1981 French Grand Prix

Last updated
1981 French Grand Prix
Race 8 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Dijon-Prenois Circuit.svg
Race details
Date5 July 1981
Official name 67e Grand Prix de France [1]
Location Dijon-Prenois, Dijon, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 3.801 km (2.361 miles)
Distance 80 laps, 304.08 km (188.88 miles)
Weather Dry, then wet at half distance, then dry again
Pole position
Driver Renault
Time 1:05.95
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Renault
Time 1:09.14 on lap 64
Podium
First Renault
Second McLaren-Ford
Third Brabham-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1981 French Grand Prix

The 1981 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon-Prenois near Dijon, France on 5 July 1981. It was the eighth race of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Contents

The 80-lap race was won by Alain Prost, driving a Renault. On home soil, Prost scored the first of an eventual 51 Grand Prix victories, in a race that was stopped after 58 laps due to heavy rain and then restarted, with aggregate times determining the final positions. John Watson finished second in his McLaren-Ford, while Nelson Piquet, who had been leading in his Brabham-Ford when the race was stopped, finished third.

Prior to the race, Jean-Pierre Jabouille decided to retire from Formula One, having not fully recovered from the leg injuries he had sustained in Canada the previous year. His place at Ligier was taken for the rest of the season by Patrick Tambay, who moved from Theodore. [2]

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
116 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Renault 1:07.091:05.95 
27 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:07.051:06.36+0.41
315 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Renault 1:07.571:06.36+0.41
45 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:09.211:06.91+0.96
58 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:08.831:07.03+1.08
626 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:08.711:07.09+1.14
72 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:08.831:07.42+1.47
811 Flag of Italy.svg Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:08.401:07.52+1.57
91 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:09.281:07.53+1.58
1022 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:10.091:07.56+1.61
1127 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:07.601:07.68+1.65
1223 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:09.811:07.63+1.68
1312 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:09.061:07.72+1.77
1428 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:08.091:08.27+2.14
156 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:09.691:08.21+2.26
1625 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:09.511:08.47+2.52
1720 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:10.131:09.35+3.40
1829 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:09.371:10.14+3.42
193 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:11.501:09.88+3.93
2017 Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Daly March-Ford 1:12.101:09.94+3.99
2133 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:19.461:10.12+4.17
2214 Flag of Chile.svg Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:15.591:10.50+4.55
234 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:12.371:10.64+4.69
2421 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:13.601:10.86+4.91
2530 Flag of Italy.svg Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:13.131:11.24+5.29
2635 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:29.131:11.28+5.33
279 Flag of Sweden.svg Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:14.621:12.20+6.25
2831 Flag of Italy.svg Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:12.241:36.20+6.29
2936 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:13.65no time+7.70
Source: [3]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
115 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Renault M 801:35:48.1339
27 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson McLaren-Ford M 80+ 2.2926
35 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford G 80+ 24.2244
416 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Renault M 80+ 42.3013
528 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi Ferrari M 79+ 1 Lap142
611 Flag of Italy.svg Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford M 79+ 1 Lap81
712 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford M 79+ 1 Lap13 
822 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 79+ 1 Lap10 
96 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford G 78+ 2 Laps15 
102 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford G 78+ 2 Laps7 
118 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 78+ 2 Laps5 
1233 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Marc Surer Theodore-Ford A 78+ 2 Laps21 
133 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford M 77+ 3 Laps19 
1429 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford M 77+ 3 Laps18 
1523 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 77+ 3 Laps12 
164 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford M 77+ 3 Laps23 
171 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 76Collision9 
Ret26 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 57Suspension6 
Ret17 Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Daly March-Ford A 55Engine20 
Ret27 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 41Electrical11 
Ret25 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra M 30Wheel Bearing16 
Ret20 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford M 11Suspension17 
Ret14 Flag of Chile.svg Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford A 6Suspension22 
DNS21 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford M 0Non starter24 
DNQ30 Flag of Italy.svg Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford M   
DNQ35 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P   
DNQ9 Flag of Sweden.svg Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford M   
DNQ31 Flag of Italy.svg Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M   
DNQ36 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P     
Source: [4] [5]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

References

  1. "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1981". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  2. "Grand Prix Results: French GP, 1981". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  3. Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 156. ISBN   0-905138-17-1.
  4. "1981 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  5. "1981 French Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 5 July 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  6. 1 2 "France 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
Previous race:
1981 Spanish Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1981 season
Next race:
1981 British Grand Prix
Previous race:
1980 French Grand Prix
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1982 French Grand Prix
Next race at Dijon: 1982 Swiss Grand Prix