1981 Dutch Grand Prix

The 1981 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Zandvoort on 30 August 1981. The race was won by Alain Prost, who led the race for all but one of the 72 laps, in his 25th career start. The race also marked Fittipaldi's return to the F1 circus, having sat out the previous race; although neither Fittipaldi managed to qualify.

1981 Dutch Grand Prix
Race 12 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
The Zandvoort Circuit (1980–1989)
Race details
Date 30 August 1981
Official name XXVII Grote Prijs van Nederland
Location Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.252 km (2.642 mi)
Distance 72 laps, 306.144 km (190.229 mi)
Weather Sunny, Dry
Pole position
Driver Renault
Time 1:18.176
Fastest lap
Driver Alan Jones Williams-Ford
Time 1:21.83 on lap 15
Podium
First Renault
Second Brabham-Ford
Third Williams-Ford

Race

Arnoux and Prost leading the start of the race

At the start, Prost led the field into Tarzan, with teammate René Arnoux following closely behind. Further back in the midfield, Gilles Villeneuve crashed into the back of Bruno Giacomelli's Alfa Romeo, vaulting over the Alfa before spinning out of the race.

As the field wound toward the second corner, Mario Andretti and Carlos Reutemann collided, leaving Andretti's car with a broken nose. Before the end of the first lap, another incident occurred when Patrick Tambay and Didier Pironi came together. It resulted in instant retirement for Tambay, whilst the second Ferrari carried on for three more laps before also pulling out of the race.

At the front of the field, Arnoux was unable to keep up with the pace and dropped four places, behind Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Jacques Laffite and Reutemann. With Arnoux out of the way, Jones hunted down Prost and challenged for the lead until his tires wore out and Jones had to slow down. Reutemann and Laffite, in the meantime, battled fiercely for fourth, ending with both cars crashing out of the race on the 18th lap.

Toward the end of the race, a slowing Jones was overtaken by Piquet. This would prove to be crucial in the World Championship standings, for if Jones had kept second, Piquet would have missed out on the title at the final race of the season.

Classification

Qualifying

Team principal Frank Williams (right) talking with Carlos Reutemann (center) during the practice session
PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
1 15 Alain Prost Renault 1:18.279 1:18.176  
2 16 René Arnoux Renault 1:18.255 1:18.301 +0.079
3 5 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:19.236 1:18.652 +0.476
4 1 Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:18.672 1:19.133 +0.496
5 2 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:19.067 1:18.844 +0.668
6 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:19.386 1:19.018 +0.842
7 22 Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:19.896 1:19.040 +0.864
8 7 John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:19.312 1:19.651 +1.136
9 11 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:21.662 1:19.738 +1.562
10 29 Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:21.010 1:19.864 +1.688
11 25 Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:20.802 1:19.979 +1.803
12 28 Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:21.293 1:20.248 +2.072
13 8 Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:20.651 1:20.377 +2.201
14 23 Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:20.384 1:20.495 +2.208
15 6 Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:20.547 1:20.872 +2.371
16 27 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:21.049 1:20.595 +2.419
17 12 Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:21.106 1:20.663 +2.487
18 32 Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:21.086 1:21.294 +2.910
19 17 Derek Daly March-Ford 1:22.274 1:21.391 +3.215
20 33 Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:22.389 1:21.454 +3.278
21 30 Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:21.568 1:21.713 +3.392
22 3 Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:21.849 1:21.698 +3.522
23 9 Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:21.760 1:22.302 +3.584
24 14 Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:22.382 1:22.024 +3.848
25 4 Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:25.976 1:22.030 +3.854
DNQ 35 Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:22.226 1:24.167 +4.050
DNQ 20 Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:23.518 6:09.795 +5.342
DNQ 21 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:23.677 1:23.613 +5.437
DNQ 31 Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford no time 1:23.898 +5.722
DNQ 36 Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:25.104 1:24.028 +5.852
Source: [1]

Race

Alain Prost won the second grand prix in his career after leading most of the race
Reutemann retires after the collision with Laffite at the Tarzan corner
PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 15 Alain Prost Renault 72 1:40:22.43 1 9
2 5 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 72 + 8.24 3 6
3 1 Alan Jones Williams-Ford 72 + 35.50 4 4
4 6 Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 71 + 1 Lap 15 3
5 11 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 71 + 1 Lap 9 2
6 14 Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 70 + 2 Laps 24 1
7 30 Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 69 + 3 Laps 21  
8 33 Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 69 + 3 Laps 20  
9 4 Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 68 Engine 25  
10 9 Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 68 + 4 Laps 23  
Ret 22 Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 62 Accident 7  
Ret 7 John Watson McLaren-Ford 50 Ignition 8  
Ret 3 Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 46 Suspension 22  
Ret 32 Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 29 Transmission 18  
Ret 16 René Arnoux Renault 21 Engine 2  
Ret 23 Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 19 Tyre 14  
Ret 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 18 Collision 6  
Ret 2 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 18 Collision 5  
Ret 29 Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 16 Suspension 10  
Ret 17 Derek Daly March-Ford 5 Suspension 19  
Ret 28 Didier Pironi Ferrari 4 Collision 12  
Ret 12 Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1 Engine 17  
Ret 25 Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1 Collision 11  
Ret 27 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 0 Collision 16  
DNS 8 Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford   Non Starter  
DNQ 35 Brian Henton Toleman-Hart    
DNQ 20 Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford    
DNQ 21 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford    
DNQ 31 Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford    
DNQ 36 Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart    
Source:[2]

Championship standings after the race

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

References

  1. Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 196. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
  2. "1981 Dutch Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. "Netherlands 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
Previous race:
1981 Austrian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1981 season
Next race:
1981 Italian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1980 Dutch Grand Prix
Dutch Grand Prix Next race:
1982 Dutch Grand Prix
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