1981 Italian Grand Prix

Last updated
1981 Italian Grand Prix
Race 13 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Monza 1976-1993.png
Race details
Date13 September 1981
Official name LII Gran Premio d'Italia
Location Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Monza, Lombardy, Italy
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.8 km (3.604 mi)
Distance 52 laps, 301.6 km (187.406 mi)
Weather Dry and sunny
Pole position
Driver Renault
Time 1:33.467
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford
Time 1:37.528 on lap 48
Podium
First Renault
Second Williams-Ford
Third Williams-Ford
Lap leaders
  • 1981 Italian Grand Prix

The 1981 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1981. [1] It was the thirteenth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.

Contents

Formula One returned to Monza after the previous year's Italian Grand Prix had been held at Imola. The 52-lap race was won by Frenchman Alain Prost, who led every lap in his Renault after starting from third position. Australian Alan Jones finished second in a Williams-Ford, some 22 seconds behind, with Argentine teammate Carlos Reutemann third.

Reutemann came into the race tied on points at the top of the Drivers' Championship with Brazilian Nelson Piquet, driving a Brabham-Ford. Piquet suffered a last-lap engine failure which dropped him from third to sixth, giving Reutemann a three-point lead in the championship with two races remaining.

Qualifying report

Qualifying saw René Arnoux take pole position in his Renault by 0.67 seconds from Carlos Reutemann's Williams. It was Arnoux's fourth pole position of the season and the sixth in succession for the Renault team. Alain Prost was third in the other Renault, with Jacques Laffite in the Ligier alongside him on the second row of the grid. Alan Jones in the other Williams and Nelson Piquet in the Brabham made up the third row, and the top ten was completed by John Watson in the McLaren, Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve in the two Ferraris, and Bruno Giacomelli in the Alfa Romeo.

For the first time, the Toleman team qualified for a race, with Brian Henton taking 23rd. Teammate Derek Warwick failed to qualify along with Marc Surer in the Theodore, Beppe Gabbiani in the Osella, Siegfried Stohr in the Arrows, and Keke Rosberg and Chico Serra in the two Fittipaldis. Stohr crashed heavily during the qualifying session; already haunted by the trauma of nearly killing mechanic Dave Luckett in Belgium earlier in the season, he ultimately decided to stop racing and start a successful motor racing academy.

Qualifying classification

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
116 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Renault 1:34.0421:33.467
22 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:35.1531:34.140+0.673
315 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Renault 1:34.4921:34.374+0.907
426 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:36.5291:35.062+1.575
51 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:35.9831:35.359+1.892
65 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:35.4491:35.484+1.982
77 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:35.7951:35.557+2.090
828 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:35.9771:35.596+2.129
927 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:35.6271:55.012+2.160
1023 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:38.6171:35.946+2.479
1111 Flag of Italy.svg Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:36.1581:36.309+2.691
1212 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:38.1001:36.210+2.743
1322 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:37.1661:36.296+2.829
146 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:37.1311:36.472+3.005
1525 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:36.5151:36.545+3.048
168 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford no time1:37.019+3.552
173 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:38.7361:37.160+3.693
1832 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:38.1671:37.264+3.797
1917 Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Daly March-Ford 1:38.8521:37.303+3.836
2029 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:37.3551:37.552+3.888
219 Flag of Sweden.svg Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:39.1061:37.807+4.340
224 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:38.4111:37.912+4.445
2335 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:41.3691:38.012+4.545
2414 Flag of Chile.svg Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:39.0331:38.053+4.586
DNQ33 Flag of Switzerland.svg Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:38.7781:38.114+4.647
DNQ31 Flag of Italy.svg Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:40.9301:38.474+5.007
DNQ36 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:39.9361:39.279+5.812
DNQ30 Flag of Italy.svg Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:39.7131:39.776+6.246
DNQ20 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:42.2291:40.345+6.878
DNQ21 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:41.1851:40.437+6.970
Source: [2]

Race report

On the run-up to the first chicane, Prost passed both Reutemann and teammate Arnoux to take the lead, while Pironi jumped from eighth to fourth. Reutemann then overtook Arnoux at the Curva Grande, before Pironi overtook both to run second by the end of the lap. As Prost opened up a lead, Arnoux re-passed Reutemann on lap 2 and Pironi on lap 5. Laffite, having already passed Reutemann, then overtook Pironi for third on lap 6, as Villeneuve retired with an engine failure.

On lap 12, Laffite dropped out with a puncture, by which point Pironi had dropped back behind Reutemann and Jones. As rain started to fall, Jones passed teammate Reutemann for third. At the end of the lap, Eddie Cheever spun his Tyrrell out at the Parabolica; on the next lap, Arnoux himself spun out after swerving to avoid Cheever's abandoned car, leaving Prost comfortably clear of Jones. Reutemann, struggling as the track started to dry again, soon fell to eighth behind Giacomelli, Patrick Tambay in the second Ligier (who had only started 15th), Piquet, Pironi and Watson.

On lap 20, Watson lost control exiting the second Lesmo bend and smashed into the barriers at high speed. The McLaren was torn in two, with the gearbox and rear wheels going across the track and clipping the second Tyrrell of Michele Alboreto, who also retired. Watson escaped unharmed. [3] [4]

On lap 23 Tambay, like teammate Laffite, retired with a puncture, before Giacomelli pulled into the pits with a jammed gearbox on lap 26. Piquet was thus promoted to third with Pironi fourth and Reutemann fifth, followed by Mario Andretti in the second Alfa Romeo, Elio de Angelis in the Lotus and Andrea de Cesaris in the second McLaren. Reutemann soon passed Pironi again, before Andretti suffered an engine failure on lap 41.

As Prost cruised to victory, ultimately finishing some 22 seconds ahead of Jones, Piquet looked set to hold off championship rival Reutemann for third, until his engine blew on the last lap. Reutemann duly went past, as did de Angelis and Pironi. Piquet was classified sixth ahead of de Cesaris, who himself suffered a puncture on the last lap. The only other finishers were Giacomelli, Jean-Pierre Jarier in the second Osella, and Henton.

Reutemann thus led the Drivers' Championship by three points from Piquet with two races remaining, with Prost, Jones and Laffite all retaining outside chances of the title. The Williams team, meanwhile, needed just two more points to secure their second consecutive Constructors' Championship.

Race classification

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
115 Flag of France.svg Alain Prost Renault M 521:26:36.89739
21 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 52+ 22.17556
32 Flag of Argentina.svg Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford G 52+ 50.58724
411 Flag of Italy.svg Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford G 52+ 1:32.902113
528 Flag of France.svg Didier Pironi Ferrari M 52+ 1:34.52282
65 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford G 51Engine61
78 Flag of Italy.svg Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 51Puncture16 
823 Flag of Italy.svg Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 50+ 2 laps10 
932 Flag of France.svg Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford M 50+ 2 laps18 
1035 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P 49+ 3 laps23 
Ret22 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 40Engine13 
Ret17 Flag of Ireland.svg Derek Daly March-Ford A 36Gearbox19 
Ret25 Flag of France.svg Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra M 22Puncture15 
Ret12 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford G 21Suspension12 
Ret7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg John Watson McLaren-Ford M 19Accident7 
Ret29 Flag of Italy.svg Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford P 18Gearbox20 
Ret4 Flag of Italy.svg Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford G 17Accident22 
Ret14 Flag of Chile.svg Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford A 13Spun off24 
Ret16 Flag of France.svg René Arnoux Renault M 12Spun off1 
Ret26 Flag of France.svg Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 11Puncture4 
Ret3 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford G 11Spun off17 
Ret9 Flag of Sweden.svg Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford A 10Spun off21 
Ret27 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 5Engine9 
Ret6 Flag of Mexico.svg Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford G 1Electrical14 
DNQ33 Flag of Switzerland.svg Marc Surer Theodore-Ford A   
DNQ31 Flag of Italy.svg Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M   
DNQ36 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P   
DNQ30 Flag of Italy.svg Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford P   
DNQ20 Flag of Finland.svg Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford P   
DNQ21 Flag of Brazil (1968-1992).svg Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford P     
Source: [5] [6]

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. "1981 Italian Grand Prix Entry list".
  2. Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 206. ISBN   0-905138-17-1.
  3. "John Watson Accidente en Monza, GP Italia 1981". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  4. "Grand Prix Results: Italian GP, 1981". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  5. "1981 Italian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. "1981 Italian Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 13 September 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Italy 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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