1981 Belgian Grand Prix

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1981 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 5 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 17 May 1981
Location Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Course length 4.262 km (2.648 miles)
Distance 54 laps, 230.148 km (143.007 miles)
Scheduled distance 70 laps, 298.340 km (185.380 miles)
Weather Dry, then wet at the end
Pole position
Driver Williams-Ford
Time 1:22.28
Fastest lap
Driver Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford
Time 1:23.30 on lap 37
Podium
First Williams-Ford
Second Ligier-Matra
Third Lotus-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1981 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on 17 May 1981.[1] It was the fifth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. It was the last of 12 victories for Carlos Reutemann and the last win for an Argentine driver as of 2023. It was also the first of 59 podiums for 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell.

Mechanic safety and chaotic first race[edit]

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)[2] 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.[3]

Race report[edit]

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[edit]

Qualifying[edit]

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:22.28 1:36.27  —
2 5 Brazil 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 United Kingdom 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 United States 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 United Kingdom 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 United States 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 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 18 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 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:35.97 no time +13.69
30 35 United Kingdom Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:36.37 1:42.95 +14.09
31† 17 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford  —  —  —
Source:[4]
  • † — time disallowed.

Race[edit]

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford M 54 1:16:31.61 1 9
2 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 54 + 36.06 9 6
3 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford M 54 + 43.69 10 4
4 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 54 + 47.64 7 3
5 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford M 54 + 49.20 14 2
6 3 United States Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford M 54 + 52.51 8 1
7 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford M 54 + 1:01.66 5
8 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari M 54 + 1:32.04 3
9 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 54 + 1:35.58 17
10 22 United States Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 53 + 1 Lap 18
11 14 Switzerland Marc Surer Ensign-Ford M 52 + 2 Laps 15
12 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford M 52 + 2 Laps 19
13 31 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Ford M 50 + 4 Laps 24
Ret 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford M 39 Accident 21
Ret 25 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Ligier-Matra M 35 Transmission 16
Ret 21 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford M 29 Engine 20
Ret 32 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M 22 Engine 22
Ret 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford M 19 Accident 6
Ret 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 11 Gearbox 23
Ret 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford M 10 Accident 2
Ret 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford A 10 Gearbox 11
Ret 15 France Alain Prost Renault M 2 Clutch 12
Ret 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford M 0 Collision 4
Ret 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford M 0 Collision 13
DNQ 18 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford M
DNQ 16 France René Arnoux Renault M
DNQ 17 Chile Eliseo Salazar March-Ford M
DNQ 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford M
DNQ 33 France Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford M
DNQ 36 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P
DNQ 35 United Kingdom Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P
Source:[5][6]

Championship standings after the race[edit]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1981 Belgian Grand Prix Entry list".
  2. ^ Sopeña, German. "Reutemann se llevó todo". F1-Web. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Blighted by restart chaos". forix.com. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  4. ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
  5. ^ "1981 Belgian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. ^ "1981 Belgian Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 17 May 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Belgium 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.


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