1981 French Grand Prix
Race 8 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 5 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 France Alain Prost Renault
Time 1:09.14 on lap 64
Podium
First Renault
Second McLaren-Ford
Third Brabham-Ford
Lap leaders

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.

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
1 16 France René Arnoux Renault 1:07.09 1:05.95  
2 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:07.05 1:06.36 +0.41
3 15 France Alain Prost Renault 1:07.57 1:06.36 +0.41
4 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:09.21 1:06.91 +0.96
5 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:08.83 1:07.03 +1.08
6 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:08.71 1:07.09 +1.14
7 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:08.83 1:07.42 +1.47
8 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:08.40 1:07.52 +1.57
9 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:09.28 1:07.53 +1.58
10 22 United States Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:10.09 1:07.56 +1.61
11 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:07.60 1:07.68 +1.65
12 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:09.81 1:07.63 +1.68
13 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:09.06 1:07.72 +1.77
14 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:08.09 1:08.27 +2.14
15 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:09.69 1:08.21 +2.26
16 25 France Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:09.51 1:08.47 +2.52
17 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:10.13 1:09.35 +3.40
18 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:09.37 1:10.14 +3.42
19 3 United States Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:11.50 1:09.88 +3.93
20 17 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford 1:12.10 1:09.94 +3.99
21 33 Switzerland Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:19.46 1:10.12 +4.17
22 14 Chile Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:15.59 1:10.50 +4.55
23 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:12.37 1:10.64 +4.69
24 21 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:13.60 1:10.86 +4.91
25 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:13.13 1:11.24 +5.29
26 35 United Kingdom Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:29.13 1:11.28 +5.33
27 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:14.62 1:12.20 +6.25
28 31 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:12.24 1:36.20 +6.29
29 36 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:13.65 no time +7.70
Source: [3]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 15 France Alain Prost Renault M 80 1:35:48.13 3 9
2 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford M 80 + 2.29 2 6
3 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford G 80 + 24.22 4 4
4 16 France René Arnoux Renault M 80 + 42.30 1 3
5 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari M 79 + 1 Lap 14 2
6 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford M 79 + 1 Lap 8 1
7 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford M 79 + 1 Lap 13  
8 22 United States Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 79 + 1 Lap 10  
9 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford G 78 + 2 Laps 15  
10 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford G 78 + 2 Laps 7  
11 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 78 + 2 Laps 5  
12 33 Switzerland Marc Surer Theodore-Ford A 78 + 2 Laps 21  
13 3 United States Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford M 77 + 3 Laps 19  
14 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford M 77 + 3 Laps 18  
15 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 77 + 3 Laps 12  
16 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford M 77 + 3 Laps 23  
17 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford G 76 Collision 9  
Ret 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 57 Suspension 6  
Ret 17 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford A 55 Engine 20  
Ret 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 41 Electrical 11  
Ret 25 France Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra M 30 Wheel Bearing 16  
Ret 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford M 11 Suspension 17  
Ret 14 Chile Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford A 6 Suspension 22  
DNS 21 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford M 0 Non starter 24  
DNQ 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford M    
DNQ 35 United Kingdom Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P    
DNQ 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford M    
DNQ 31 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M    
DNQ 36 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P        
Source: [4][5]

Championship standings after the race

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

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.
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