Race results
Race startFebruary 3, 1979 at 21:00Brasilia Standard Time
| POS. | NO. | Driver | Team | TIME | Laps | Grid | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:40:09.64 | 40 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 25 | Patrick Depailler | Ligier | +5.280 | 40 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Team Lotus | +44.140 | 40 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell | +1:25.880 | 40 | 8 | 3 |
| 5 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | +1 Lap | 39 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 11 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | +1 Lap | 39 | 6 | 1 |
| 7 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows | +1 Lap | 39 | 19 | 0 |
| 8 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | +1 Lap | 39 | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | +1 Lap | 39 | 16 | 0 |
| 10 | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | +1 Lap | 39 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi | +1 Lap | 39 | 9 | 0 |
| 12 | 18 | Elio de Angelis | Shadow | +1 Lap | 39 | 20 | 0 |
| 13 | 22 | Derek Daly | Ensign | +1 Lap | 39 | 23 | 0 |
| 14 | 17 | Jan Lammers | Shadow | +1 Lap | 39 | 21 | 0 |
| 15 | 28 | Clay Regazzoni | Williams | +2 Laps | 38 | 17 | 0 |
| - | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams | DNF (Fuel system) | 33 | 13 | 0 |
| - | 9 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | ATS | DNF (Steering) | 31 | 24 | 0 |
| - | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | DNF (Spun off) | 28 | 11 | 0 |
| - | 20 | James Hunt | Wolf | DNF (Steering) | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| - | 8 | Patrick Tambay | McLaren | DNF (Collision) | 7 | 18 | 0 |
| - | 5 | Niki Lauda | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | DNF (Gearbox) | 5 | 12 | 0 |
| - | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Alfa Romeo | DNF (Accident) | 5 | 22 | 0 |
| - | 1 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus | DNF (Fuel leak) | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| - | 4 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell | DNF (Electrical) | 0 | 15 | 0 |