1981 Monaco Grand Prix

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E / 43.7346500; 7.421333

1981 Monaco Grand Prix
Race 6 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 31 May 1981
Location Circuit de Monaco
Course Street circuit
Course length 3.312 km (2.057 miles)
Distance 76 laps, 251.712 km (156.406 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver Brabham-Ford
Time 1:25.710
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford
Time 1:27.47 on lap 48
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Williams-Ford
Third Ligier-Matra
Lap leaders
Nelson Piquet in a Brabham BT49C

The 1981 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 31 May 1981. It was the sixth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.[1]

The 76-lap race was won by Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve, driving a Ferrari. Brazilian Nelson Piquet took pole position in his Brabham-Ford and led until he crashed out on lap 54. Australian Alan Jones finished second in a Williams-Ford, with Frenchman Jacques Laffite third in a Ligier-Matra.

Race edit

The start of the race was delayed after a fire in the Loews Hotel kitchens, which necessitated the fire service pumping large quantities of water to put the fires out. Water then seeped through the floors of the hotel and into the tunnel, delaying the race for an hour. Nelson Piquet led for much of the race, but crashed out late on. New race leader Alan Jones then suffered a fuel feed problem in the latter stages of the race, allowing Gilles Villeneuve in his Ferrari, to take his first victory since 1979 as well as becoming the first, and to this day, the only Canadian to win in Monaco. Championship leader Carlos Reutemann retired with gearbox problems, breaking a 15-race streak of consistently finishing in the points.

Classification edit

Pre-qualifying edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 33   Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford 1:30.492
2 14   Marc Surer Ensign-Ford 1:31.249 +0.757
3 31   Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:32.704 +2.212
4 32   Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford 1:33.189 +2.697
5 10   Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:33.285 +2.793
6 18   Derek Daly March-Ford 1:33.800 +3.308
7 17   Eliseo Salazar March-Ford 1:35.249 +4.757
8 35   Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:37.528 +7.036
9 36   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:41.966 +11.474

Qualifying edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:25.710 1:28.667
2 27   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:26.891 1:25.788 +0.078
3 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:27.174 1:25.815 +0.105
4 2   Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:27.643 1:26.010 +0.300
5 29   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:27.447 1:26.040 +0.330
6 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:28.381 1:26.259 +0.549
7 1   Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:26.938 1:26.538 +0.828
8 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:27.468 1:26.704 +0.994
9 15   Alain Prost Renault 1:27.623 1:26.953 +1.243
10 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:28.137 1:27.058 +1.348
11 8   Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:28.966 1:27.122 +1.412
12 22   Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:27.512 1:28.162 +1.802
13 16   René Arnoux Renault 1:28.613 1:27.513 +1.803
14 30   Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:29.789 1:27.564 +1.854
15 3   Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:29.282 1:27.594 +1.884
16 33   Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford 1:28.897 1:27.939 +2.229
17 28   Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:29.150 1:28.266 +2.556
18 23   Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:28.335 1:28.323 +2.613
19 14   Marc Surer Ensign-Ford 1:29.611 1:28.339 +2.629
20 4   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:30.699 1:28.358 +2.648
21 20   Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:29.924 1:28.436 +2.726
22 25   Jean-Pierre Jabouille Ligier-Matra 1:29.752 1:28.841 +3.131
23 6   Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:29.188 1:29.256 +3.478
24 21   Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:32.109 1:29.434 +3.724
25 32   Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford no time 1:29.694 +3.984
26 31   Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:30.963 1:29.795 +4.085
Source: [2]

Race edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 27   Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 76 1:54:23.38 2 9
2 1   Alan Jones Williams-Ford M 76 + 39.91 7 6
3 26   Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 76 + 1:29.24 8 4
4 28   Didier Pironi Ferrari M 75 + 1 Lap 17 3
5 3   Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford M 74 + 2 Laps 15 2
6 14   Marc Surer Ensign-Ford M 74 + 2 Laps 19 1
7 33   Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford M 72 + 4 Laps 16  
Ret 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford M 53 Spun off 1  
Ret 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford M 52 Engine 10  
Ret 4   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford M 50 Collision 20  
Ret 23   Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 50 Collision 18  
Ret 15   Alain Prost Renault M 45 Engine 9  
Ret 2   Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford M 33 Gearbox 4  
Ret 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford M 32 Engine 6  
Ret 16   René Arnoux Renault M 32 Spun off 13  
Ret 29   Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford M 29 Gearbox 5  
Ret 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford M 15 Suspension 3  
Ret 30   Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford M 14 Fuel system 14  
Ret 8   Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 0 Collision 11  
Ret 22   Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 0 Collision 12  
DNQ 20   Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford A        
DNQ 25   Jean-Pierre Jabouille Ligier-Matra M        
DNQ 6   Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford M        
DNQ 21   Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford A        
DNQ 32   Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford M        
DNQ 31   Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M        
DNPQ 10   Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford M        
DNPQ 18   Derek Daly March-Ford M        
DNPQ 17   Eliseo Salazar March-Ford M        
DNPQ 35   Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P        
DNPQ 36   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P        
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 Monaco Grand Prix Entry list".
  2. ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 138. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
  3. ^ "1981 Monaco Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  4. ^ "1981 Monaco Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 31 May 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Monaco 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.


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