1981 German Grand Prix

The 1981 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring on 2 August 1981. It was the tenth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.[1]

1981 German Grand Prix
Race 10 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Hockenheim in 1981
Hockenheim in 1981
Race details
Date 2 August 1981
Official name XLIII Großer Preis von Deutschland
Location Hockenheimring
Hockenheim, West Germany
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.790 km (4.219 miles)
Distance 45 laps, 305.505 km (189.81 miles)
Weather Wet / Dry
Pole position
Driver Renault
Time 1:47.50
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford
Time 1:52.42 on lap 4
Podium
First Brabham-Ford
Second Renault
Third Ligier-Matra
Lap leaders

The 45-lap race was won by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, driving a Brabham-Ford. Frenchman Alain Prost finished second in a Renault, having started from pole position, with compatriot Jacques Laffite third in a Ligier-Matra. The win, Piquet's third of the season, allowed him to move to within eight points of Drivers' Championship leader, Argentine Carlos Reutemann, who retired with an engine failure.

Qualifying report edit

The pit entrance had been modified and slowed down; the drivers now entered the pits earlier than before. The two Renault turbo cars were on the front row with Alain Prost almost half a second quicker than teammate René Arnoux. It was the first pole position of Prost's F1 career. Williams locked out the second row with World Championship leader Carlos Reutemann third and teammate Alan Jones fourth. Didier Pironi was fifth in his Ferrari and Nelson Piquet was sixth in his Brabham. The top 10 was completed by Jacques Laffite (Ligier), Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) and the two McLarens of John Watson and Andrea de Cesaris.

Qualifying classification edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 15   Alain Prost Renault 1:48.09 1:47.50
2 16   René Arnoux Renault 1:47.96 1:48.08 +0.46
3 2   Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:50.20 1:48.43 +0.93
4 1   Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:48.49 1:49.38 +0.99
5 28   Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:49.00 1:49.97 +1.50
6 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:49.03 1:49.26 +1.53
7 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:50.27 1:49.28 +1.78
8 27   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:49.44 1:50.24 +1.94
9 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:49.52 1:50.36 +2.02
10 8   Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:50.07 1:49.58 +2.08
11 25   Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:50.00 1:50.61 +2.50
12 22   Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:50.64 1:50.73 +3.14
13 29   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:50.68 1:50.65 +3.15
14 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:52.36 1:50.74 +3.24
15 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:51.98 1:50.86 +3.36
16 6   Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:51.17 1:51.49 +3.67
17 32   Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:52.19 1:52.95 +4.69
18 3   Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:52.19 1:52.44 +4.69
19 23   Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:52.21 1:52.59 +4.71
20 9   Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:52.54 1:54.14 +5.04
21 17   Derek Daly March-Ford 1:55.80 1:52.65 +5.15
22 33   Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:52.85 1:53.50 +5.35
23 14   Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:55.58 1:53.16 +5.66
24 30   Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:53.19 1:53.33 +5.69
DNQ 20   Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:53.28 1:53.38 +5.78
DNQ 35   Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:53.31 1:54.77 +5.81
DNQ 31   Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:55.53 1:53.39 +5.89
DNQ 36   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:54.59 1:53.58 +6.08
DNQ 4   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:53.69 1:54.19 +6.19
DNQ 21   Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:55.22 1:54.89 +7.39
Source: [2]

Race report edit

The two Williams on the second row enjoyed a better start than the Renaults of Prost and Arnoux. Arnoux was overtaken both by Reutemann and Pironi before the first corner, and by Piquet tried a move in the Ostkurve but the two cars collided, deflating Arnoux's right rear tire and causing him to pit at the end of the lap. Piquet lost a place to Jones in the process, whilst Arnoux dropped through the field. On the second lap, Pironi's engine failed, making him retire from fourth. Consequently, Prost led from Reutemann, Jones, Piquet and Laffite, and the top five pulled away from the rest of the pack, led by Villeneuve in sixth. Reutemann was quickly overtaken by both Jones and Piquet, beginning a three-way fight from the lead until Piquet's tires fell off the pace and he dropped to fourth behind Reutemann.

On lap 21, the lead changed when Prost was overtaken by Jones as the duo were lapping Arnoux. Reutemann retired from the race on lap 28 with an engine failure. After around 30 laps, rain started to fall on the circuit and the Renaults suffered from poor handling and third place Piquet quickly overtook Prost for second. Jones' lead was diminished when his engine began to misfire, eventually dropping behind Piquet and Prost before heading to the pits, and he eventually finished a lap behind.

Piquet held on to his lead and finished first, in front of Prost, Laffite and Héctor Rebaque. Eddie Cheever finished fifth to round up the top five, in front of John Watson in sixth.

Race classification edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford G 45 1:25:55.60 6 9
2 15   Alain Prost Renault M 45 + 11.52 1 6
3 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 45 + 1:04.60 7 4
4 6   Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford G 45 + 1:39.69 16 3
5 3   Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford A 45 + 1:50.52 18 2
6 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford M 44 + 1 lap 9 1
7 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford G 44 + 1 lap 14  
8 32   Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford M 44 + 1 lap 17  
9 22   Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 44 + 1 lap 12  
10 27   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 44 + 1 lap 8  
11 1   Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 44 + 1 lap 4  
12 30   Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford P 44 + 1 lap 24  
13 16   René Arnoux Renault M 44 + 1 lap 2  
14 33   Marc Surer Theodore-Ford A 43 Suspension 22  
15 23   Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 43 + 2 laps 19  
NC 14   Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford A 39 + 6 laps 23  
Ret 9   Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford A 35 Engine 20  
Ret 2   Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford G 27 Engine 3  
Ret 29   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford P 27 Engine 13  
Ret 25   Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra M 27 Transmission 11  
Ret 17   Derek Daly March-Ford A 15 Suspension 21  
Ret 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford G 12 Fuel leak 15  
Ret 8   Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 4 Collision 10  
Ret 28   Didier Pironi Ferrari M 1 Electrical 5  
DNQ 20   Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford M    
DNQ 35   Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P    
DNQ 31   Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M    
DNQ 36   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P    
DNQ 4   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford A    
DNQ 21   Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford M        
Source:[3][4]

Championship standings after the race edit

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References edit

  1. ^ "1981 German Grand Prix Entry list".
  2. ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 174. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
  3. ^ "1981 German Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  4. ^ "1981 German Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 2 August 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Germany 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.


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1981 British Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1981 season
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1981 Austrian Grand Prix
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1980 German Grand Prix
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1982 German Grand Prix