United States Grand Prix West
Long Beach
Grand Prix starting grid
Race starts
Grid positions from race-result records; not a separately verified pre-race grid.
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| 2 | René Arnoux | Renault |
| 3 | Patrick Depailler | Alfa Romeo |
| 4 | Jan Lammers | ATS |
| 5 | Alan Jones | Williams |
| 6 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo |
| 7 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows |
| 9 | Didier Pironi | Ligier |
| 10 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 11 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault |
| 12 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell |
| 13 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| 14 | Derek Daly | Tyrrell |
| 15 | Mario Andretti | Team Lotus |
| 16 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari |
| 17 | Jochen Mass | Arrows |
| 18 | Ricardo Zunino | Brabham |
| 19 | Eddie Cheever | Osella |
| 20 | Elio de Angelis | Team Lotus |
| 21 | John Watson | McLaren |
| 22 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi |
| 23 | Clay Regazzoni | Ensign |
| 24 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi |