Gilles Villeneuve’s Long Beach masterclass

On 8 April 1979, Gilles Villeneuve produced one of the most complete weekends of his Formula 1 career. At the United States Grand Prix West in Long Beach, the Ferrari driver took pole, led all 80 laps, set fastest lap and won, with team-mate Jody Scheckter making it a Ferrari one-two.

Long Beach was never a place for loose work, and Villeneuve got through it with almost none. He started from pole with a 1:18.825 lap, controlled the race from the front and finished 29.380 seconds clear of Scheckter, while Alan Jones took third for Williams. For a driver often remembered mainly for flair, this was a neat and disciplined piece of winning.

The timing mattered too. Villeneuve had already won in South Africa one race earlier, so Long Beach became his second straight victory and another early statement for Ferrari’s 312T4. In a season that ended with Ferrari taking both world titles, this was one of the weekends that showed the car was more than competitive. It was ready to shape the championship.

Long Beach became the only Grand Slam of Villeneuve’s F1 career. Because his 1978 win in Montreal had already made him the first Canadian to win a Formula 1 world championship race, this also stands as the first Grand Slam by a Canadian. It remains one of the clearest snapshots of Villeneuve at his sharpest: fast, committed and, for one afternoon, completely in control.