Ensign N179

Team Ensign had not built an F1 car since 1977 and when 1978 ended, most teams were developing new cars with ground effect as Team Lotus won the 1978 championship with a ground effect car. John Baldwin and Shahab Ahmed were tasked to design the car and the N179 was equipped with a new system of front radiators, which theoretically should have cooled the engine and allowed underside downforce. However, because it could no longer cool down the engine the drivers suffered from excessive heat in the cockpit.

Team Ensign had signed Irishman Derek Daly for 1979, but the team used the older Ensign N177 for the Argentine and Brazilian Grand Prix's. [3][4] The N179 made its debut at South Africa but Daly failed to qualify.[5] He qualified for the United States Grand Prix West but retired after an accident.[6] Ensign used the older N177 at Spain and Belgium, but Daly failed to qualify both times.[7][8] The N179 was used at the Monaco Grand Prix but Daly failed to qualify.[9] He was replaced by Frenchman Patrick Gaillard for France but Gaillard failed to qualify.[10] He qualified for the British Grand Prix and finished 13th.[11] Gaillard failed also to qualify for Germany.[12] He qualified for the Austrian Grand Prix, but retired from suspension failure,[13] and then failed to qualify for Holland.[14] He was replaced by Swiss driver Marc Surer for the final three races, the Italian, Canadian and United States Grand Prix's. Surer failed to qualify in Italy and Canada,[15][16] but qualified for the United States and retired with a blown engine.[17]

The N179 was replaced by the Ensign N180 for the 1980 season.

(key)(results in bold indicate pole position, results in italics indicate fastest lap)