1984 Detroit Grand Prix

April 2021 F1 United States Detroit 3rd Detroit Grand Prix Downtown Detroit Street Circuit.svg June 24, 1984 1984 8 16 Detroit Street Circuit, Detroit, Michigan Temporary street course 2.56 4.120 63 161.28 259.56 Sunny and warm with temperatures reaching up to 77.9 F C; wind speeds up to 11.3 mph km/hhttps://www.almanac.com/weather/history/MI/Detroit/1984-06-24 1984 Detroit Grand Prix weather information Old Farmers' Almanac September 3, 2018 BRA 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 1:40.980 GBR Derek Warwick Renault 1:46.221 32 BRA 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW ITA 1946 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Renault ITA 1946 Teo Fabi Brabham-BMW DET The 1984 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 24, 1984 in Detroit, Michigan. It was the eighth race of the 1984 Formula One World Championship. The 63-lap race was won from pole position by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, driving a Brabham-BMW. Englishman Martin Brundle finished second in a Tyrrell-Ford, less than a second behind Piquet, before the Tyrrell team were disqualified from the championship for various alleged rule infringements. Italian Elio de Angelis was thus promoted to second in his Lotus-Renault with another Italian, Teo Fabi, third in the other Brabham-BMW. Pre-race After breaking his leg at the Monaco Grand Prix three weeks before, and subsequently withdrawing from the next race in Canada, Patrick Tambay was back driving for the works Renault team. Mario Andretti, who had been called in as a possible replacement for Tambay in the race, was satisfied to spend the weekend as a spectator, watching his two sons run in the support races. Elsewhere, a lack of Hart turbo engines meant that the Spirit team were forced to modify their car to accommodate a naturally-aspirated Ford Cosworth DFV for this race. Qualifying report Qualifying saw Nelson Piquet take pole position in his Brabham-BMW, his second in succession and fourth of the season, by over 0.6 seconds from Alain Prost's McLaren-TAG. Nigel Mansell, having set the fastest time in the Friday session in his Lotus-Renault, was third, a further 0.5 seconds behind, with Michele Alboreto fourth in the Ferrari. On the third row of the grid were Mansell's teammate Elio de Angelis and Derek Warwick in the factory Renault, and on the fourth row were Ayrton Senna's Toleman-Hart and Eddie Cheever's Alfa Romeo. Completing the top ten were the second factory Renault of Patrick Tambay and the second McLaren-TAG of Niki Lauda. Piquet's teammate Teo Fabi could only manage 23rd, while Huub Rothengatter came 27th and last in the Spirit-Ford and thus failed to qualify. Qualifying classification Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap 1 1 BRA 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 1:45.407 1:40.980 2 7 FRA 1974 Alain Prost McLaren-TAG 1:45.717 1:41.640 +0.660 3 12 GBR Nigel Mansell Lotus-Renault 1:45.130 1:42.172 +1.192 4 27 ITA 1946 Michele Alboreto Ferrari 1:47.719 1:42.246 +1.266 5 11 ITA 1946 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Renault 1:47.316 1:42.434 +1.454 6 16 GBR Derek Warwick Renault 1:47.341 1:42.637 +1.657 7 19 BRA 1968 Ayrton Senna Toleman-Hart 1:47.188 1:42.651 +1.671 8 23 USA Eddie Cheever Alfa Romeo 1:47.347 1:43.065 +2.085 9 15 FRA 1974 Patrick Tambay Renault 1:46.426 1:43.289 +2.309 10 8 AUT Niki Lauda McLaren-TAG no time 1:43.484 +2.480 11 3 GBR Martin Brundle Tyrrell-Ford 1:48.966 1:43.754 +2.774 12 26 ITA 1946 Andrea de Cesaris Ligier-Renault 1:46.834 1:43.998 +3.018 13 18 BEL Thierry Boutsen Arrows-BMW 1:47.866 1:44.063 +3.083 14 14 FRG Manfred Winkelhock ATS-BMW 1:47.303 1:44.228 +3.248 15 28 FRA 1974 René Arnoux Ferrari 1:46.805 1:44.748 +3.768 16 4 FRG Stefan Bellof Tyrrell-Ford 1:48.177 1:44.940 +3.960 17 20 VEN 1930 Johnny Cecotto Toleman-Hart 1:49.644 1:45.231 +4.251 18 25 FRA 1974 François Hesnault Ligier-Renault 1:49.597 1:45.419 +4.439 19 5 FRA 1974 Jacques Laffite Williams-Honda 1:47.610 1:46.225 +5.245 20 9 FRA 1974 Philippe Alliot RAM-Hart 1:51.031 1:46.333 +5.353 21 6 FIN Keke Rosberg Williams-Honda 1:47.919 1:46.495 +5.515 22 17 SWI Marc Surer Arrows-Ford 6:22.502 1:46.626 +5.646 23 2 ITA 1946 Teo Fabi Brabham-BMW 1:51.165 1:47.335 +6.355 24 10 GBR Jonathan Palmer RAM-Hart 1:51.493 1:47.743 +6.673 25 22 ITA 1946 Riccardo Patrese Alfa Romeo 1:47.974 1:48.230 +6.994 26 24 ITA 1946 Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:49.141 1:48.865 +7.885DNQ Did not qualify 21 NED Huub Rothengatter Spirit-Ford 1:53.625 1:49.995 +8.975 Race report Warm and sunny weather returned on Sunday after an overnight storm had washed the track clean, but at the green light, there was immediate chaos. Nigel Mansell had decided that he could get by Nelson Piquet off the grid and aimed his Lotus for the space between Piquet's Brabham and Alain Prost's McLaren. He struck the back of Prost and bounced into the side of Piquet, sending the Brabham sliding to the outside wall of the track and into Michele Alboreto's Ferrari. The Brabham's right rear wheel was launched into the air and landed on the front of Ayrton Senna's Toleman, breaking the suspension. At the same time, Marc Surer suddenly found his charge from the back of the grid blocked by Piquet's stricken car, and drove his Arrows into the Brabham's left front wheel. Taking no chances, the organizers stopped the race and made preparations for a restart. Piquet, Alboreto and Senna took to their spare cars, but the Arrows team had none to offer Surer, so the Swiss driver was absent when the field reassembled on the grid. The second start came off without a hitch, as Piquet led from Prost and Mansell. At the end of the first lap, these three were followed by Alboreto, Eddie Cheever who had already gained three places, Derek Warwick, Elio de Angelis, Niki Lauda, Patrick Tambay and Ayrton Senna. Prost followed closely behind Piquet for the first few laps, then dropped back when his rear tires began to lose grip. As a result, Mansell closed up on the Frenchman and overtook him on lap 10, with Piquet five seconds ahead. Immediately, Mansell fought hard to catch the leading Brabham, taking over a second per lap off his lead. Piquet, it seemed, was driving just fast enough to stay in front, however, and Mansell was unable to get within striking distance. On lap 17, the Lotus slowed noticeably while entering the Atwater Tunnel, as he had lost second gear. Meanwhile, not only Prost, but the Renaults of Warwick and Tambay, and then Lauda were forced to stop for new tires, while Piquet was having no trouble at all with the abrasive surface. Within moments of each other on lap 22, Senna's right rear wheel came off in 5th gear on the main straight and he spun into the tire barrier in Turn one while under pressure from Keke Rosberg, and Cheever retired from third place with a cracked inter-cooler. Mansell finally gave up the struggle with his disintegrating gearbox on lap 28, handing second place to Alboreto, 15 seconds behind Piquet. Elio de Angelis was a close third in the second Lotus, then a long gap back to Rosberg and the stunning Tyrrell rookies, Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof. The Tyrrell team, which continued to use the naturally aspirated Cosworth-Ford V8 engine, was generally not expected to be competitive against turbocharged rivals during the season. However, the team had already scored points in four of the first seven races. On tighter circuits, their lower weight and reduced power contributed to improved tire wear. At Detroit, this enabled them to use a softer Goodyear tire compound, while most competitors opted for a harder compound. The cars’ relatively compact design also provided an advantage on the narrow street circuit, particularly through the chicane leading onto the pit straight. Additionally, drivers Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof delivered strong performances in their debut season. As the race developed and conditions became more challenging around mid-distance, Brundle played a key role in sustaining the team’s competitiveness. Bellof, however, suddenly ground to a halt on lap 34 when he struck the wall exiting the chicane before the pits. Then, just as Brundle was pitting for water ballast, Warwick set the fastest lap of the race and passed Rosberg and de Angelis on consecutive laps to take third place. About to set off after Alboreto, Warwick's Renault suddenly lost fifth gear, allowing de Angelis and Rosberg to repass him on lap 37. His gearbox completely expired on lap 41, and he became the eighteenth retirement of the day, leaving only eight cars still running. Rosberg succumbed next with a broken turbocharger, and when Alboreto blew his engine on lap 50, Piquet led by more than 30 seconds. Brundle now found himself in third place and gaining on de Angelis, who was driving without second gear in his Lotus as teammate Mansell had done before retiring. By lap 56, Brundle had erased the ten seconds between him and the Lotus, and he passed by as they approached the chicane to take second place. With seven laps to go, Piquet was 20 seconds ahead and winding down his boost as he allowed Prost to unlap himself. Brundle continued to charge, however, taking almost five seconds per lap off the Champion's lead. Even as Brundle pulled within a second on their last entrance to the Tunnel, Piquet remained cool and took his second victory in eight days by just a few car lengths. The only remaining finishers were de Angelis, thirty seconds back; the second Brabham of Teo Fabi (scoring his first points); Prost and the Williams of Jacques Laffite. Soon after the podium ceremony, word arrived that the officials had found impurities in the water injection system on Brundle's Tyrrell and lead balls in the rubber bag containing the water. Samples of the water were shipped to France and Texas for analysis and were found to contain significant levels of hydrocarbons, though this finding was later overturned on retesting. Ken Tyrrell was called to a meeting of the FISA Executive Committee on July 18 and, based on the impurities in the water, which had been topped up during a pit stop, was accused of refueling the car during the race. (Refueling had been banned prior to the 1984 season and remained illegal until 1994.) The team was banned from the remainder of the World Championship and lost the 13 points they had already gained, though they continued to race, unable to score points. That was weeks later, however, and the organizers in Detroit were grateful for the stirring drive by the English rookie that was the highlight of their event. With his disqualification, however, only 5 drivers were given points, so it wasn't a sixth classified as Alboreto, the last retiree, didn't complete the 90% of the race distance. Race classification Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 1 BRA 1968 Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 63 1:55:41.842 1 9 2 11 ITA 1946 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Renault 63 + 32.638 5 6 3 2 ITA 1946 Teo Fabi Brabham-BMW 63 + 1:26.528 23 4 4 7 FRA 1974 Alain Prost McLaren-TAG 63 + 1:55.258 2 3 5 5 FRA 1974 Jacques Laffite Williams-Honda 62 + 1 Lap 19 2 DSQ Disqualified 3 GBR Martin Brundle Tyrrell-Ford 63 Underweight car 11   Ret Retired 27 ITA 1946 Michele Alboreto Ferrari 49 Engine 4   Ret Retired 6 FIN Keke Rosberg Williams-Honda 47 Turbo 21   Ret Retired 16 GBR Derek Warwick Renault 40 Gearbox 6   DSQ Disqualified 4 FRG Stefan Bellof Tyrrell-Ford 33 Illegal fuel and ballast 16   Ret Retired 15 FRA 1974 Patrick Tambay Renault 33 Transmission 9   Ret Retired 9 FRA 1974 Philippe Alliot RAM-Hart 33 Brakes 20   Ret Retired 8 AUT Niki Lauda McLaren-TAG 33 Electrical 10   Ret Retired 12 GBR Nigel Mansell Lotus-Renault 27 Gearbox 3   Ret Retired 18 BEL Thierry Boutsen Arrows-BMW 27 Engine 13   Ret Retired 26 ITA 1946 Andrea de Cesaris Ligier-Renault 24 Overheating 12   Ret Retired 20 VEN 1930 Johnny Cecotto Toleman-Hart 23 Clutch 17   Ret Retired 23 USA Eddie Cheever Alfa Romeo 21 Engine 8   Ret Retired 19 BRA 1968 Ayrton Senna Toleman-Hart 21 Accident 7   Ret Retired 22 ITA 1946 Riccardo Patrese Alfa Romeo 20 Spun off 25   Ret Retired 25 FRA 1974 François Hesnault Ligier-Renault 3 Accident 18   Ret Retired 24 ITA 1946 Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Alfa Romeo 3 Accident 26   Ret Retired 28 FRA 1974 René Arnoux Ferrari 2 Accident 15   Ret Retired 10 GBR Jonathan Palmer RAM-Hart 2 Tyre 24   Ret Retired 14 FRG Manfred Winkelhock ATS-BMW 0 Engine 14   Ret Retired 17 SWI Marc Surer Arrows-Ford 0 Accident 22  Source:https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1984/races/473/detroit.html 1984 USA East Grand Prix formula1.com November 10, 2017 July 18, 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240718180910/https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1984/races/473/detroit.html dead Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 FRA 1974 Alain Prost 34.5 2 AUT Niki Lauda 24 3 ITA 1946 Elio de Angelis 19.5 4 BRA 1968 Nelson Piquet 18 5 FRA 1974 René Arnoux 16.5Source:https://www.statsf1.com/en/1984/etats-unis-est/championnat.aspx USA East 1984 - Championship • STATS F1 www.statsf1.com March 15, 2019 April 10, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220410075517/https://www.statsf1.com/en/1984/etats-unis-est/championnat.aspx dead Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 GBR McLaren-TAG 58.5 2 ITA 1946 Ferrari 25.5 3 GBR Lotus-Renault 24.5 4 GBR Brabham-BMW 21 5 FRA 1974 Renault20Source: Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Points accurate at final declaration of results. Tyrrell and its drivers were subsequently disqualified and their points reallocated. References 30em Further reading Innes Ireland (October 1984). "3rd Detroit Grand Prix: Look Out, Alain!". Road & Track, 150-154. Mike S. Lang (1992). Grand Prix!: Race-by-race account of Formula 1 World Championship motor racing. Volume 4: 1981 to 1984. Haynes Publishing Group. 0-85429-733-2 Detroit Grand Prix 1984 1984 Canadian Grand Prix 1984 Dallas Grand Prix 1983 Detroit Grand Prix 1985 Detroit Grand Prix 1983 Italian Grand Prix 1985 Australian Grand Prix Detroit Grand Prix Category:Detroit Grand Prix (Formula One) Detroit Grand Prix Detroit Grand Prix Detroit Grand Prix