1981 Italian Grand Prix

F1 Italy Italian 13 September 1981 13 15 LII Gran Premio d'Italia Autodromo Nazionale di MonzaMonza, Lombardy, Italy Monza 1976-1993.png Permanent racing facility 3.604 5.8 52 187.406 301.6 Dry and sunny René Arnoux Renault 1:33.467 France Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:37.528 48 Argentina Alain Prost Renault France Alan Jones Williams-Ford Australia Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford Argentina ITA The 1981 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1981.http://www.racingsportscars.com/covers/_Monza-1981-09-13e.jpg 1981 Italian Grand Prix Entry list It was the thirteenth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. 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 an accident in Belgium earlier in the season. He ultimately decided to stop racing and start a successful motor racing academy. Qualifying classification Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap 1 16 France René Arnoux Renault 1:34.042 1:33.467 2 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:35.153 1:34.140 +0.673 3 15 France Alain Prost Renault 1:34.492 1:34.374 +0.907 4 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:36.529 1:35.062 +1.575 5 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:35.983 1:35.359 +1.892 6 5 Brazil 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:35.449 1:35.484 +1.982 7 7 UK John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:35.795 1:35.557 +2.090 8 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:35.977 1:35.596 +2.129 9 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:35.627 1:55.012 +2.160 10 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:38.617 1:35.946 +2.479 11 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:36.158 1:36.309 +2.691 12 12 UK Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:38.100 1:36.210 +2.743 13 22 USA Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:37.166 1:36.296 +2.829 14 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:37.131 1:36.472 +3.005 15 25 France Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:36.515 1:36.545 +3.048 16 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford no time 1:37.019 +3.552 17 3 USA Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:38.736 1:37.160 +3.693 18 32 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:38.167 1:37.264 +3.797 19 17 Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford 1:38.852 1:37.303 +3.836 20 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:37.355 1:37.552 +3.888 21 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:39.106 1:37.807 +4.340 22 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:38.411 1:37.912 +4.445 23 35 UK Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:41.369 1:38.012 +4.545 24 14 Chile Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:39.033 1:38.053 +4.586DNQ Did not qualify 33 Switzerland Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:38.778 1:38.114 +4.647DNQ Did not qualify 31 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:40.930 1:38.474 +5.007DNQ Did not qualify 36 UK Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:39.936 1:39.279 +5.812DNQ Did not qualify 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:39.713 1:39.776 +6.246DNQ Did not qualify 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:42.229 1:40.345 +6.878DNQ Did not qualify 21 Brazil 1968 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:41.185 1:40.437 +6.970Source:Hamilton Maurice 1981 AUTOCOURSE 1981–82 Hazleton Publishing Ltd 206 0-905138-17-1 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.John Watson Accidente en Monza, GP Italia 1981 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPMZK9i13Xs https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/GPMZK9i13Xs 2021-12-22 live 2012-06-16 YouTubeGrand Prix Results: Italian GP, 1981 http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr355.html 16 June 2012 Grandprix.com 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 Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 15 France Alain Prost Renault Michelin 52 1:26:36.897 3 9 2 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford Goodyear 52 + 22.175 5 6 3 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford Goodyear 52 + 50.587 2 4 4 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford Goodyear 52 + 1:32.902 11 3 5 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari Michelin 52 + 1:34.522 8 2 6 5 Brazil 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford Goodyear 51 Engine 6 1 7 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford Michelin 51 Puncture 16   8 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo Michelin 50 + 2 laps 10   9 32 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford Michelin 50 + 2 laps 18   10 35 UK Brian Henton Toleman-Hart Pirelli 49 + 3 laps 23   Ret Retired 22 USA Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo Michelin 40 Engine 13   Ret Retired 17 Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford Avon 36 Gearbox 19   Ret Retired 25 France Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra Michelin 22 Puncture 15   Ret Retired 12 UK Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford Goodyear 21 Suspension 12   Ret Retired 7 UK John Watson McLaren-Ford Michelin 19 Accident 7   Ret Retired 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford Pirelli 18 Gearbox 20   Ret Retired 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford Goodyear 17 Accident 22   Ret Retired 14 Chile Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford Avon 13 Spun off 24   Ret Retired 16 France René Arnoux Renault Michelin 12 Spun off 1   Ret Retired 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra Michelin 11 Puncture 4   Ret Retired 3 USA Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford Goodyear 11 Spun off 17   Ret Retired 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford Avon 10 Spun off 21   Ret Retired 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari Michelin 5 Engine 9   Ret Retired 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford Goodyear 1 Electrical 14   DNQ Did not qualify 33 Switzerland Marc Surer Theodore-Ford Avon     DNQ Did not qualify 31 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford Michelin     DNQ Did not qualify 36 UK Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart Pirelli     DNQ Did not qualify 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford Pirelli     DNQ Did not qualify 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford Pirelli     DNQ Did not qualify 21 Brazil 1968 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford Pirelli        Source:http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/370/ 1981 Italian Grand Prix formula1.com 23 December 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20140516114722/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/370/ 16 May 2014https://gparchive.com/formula-1/1981-italian-grand-prix/ 1981 Italian Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive GPArchive.com 13 September 1981 7 November 2021 Notes This was the 1st Grand Prix start for Toleman and for a Hart-powered car. This was the 44th podium finish for Carlos Reutemann. It broke the previous record set by Jackie Stewart at the 1973 Austrian Grand Prix. Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 ARG Carlos Reutemann 49 2 BRA 1968 Nelson Piquet 46 3 FRA Alain Prost 37 4 AUS Alan Jones 37 5 FRA Jacques Laffite 34Source:Italy 1981 - Championship • STATS F1 https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/italie/championnat.aspx www.statsf1.com 18 March 2019 Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 GBR Williams-Ford 86 2 GBR Brabham-Ford 57 3 FRA Renault 48 4 FRA Ligier-Matra 34 5 ITA Ferrari 30Source: Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. References 30em Italian Grand Prix 1981 1981 Dutch Grand Prix 1981 Canadian Grand Prix 1980 Italian Grand Prix 1982 Italian Grand Prix Italian Grand Prix Category:Italian Grand Prix Grand Prix Italian Grand Prix