1981 British Grand Prix

The 1981 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 18 July 1981. It was the ninth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. John Watson won his first race for five years, and McLaren's first since James Hunt's victory at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix. The race also marked the first victory for a carbon fibre composite monocoque F1 car, the McLaren MP4/1.

1981 British Grand Prix
Race 9 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 18 July 1981
Official name XXXIV Marlboro British Grand Prix
Location Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, Great Britain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.718[1] km (2.932 miles)
Distance 68 laps, 320.824[1] km (199.351 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver Renault
Time 1:11.000
Fastest lap
Driver France René Arnoux Renault
Time 1:15.067 on lap 50
Podium
First McLaren-Ford
Second Williams-Ford
Third Ligier-Matra
Lap leaders

Classification edit

Qualifying edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 16   René Arnoux Renault 1:12.158 1:11.000  —
2 15   Alain Prost Renault 1:12.237 1:11.046 +0.046
3 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:12.328 1:11.952 +0.952
4 28   Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:14.070 1:12.644 +1.644
5 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:13.370 1:12.712 +1.712
6 8   Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:13.976 1:12.728 +1.728
7 1   Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:12.998 1:13.250 +1.998
8 27   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:14.182 1:13.311 +2.311
9 2   Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:13.467 1:13.371 +2.371
10 29   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:15.217 1:13.762 +2.762
11 22   Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:14.440 1:13.928 +2.928
12 23   Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:14.119 1:14.442 +3.119
13 6   Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:14.594 1:14.542 +3.542
14 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:15.313 1:14.798 +3.798
15 25   Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:15.656 1:14.976 +3.976
16 20   Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:16.695 1:15.165 +4.165
17 17   Derek Daly March-Ford 1:15.189 1:15.303 +4.189
18 30   Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:17.229 1:15.304 +4.304
19 4   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:16.446 1:15.850 +4.850
20 32   Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:15.943 1:15.898 +4.898
21 9   Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:16.758 1:15.959 +4.959
22 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:16.029† 1:15.971 +4.971
23 3   Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:16.381 1:16.099 +5.099
24 33   Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:17.124 1:16.155 +5.155
25 21   Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:18.173 1:16.360 +5.360
26 35   Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:16.388 1:19.602 +5.388
27 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:15.992† 1:16.432 +5.432
28 14   Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:17.053 1:16.694 +5.694
29 36   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:17.998 1:16.891 +5.891
30 31   Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:20.377 1:17.784 +6.784
Source: [2]
  • †-time disallowed.

Race edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford M 68 1:26:54.80 5 9
2 2   Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford G 68 +40.65 9 6
3 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 67 +1 lap 14 4
4 3   Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford M 67 +1 lap 23 3
5 6   Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford G 67 +1 lap 13 2
6 9   Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford A 67 +1 lap 21 1
7 17   Derek Daly March-Ford A 66 +2 laps 17  
8 32   Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford M 65 +3 laps 20  
9 16   René Arnoux Renault M 64 Distributor 1  
10 29   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford P 64 Engine 10  
11 33   Marc Surer Theodore-Ford A 61 Out of fuel 24  
Ret 22   Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 59 Throttle 11  
Ret 20   Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford M 56 Suspension 16  
DSQ 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford G 25 Ignoring yellow flags 22  
Ret 15   Alain Prost Renault M 17 Distributor 2  
Ret 25   Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra M 15 Clutch 15  
Ret 28   Didier Pironi Ferrari M 13 Turbo 4  
Ret 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford G 11 Tyre 3  
Ret 23   Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 5 Transmission 12  
Ret 27   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 4 Spun off 8  
Ret 1   Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 3 Collision 7  
Ret 8   Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 3 Spun off 6  
Ret 4   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford M 1 Clutch 19  
Ret 30   Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford P 0 Spun off 18  
DNQ 21   Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford M    
DNQ 35   Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P    
DNQ 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford G    
DNQ 14   Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford A    
DNQ 36   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P    
DNQ 31   Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M        
Source: [1][3][4]

Championship standings after the race edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Jenkinson, Denis (August 1981). "The British Grand Prix: A very popular win". Motor Sport magazine archive. p. 1048. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 166. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
  3. ^ "1981 British Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  4. ^ "1981 British Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 18 July 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Britain 1981 - Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.


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