1981 Belgian Grand Prix

F1 Belgium Belgian Circuit Zolder-1975-1985.svg 17 May 1981 5 15 Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder, Belgium 2.648 4.262 54 143.007 230.148 70 185.380 298.340 Dry, then wet at the end Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:22.28 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:23.30 37 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford Argentina Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra France Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford UK BEL The 1981 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on 17 May 1981.https://www.racingsportscars.com/covers/_Zolder-1981-05-17e.jpg 1981 Belgian Grand Prix Entry list It was the fifth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. It was the last of 12 victories for Carlos Reutemann and the most recent win for an Argentine driver. It was also the first of 59 podiums for 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell. Mechanic safety and chaotic first race The race was marred by two serious incidents involving mechanics, one fatal. In Friday practice a mechanic from the Osella team, Giovanni Amadeo, stumbled off the pitwall into the path of the Williams of Carlos Reutemann. Reutemann was unable to avoid the mechanic, who suffered a fractured skull. He died from his injuries on the Monday after the race. Before the start of the race the mechanics of all the teams staged a protest over the safety measures protecting them, which was soon joined by several drivers (Villeneuve, Prost, Laffite, Pironi and Scheckter)Sopeña German Reutemann se llevó todo http://www.f1-web.com.ar/formula-1-belgica-1981.htm F1-Web 1 January 2019 who left their cars. According to 1976 World Champion James Hunt who was commentating live for BBC in Sunday Grandstand, the protest was largely over the narrow pits at Zolder and that the pits were overcrowded, especially with people who were nothing more than 'hangers on' who were there to be seen and not for the actual racing. The race organisers nevertheless flagged the warm-up lap at the normal time, leaving several cars delayed on the grid, either stalled or with their cockpits vacant. The resulting chaos when the grid formed up again at the end of this lap was exacerbated when Nelson Piquet missed his starting position and was sent round on another lap, with the other cars being held in position. As the cars began to overheat, several drivers turned off their engines, among them Arrows driver Riccardo Patrese, expecting another formation lap due to Piquet's error. However, the organisers began the start sequence as usual once Piquet had regained his position. Patrese was unable to restart his car and waved his arms to signal that he could not take the start. His mechanic, Dave Luckett, came onto the track to restart the car from behind. As he did so, the Clerk of the Course had already started the lighting sequence to start the race, and the race went ahead despite his presence and Patrese's gesticulations. The other Arrows driver, Siegfried Stohr, ploughed into the back of his teammate's car, hitting Luckett. Luckett suffered a broken leg and lacerations but survived the incident. The race continued, and as the field was about to start the second lap, Stohr's disabled car was still on the circuit, and some of the furious marshals, who did not have the official authority to stop the race jumped onto the track and frantically waved at the drivers to stop while the cars passed by with very little space on the narrow track. The confused drivers waved back at the marshals, and on the next lap the drivers did stop at their own accord. As a result of these events, a new rule was introduced forbidding mechanics from being on the grid within fifteen seconds of the formation lap, and the race starter would use greater caution.Blighted by restart chaos forix.com http://www.forix.com/8w/stohr.html 2008-03-31 Race report In the race, Reutemann was passed by Didier Pironi going into the first corner. Then Alan Jones nudged off Nelson Piquet at the early stages of the race and Piquet crashed into some catch fencing at the chicane. A few laps later, Jones's gearbox failed, and he ploughed into the barriers and badly burned his left thigh after the gearbox oil leaked into his cockpit. Following Jones's retirement, Piquet, still furious after their previous incident, stormed to the Williams garage and had an altercation with Jones and the Williams personnel. Pironi had fallen back and after Jones's accident, Reutemann took the lead, keeping it until the race was called off early because of rain starting to fall on the track. It was his second victory of the season and the 12th and ultimately final victory of his career. Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap 1 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:22.28 1:36.27 — 2 5 Brazil 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:23.13 no time +0.85 3 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:23.47 1:36.76 +1.19 4 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:23.67 1:38.28 +1.39 5 7 UK John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:23.73 1:30.92 +1.45 6 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:23.82 1:27.43 +1.54 7 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:23.94 1:27.33 +1.66 8 3 USA Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:24.38 1:31.00 +2.10 9 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:24.41 1:44.07 +2.13 10 12 UK Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:24.44 no time +2.16 11 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:24.46 no time +2.18 12 15 France Alain Prost Renault 1:24.63 1:43.35 +2.35 13 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:24.66 no time +2.38 14 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:24.96 no time +2.68 15 14 Switzerland Marc Surer Ensign-Ford 1:25.19 no time +2.91 16 25 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Ligier-Matra 1:25.28 1:38.87 +3.00 17 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:25.31 1:37.77 +3.03 18 22 USA Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:25.56 1:32.17 +3.28 19 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:25.91 1:32.21 +3.63 20 21 Brazil 1968 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:25.93 no time +3.65 21 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:26.52 2:49.14 +4.24 22 32 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:26.69 no time +4.41 23 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:26.95 1:30.99 +4.67 24 31 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford 1:27.48 no time +5.20 25 16 France René Arnoux Renault 1:27.93 1:30.71 +5.65 26 17 Chile Eliseo Salazar March-Ford 1:28.38 1:35.66 +6.10 27 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:28.98 1:35.79 +6.70 28 33 France Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford no time 1:32.47 +10.19 29 36 UK Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:35.97 no time +13.69 30 35 UK Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:36.37 1:42.95 +14.09 31† 18 Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford — — — Source:Hamilton Maurice AUTOCOURSE 1981–82 Hazleton Publishing Ltd 1981 126 0-905138-17-1 † — time disallowed. Race Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford Michelin 54 1:16:31.61 1 9 2 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra Michelin 54 + 36.06 9 6 3 12 UK Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford Michelin 54 + 43.69 10 4 4 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari Michelin 54 + 47.64 7 3 5 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford Michelin 54 + 49.20 14 2 6 3 USA Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford Michelin 54 + 52.51 8 1 7 7 UK John Watson McLaren-Ford Michelin 54 + 1:01.66 5 8 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari Michelin 54 + 1:32.04 3 9 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo Michelin 54 + 1:35.58 17 10 22 USA Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo Michelin 53 + 1 Lap 18 11 14 Switzerland Marc Surer Ensign-Ford Michelin 52 + 2 Laps 15 12 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford Michelin 52 + 2 Laps 19 13 31 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford Michelin 50 + 4 Laps 24 Ret Retired 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford Michelin 39 Accident 21 Ret Retired 25 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Ligier-Matra Michelin 35 Transmission 16 Ret Retired 21 Brazil 1968 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford Michelin 29 Engine 20 Ret Retired 32 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford Michelin 22 Engine 22 Ret Retired 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford Michelin 19 Accident 6 Ret Retired 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford Michelin 11 Gearbox 23 Ret Retired 5 Brazil 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford Michelin 10 Accident 2 Ret Retired 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford Avon 10 Gearbox 11 Ret Retired 15 France Alain Prost Renault Michelin 2 Clutch 12 Ret Retired 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford Michelin 0 Collision 4 Ret Retired 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford Michelin 0 Collision 13 DNQ Did not qualify 18 Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford Michelin DNQ Did not qualify 16 France René Arnoux Renault Michelin DNQ Did not qualify 17 Chile Eliseo Salazar March-Ford Michelin DNQ Did not qualify 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford Michelin DNQ Did not qualify 33 France Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford Michelin DNQ Did not qualify 36 UK Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart Pirelli DNQ Did not qualify 35 UK Brian Henton Toleman-Hart PirelliSource:http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/362/ 1981 Belgian Grand Prix formula1.com 23 December 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20140516113911/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/362/ 16 May 2014https://gparchive.com/formula-1/1981-belgian-grand-prix/ 1981 Belgian Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive GPArchive.com 17 May 1981 7 November 2021 Notes This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Italian driver Piercarlo Ghinzani. This was the 10th Grand Slam for an Argentinian driver. This was the 50th Grand Prix start for Williams. This was the 100th Grand Prix start for a Matra-powered car. In those 100 races, Matra-powered cars had won 1 Grand Prix, achieved 14 podium finishes, 3 pole positions and 5 fastest laps. Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 ARG Carlos Reutemann 34 2 BRA 1968 Nelson Piquet 22 3 AUS Alan Jones 18 4 ITA Riccardo Patrese 10 5 FRA Jacques Laffite 7Source:https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/belgique/championnat.aspx Belgium 1981 - Championship • STATS F1 www.statsf1.com 12 March 2019 Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 UK Williams-Ford 52 2 UK Brabham-Ford 25 3 UK Arrows-Ford 10 4 UK Lotus-Ford 9 5 FRA Ligier-Matra 7Source: Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. References 30em Belgian Grand Prix 1981 1981 San Marino Grand Prix 1981 Monaco Grand Prix 1980 Belgian Grand Prix 1982 Belgian Grand Prix Belgian Grand Prix Category:Belgian Grand Prix Grand Prix Category:Circuit Zolder Category:Sports competitions in Limburg (Belgium) Category:May 1981 sports events in Europe