1983 British Grand Prix

The 1983 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXVI Marlboro British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 16 July 1983. It was the ninth race of the 1983 Formula One World Championship.

1983 British Grand Prix
Race 9 of 15 in the 1983 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 16 July 1983
Official name XXXVI Marlboro British Grand Prix
Location Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, Great Britain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.719 km (2.932 miles)
Distance 67 laps, 316.173 km (196.461 miles)
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:09.462[1]
Fastest lap
Driver France Alain Prost Renault
Time 1:14.212[2] on lap 32
Podium
First Renault
Second Brabham-BMW
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders
Nigel Mansell finished fourth in a Lotus 94T.

The 67-lap race was won by Alain Prost, driving a factory Renault, after he started from third position. Nelson Piquet finished second in a Brabham-BMW, with Patrick Tambay third in a Ferrari. The win, Prost's third of the season, enabled him to extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship to six points.

Qualifying edit

Qualifying report edit

The front row of the grid was filled by the Ferraris of René Arnoux and Patrick Tambay, Arnoux over 0.6 seconds ahead. Arnoux was the first driver ever to lap Silverstone in under 1:10. Drivers' Championship leader Alain Prost was third in his Renault, with Elio de Angelis in the Lotus alongside him on the second row. The two Brabhams made up the third row with Riccardo Patrese ahead of Nelson Piquet, while on the fourth row were Eddie Cheever in the second Renault and Manfred Winkelhock in the ATS. Completing the top ten were Andrea de Cesaris in the Alfa Romeo and Derek Warwick in the Toleman. Further down the grid, the Spirit team with its Honda turbo engine made an impressive debut as Stefan Johansson qualified 14th, ahead of both McLarens and just one place behind reigning World Champion Keke Rosberg in the Williams.

Qualifying classification edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 28   René Arnoux Ferrari 1:10.436 1:09.462
2 27   Patrick Tambay Ferrari 1:10.874 1:10.104 +0.642
3 15   Alain Prost Renault 1:10.170 1:10.808 +0.708
4 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Renault 1:10.771 1:11.114 +1.309
5 6   Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW 1:11.246 1:10.881 +1.419
6 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 1:11.098 1:10.933 +1.471
7 16   Eddie Cheever Renault 1:11.055 1:11.520 +1.593
8 9   Manfred Winkelhock ATS-BMW 1:13.493 1:11.687 +2.225
9 22   Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo 1:13.163 1:12.150 +2.688
10 35   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:12.528 1:12.541 +3.066
11 23   Mauro Baldi Alfa Romeo 1:14.006 1:12.860 +3.398
12 36   Bruno Giacomelli Toleman-Hart 1:13.792 1:13.422 +3.960
13 1   Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford 1:13.755 no time +4.293
14 40   Stefan Johansson Spirit-Honda 1:15.535 1:13.962 +4.500
15 8   Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford 1:14.267 1:15.118 +4.805
16 3   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:14.651 1:14.970 +5.189
17 30   Thierry Boutsen Arrows-Ford 1:14.964 1:15.686 +5.502
18 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Renault 1:16.377 1:15.133 +5.671
19 29   Marc Surer Arrows-Ford 1:15.135 1:15.350 +5.673
20 2   Jacques Laffite Williams-Ford 1:15.234 1:16.762 +5.772
21 33   Roberto Guerrero Theodore-Ford 1:15.441 1:15.317 +5.855
22 26   Raul Boesel Ligier-Ford 1:15.386 1:16.134 +5.924
23 4   Danny Sullivan Tyrrell-Ford 1:15.449 1:16.347 +5.987
24 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:15.609 1:16.091 +6.147
25 25   Jean-Pierre Jarier Ligier-Ford 1:15.383† 1:15.767 +6.305
26 32   Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:17.162 1:16.544 +7.082
27 34   Johnny Cecotto Theodore-Ford 1:16.714 1:16.786 +7.252
28 31   Corrado Fabi Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:20.400 1:17.594 +8.132
29 17   Kenny Acheson RAM-Ford 1:19.267 1:18.103 +8.641
Source: [3][4][5][6]
  • † — Time disallowed.

Race edit

Race report edit

At the start of the race, Tambay moved ahead of Arnoux, while de Angelis quickly retired with a turbo failure. Cheever's engine failed on lap 4, while Johansson dropped out on lap 6 with fuel system problems. When Patrese's turbo gave up on lap 10, Piquet moved up to fourth behind the Ferraris and Prost, with de Cesaris fifth and Winkelhock sixth. Prost overtook Arnoux on lap 14, followed by Piquet five laps later. Then, on lap 20, Prost passed Tambay for the lead, with Piquet moving into second on lap 31. In the later stages of the race, Winkelhock's engine failed and de Cesaris dropped behind teammate Mauro Baldi, while Nigel Mansell, who had qualified only 18th in the second Lotus, made a charge through the field, passing Arnoux for fourth on lap 48. At the chequered flag, Prost was 19 seconds ahead of Piquet with Tambay, Mansell, Arnoux and Niki Lauda completing the top six.

In the Drivers' Championship, Prost doubled his lead over Piquet to six points, with Tambay two points further back. Renault moved into the outright lead of the Constructors' Championship, three points ahead of Ferrari.

Race classification edit

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 15   Alain Prost Renault M 67 1:24:39.780 3 9
2 5   Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW M 67 + 19.161 6 6
3 27   Patrick Tambay Ferrari G 67 + 26.246 2 4
4 12   Nigel Mansell Lotus-Renault P 67 + 38.952 18 3
5 28   René Arnoux Ferrari G 67 + 58.874 1 2
6 8   Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford M 66 + 1 Lap 15 1
7 23   Mauro Baldi Alfa Romeo M 66 + 1 Lap 11  
8 22   Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo M 66 + 1 Lap 9  
9 7   John Watson McLaren-Ford M 66 + 1 Lap 24  
10 25   Jean-Pierre Jarier Ligier-Ford M 65 + 2 Laps 25  
11 1   Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford G 65 + 2 Laps 13  
12 2   Jacques Laffite Williams-Ford G 65 + 2 Laps 20  
13 3   Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford G 65 + 2 Laps 16  
14 4   Danny Sullivan Tyrrell-Ford G 65 + 2 Laps 23  
15 30   Thierry Boutsen Arrows-Ford G 65 + 2 Laps 17  
16 33   Roberto Guerrero Theodore-Ford G 64 + 3 Laps 21  
17 29   Marc Surer Arrows-Ford G 64 + 3 Laps 19  
Ret 9   Manfred Winkelhock ATS-BMW G 49 Engine 8  
Ret 26   Raul Boesel Ligier-Ford M 48 Suspension 22  
Ret 32   Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Alfa Romeo M 46 Fuel system 26  
Ret 35   Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P 27 Gearbox 10  
Ret 6   Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW M 9 Turbo 5  
Ret 40   Stefan Johansson Spirit-Honda G 5 Fuel system 14  
Ret 16   Eddie Cheever Renault M 3 Engine 7  
Ret 36   Bruno Giacomelli Toleman-Hart P 3 Turbo 12  
Ret 11   Elio de Angelis Lotus-Renault P 1 Turbo 4  
DNQ 34   Johnny Cecotto Theodore-Ford G    
DNQ 31   Corrado Fabi Osella-Alfa Romeo M    
DNQ 17   Kenny Acheson RAM-Ford P        
Source: [7][8]

Championship standings after the race edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ Lang, Mike (1992). Grand Prix! Vol 4. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 187. ISBN 0-85429-733-2.
  2. ^ Lang, Mike (1992). Grand Prix! Vol 4. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 190. ISBN 0-85429-733-2.
  3. ^ "Marlboro British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1". formula1.com. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Marlboro British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2". formula1.com. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Marlboro British Grand Prix - OVERALL QUALIFYING". formula1.com. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  6. ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1983). AUTOCOURSE 1983–84. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 174. ISBN 0-905138-25-2.
  7. ^ "1983 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. ^ "1983 British Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 16 July 1983. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Britain 1983 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.


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1983 Canadian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1983 season
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1983 German Grand Prix
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1984 British Grand Prix