di Dino Ferrari, otherwise known as the 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix, was a non-Championship FIA Formula One race, staged at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari on the 16 September .D.S.J., 'Gran Premio Dino Ferrari di Formula One: Lauda quits Brabham on a winning note', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/10/1979), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1979/48/gran-premio-dino-ferrari-di-formula-one, (Accessed 20/01/2019) The race would be the last for Niki Lauda with , with the Austrian double World Champion signing off with victory.
Qualifying would see the two s duel for pole position a week after they had swept to victory in Monza, with Gilles Villeneuve emerging ahead by 0.33s. Newly crowned Champion Jody Scheckter therefore started second, while Lauda would share the second row with Carlos Reutemann.
It was grid order as the field pulled away at the start, with Villeneuve sweeping into Tamburello ahead of Scheckter, while Reutemann kept Lauda at bay. Those four proceeded to pull clear over the opening tour, leaving Riccardo Patrese to lead the rest of the field in his .
The top four would run nose-to-tail throughout the early stages, until Reutemann's picked up a bad vibration. Lauda duly took up the anti-Ferrari charge as the Argentine dropped back, and would soon elbow his way past Scheckter and into second as the South African hit tyre trouble.
Villeneuve was also suffering with his Michelin tyres, although he was far more robust in his defence, leading to an epic duel for the lead. They would fight for three laps until Villeneuve finally made a mistake, punting the Brabham up the back after misjudging the amount of grip he had.
Miraculously Lauda would scramble through without damage or major loss of time, while Villeneuve had to limp back to the pits with his nose out of joint. He rejoined in tenth and a lap down, but soon came charging back through the field to challenge for the top six late on.
With that the race was run, with Lauda eventually limping home with a broken exhaust some seven seconds clear of Reutemann. Indeed, the Argentine had been able to sneak ahead of Scheckter when the South African hit tyre trouble, and only the shortened 40 lap race distance prevented Patrese challenging for third late on. Jean-Pierre Jarier was next ahead of Keke Rosberg, while Villeneuve ultimately had to settle for seventh having set a new lap record.
==Background==
Formula One reached an interesting impasse during the late 1970s surrounding its oldest events, with the loss of several traditional venues across the decade, most notably the Nürburgring, prompting a lot of either investment or speculation. In the Autodromo Dino Ferrari near Imola, Italy, made its bid to replace one such venue, intending to take the Italian Grand Prix from its traditional home of Monza. The FIA had given initial approval for the change to be made for the 1980 season, although the Imola circuit had to host an F1 or equivalent race to prove it met the organisations increasingly effective safety standards.
The I Gran Premio di Dino Ferrari was the result of the FIA's demand, which would see F1 equipment run competitively at the Imola circuit for the first time since it was modified in 1974. The circuit itself was a mix of sweeping bends and tight, narrow, chicanes, which had been added to the old circuit to slow cars down. Otherwise the circuit was unchanged from its only other F1 race, staged in 1963 and won by Jim Clark in a .
In terms of an entry list sixteen drivers would be given the chance to compete, with over half the field heralding from Italy. Indeed, were keen to impress, and so sent both Vittorio Brambilla and Bruno Giacomelli to the race with new cars, while the highly rated Riccardo Patrese convinced to let him race the British squad's spare A1B. , meanwhile, gave reserve driver to Beppe Gabbiani a run-out alongside Elio de Angelis, Arturo Merzario brought his self-built creation along, while Giacomo Agostini entered two ex-factory FW06s for himself and Carlo "Gimax" Franchi.
However, the undoubted fan favourites for victory were the two factory drivers with Gilles Villeneuve and Jody Scheckter both using the cars that had swept to a one-two victory in Monza a week earlier. Furthermore, with neither the factory Williams squad, or the team bothering to compete, the Scuderia had an almost clean run to victory on pace alone. Indeed, only the increasing tension between Villeneuve and Scheckter looked likely to threaten their likely one-two, with Villeneuve free to race the new World Champion for the rest of the season.
Other regulars from the 1979 F1 circus included a lone for Jean-Pierre Jarier, as well as a single for Carlos Reutemann. Keke Rosberg also made the trip with his , Niki Lauda would give his Alfa engined a final run, while Patrick Tambay was sent to represent , albeit in the un-competitive M28. Completing the entry would be Alex Ribeiro, who took over Emerson Fittipaldi's #14 as the Brazilian squad assessed whether they should run a second car in the final two rounds in North America.
===Entry list===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
2 	Carlos Reutemann 	Martini Racing Team Lotus 	 	79 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
4 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell Team 	 	009 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
5 	Niki Lauda 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT48 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
8 	Patrick Tambay 	Marlboro Team McLaren 	 	M28 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
11 	Jody Scheckter 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312T4 	 	015 F12 3.0 	
12 	Gilles Villeneuve 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312T4 	 	015 F12 3.0 	
14 	Alex Ribeiro 	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F5A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
18 	Elio de Angelis 	Interscope Shadow Racing Team	 	DN9B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
19 	Beppe Gabbiani 	Interscope Shadow Racing Team	 	DN9B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
20 	Keke Rosberg 	Olympus Cameras Wolf Racing 	 	WR9 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
24 	Arturo Merzario 	Team Merzario 	 	A1B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
29 	Riccardo Patrese 	Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	 	A1B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
35 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Autodelta 	 	179 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
36 	Vittorio Brambilla	Autodelta 	 	177 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
39 	Giacomo Agostini 	Team Agostini Marlboro 	 	FW06 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
40 	Gimax 	Team Agostini Marlboro 	 	FW06 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source:
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
Qualifying for the inaugural Dino Ferrari Grand Prix was staged across a single session after practice on the Saturday before the race, with all sixteen entries set to qualify for the grid. Conditions were ideal for the single two hour session, with no reference time for drivers to aim for, being the first F1 event to take place at the circuit for sixteen years.
===Saturday Qualifying===
Qualifying would, ultimately, be dominated by the two s, with Gilles Villeneuve and Jody Scheckter exchanging fastest times throughout the session. Ultimately, it was Villeneuve who emerged as the quickest, dipping into the 1:32.00s with a 1:32.91 to claim pole towards the end of the day, with Scheckter unable to respond. Regardless, the South African World Champion would start from a very safe second, with only one other driver in the 1:33.00s.
That driver was ex-Ferrari racer Carlos Reutemann in the lone , who fended off tifosi traitor Niki Lauda by almost a full second. They were followed by Riccardo Patrese in the , before the first of the factory cars appeared in the form of Vittorio Brambilla. Elsewhere Patrick Tambay failed to set a time as his had some major dramas, while Beppe Gabbiani was forced to withdraw entirely after destroying two engines in his .
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Gap 	
1 	12 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	1:32.91 	 	
2 	11 	Jody Scheckter 	 	1:33.23 	+0.32s 	
3 	2 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	1:33.94 	+1.03s 	
4 	5 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:34.80 	+1.89s 	
5 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:35.26 	+2.35s 	
6 	36 	Vittorio Brambilla 	 	1:35.37 	+2.46s 	
7 	20 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:35.68 	+2.77s 	
8 	4 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	1:35.92 	+3.01s 	
9 	14 	Alex Ribeiro 	 	1:37.28 	+4.37s 	
10 	39 	Giacomo Agostini 	 	1:38.55 	+5.64s 	
11 	35 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:39.08T 	+6.17s 	
12 	40 	Gimax 	 	1:40.06 	+7.15s 	
13 	24 	Arturo Merzario 	 	1:41.86 	+8.95s 	
14 	18 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:58.62 	+25.71s 	
NC* 	8 	Patrick Tambay 	 	colspan="2" 	 	
DNS† 	19 	Beppe Gabbiani 	 	colspan="2" 	 	
Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', statsf1.com, (Chicane F1, 2016), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=qual, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', statsf1.com, (Chicane F1, 2016), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=qual, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', statsf1.com, (Chicane F1, 2016), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=qual, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', statsf1.com, (Chicane F1, 2016), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=qual, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', statsf1.com, (Chicane F1, 2016), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=qual, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', statsf1.com, (Chicane F1, 2016), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=qual, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', statsf1.com, (Chicane F1, 2016), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=qual, (Accessed 20/01/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
** Tambay failed to set a time but was allowed to start at the back of the grid.
*† Gabbiani failed to set a time due to an engine failure, and subsequently failed to make the start.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	
1 	5 	Niki Lauda 	 	40 	1:03:55.89 	4 	
2 	2 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	40 	+8.09s 	3 	
3 	11 	Jody Scheckter 	 	40 	+26.22s 	2 	
4 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	40 	+39.76s 	5 	
5 	4 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	40 	+47.40s 	8 	
6 	20 	Keke Rosberg 	 	40 	+1:08.33 	7 	
7 	12 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	40 	+1:14.38 	1 	
8 	8 	Patrick Tambay 	 	39 	+1 Lap 	15 	
9 	36 	Vittorio Brambilla 	 	39 	+1 Lap 	6 	
10 	39 	Giacomo Agostini 	 	39 	+1 Lap 	10 	
11 	24 	Arturo Merzario 	 	38 	+2 Laps 	13 	
Ret 	40 	Gimax 	 	32 	Clutch 	12 	
Ret 	14 	Alex Ribeiro 	 	26 	Gearbox 	9 	
Ret 	18 	Elio de Angelis 	 	17 	Spin 	11 	
Ret 	35T 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	4 	Engine 	11 	
DNS 	19 	Beppe Gabbiani 	 	 	 	 	
Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)	Source:'1979 Dino Ferrari GP: Classification', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1&type=res, (Accessed 20/01/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
==Milestones==
* First (and only) Dino Ferrari Grand Prix.'1979 Dino Ferrari GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1979&gp=Dino%20Ferrari%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 20/01/2019)
* Final Grand Prix start for Niki Lauda until the 1982 South African Grand Prix.
* Final race for a chassis powered by an engine.
* First race for Giacomo Agostini and Carlo "Gimax" Franchi.
* Lauda secured his second and final victory in a non-Championship Grand Prix.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:1979 Non-championship Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Italy
Category:1979 Formula One Season