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{{short description|Seventh race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox Grand Prix race report
{{Infobox Grand Prix race report
|Type = F1
|Type = F1
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|Pole_Time = 1:13.754<ref name="LangVol4P40">{{cite book |last=Lang |first=Mike |title=Grand Prix! Vol 4 |publisher=Haynes Publishing Group |date=1992 |isbn=0-85429-733-2 |page=40}}</ref>
|Pole_Time = 1:13.754<ref name="LangVol4P40">{{cite book |last=Lang |first=Mike |title=Grand Prix! Vol 4 |publisher=Haynes Publishing Group |date=1992 |isbn=0-85429-733-2 |page=40}}</ref>
|Pole_Country = France
|Pole_Country = France
|Fast_Driver = [[Alan Jones (Formula 1)|Alan Jones]]
|Fast_Driver = [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]]
|Fast_Team = [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|Fast_Team = [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|Fast_Time = 1:17.818
|Fast_Time = 1:17.818
Line 39: Line 41:
}}
}}


The '''1981 Spanish Grand Prix''' was a [[Formula One]] motor race held on 21 June 1981 at the [[Circuito Permanente del Jarama]], [[Jarama]], [[Spain]].
The '''1981 Spanish Grand Prix''' was a [[Formula One]] motor race held on 21 June 1981 at the [[Circuito Permanente del Jarama]], [[Jarama]], [[Spain]]. It was the seventh race of the [[1981 Formula One World Championship]].


==Summary==
==Summary==
Line 46: Line 48:
There were some changes for this race: [[Eliseo Salazar]] had left [[March Engineering|March]] to join [[Ensign (racing team)|Ensign]], replacing [[Marc Surer]]. Also, [[John Player Special]] sponsorship and livery returned to [[Team Lotus]] after a 2-year hiatus.
There were some changes for this race: [[Eliseo Salazar]] had left [[March Engineering|March]] to join [[Ensign (racing team)|Ensign]], replacing [[Marc Surer]]. Also, [[John Player Special]] sponsorship and livery returned to [[Team Lotus]] after a 2-year hiatus.


The pole went to [[Jacques Laffite]] on his [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]]-[[Equipe Matra Sports|Matra]] with the two [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Cosworth]] of [[Alan Jones (Formula 1)|Alan Jones]] and [[Carlos Reutemann]] second and third ahead of [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]]'s [[Team McLaren|McLaren]], [[Alain Prost]]'s [[Renault F1|Renault]] and the [[Alfa Romeo (Formula One)|Alfa Romeo]] of [[Bruno Giacomelli]]. Gilles Villeneuve was seventh.
The pole went to [[Jacques Laffite]] on his [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]]-[[Equipe Matra Sports|Matra]] with the two [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Cosworth]] of [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]] and [[Carlos Reutemann]] second and third ahead of [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]]'s [[Team McLaren|McLaren]], [[Alain Prost]]'s [[Renault F1|Renault]] and the [[Alfa Romeo (Formula One)|Alfa Romeo]] of [[Bruno Giacomelli]]. Gilles Villeneuve was seventh.


Race day was unusually hot. At the beginning of the race Jones and Reutemann went into the lead, as Laffite made a poor start. Villeneuve jumped into third place at the first corner, damaging Prost's front wing as he took the position. At the end of the first lap Villeneuve pulled out of Reutemann's slipstream and took second place. Jones began to build a lead but on lap 14 he went off the track, when he was 10 seconds ahead of the Canadian.
Race day was unusually hot. At the beginning of the race Jones and Reutemann went into the lead, as Laffite made a poor start. Villeneuve jumped into third place at the first corner, damaging Prost's front wing as he took the position. At the end of the first lap Villeneuve pulled out of Reutemann's slipstream and took second place. Jones began to build a lead but on lap 14 he went off the track, when he was 10 seconds ahead of the Canadian.
Line 54: Line 56:
Villeneuve used the power of his Ferrari engine on the straight to gain a little margin and not get overtaken by his rivals, but in the corners they were all over him. Many times Laffite pulled alongside the Canadian as they went out a corner but the Ferrari would stay ahead as the horsepower kicked in. The five remained locked together right to the flag, crossing the line covered by just 1.24 seconds to record the second-closest race in the history of Formula One.
Villeneuve used the power of his Ferrari engine on the straight to gain a little margin and not get overtaken by his rivals, but in the corners they were all over him. Many times Laffite pulled alongside the Canadian as they went out a corner but the Ferrari would stay ahead as the horsepower kicked in. The five remained locked together right to the flag, crossing the line covered by just 1.24 seconds to record the second-closest race in the history of Formula One.


This would be the last Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, owing to criticism of the track being too narrow for modern Formula One, the unpleasant conditions and the small crowd<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVyLEM-0wE |title=1981-FIA-Review-07-Spain |publisher=YouTube |date=2006-07-17 |access-date=2012-06-16}}</ref> (the small turn-out was probably due to the backlash of the [[1980 Spanish Grand Prix|previous year's race]] not being counted as a World Championship race, the announcement was made on the weekend itself); and the last Spanish Grand Prix until the {{f1|1986}} season, when it would be held at the newly built [[Circuito de Jerez|Jerez circuit]] in the south of the country.
This would be the last Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, owing to criticism of the track being too narrow for modern Formula One, the unpleasant conditions and the small crowd (the small turn-out was probably due to the backlash of the [[1980 Spanish Grand Prix|previous year's race]] not being counted as a World Championship race, the announcement was made on the weekend itself){{citation needed|date=August 2024}}; and the last Spanish Grand Prix until the {{f1|1986}} season, when it would be held at the newly built [[Circuito de Jerez|Jerez circuit]] in the south of the country. At this Grand Prix the [[Emilio de Villota|Equipe Banco Occidental]] team became the last [[Privateer (motorsport)|privateer team]] to have entered a car for a race alongside a [[Factory-backed|works team]] when they entered a [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]] car alongside the Williams works team, but eventually withdrew before the practice and qualifying.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.racingsportscars.com/f1/entry/Jarama-1981-06-21.html|title=1981 Spanish Grand Prix Entry list}}</ref>


== Classification ==
== Classification ==
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! 2
! 2
| 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Alan Jones (Formula 1)|Alan Jones]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 1:14.424
| 1:14.424
Line 380: Line 382:
! 7
! 7
| 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Alan Jones (Formula 1)|Alan Jones]]
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[WilliamsF1|Williams]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| {{Michelin}}
| {{Michelin}}
Line 618: Line 620:
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
|-
!colspan="9" style="text-align: center"|Source: <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/364/ |title=1981 Spanish Grand Prix |publisher=formula1.com |access-date=23 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824174602/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/364/ |archive-date=24 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gparchive.com/formula-1/1981-spanish-grand-prix/|title=1981 Spanish Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive|website=GPArchive.com|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref>
!colspan="9" style="text-align: center"|Source: <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/364/ |title=1981 Spanish Grand Prix |publisher=formula1.com |access-date=23 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824174602/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1981/364/ |archive-date=24 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gparchive.com/formula-1/1981-spanish-grand-prix/|title=1981 Spanish Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive|website=GPArchive.com|date=21 June 1981 |access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref>
|}
|}

==Notes==

* This was the 300th Grand Prix in which a [[France|Frenchman]] participated. In those 300 races, French drivers had won 15 Grands Prix, achieved 106 podium finishes, 24 pole positions, 29 fastest laps and 2 Grand Slams.


==Championship standings after the race==
==Championship standings after the race==

Latest revision as of 07:25, 4 September 2024

1981 Spanish Grand Prix
Race 7 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 21 June 1981
Official name XXVII Gran Premio de España
Location Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, Jarama, Spain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 3.312 km (2.06 miles)
Distance 80 laps, 264.96 km (164.70 miles)
Weather Sunny, hot
Pole position
Driver
Ligier-Matra
Time 1:13.754[1]
Fastest lap
Driver Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford
Time 1:17.818 on lap 5[2]
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Ligier-Matra
Third
McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 June 1981 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama, Jarama, Spain. It was the seventh race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.

Summary

[edit]

The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix featured the second closest finish ever of a Formula One race: after Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari, the four following cars finished in just 1.24 seconds. This was Villeneuve's last victory, often regarded as his tactical masterpiece.[3]

There were some changes for this race: Eliseo Salazar had left March to join Ensign, replacing Marc Surer. Also, John Player Special sponsorship and livery returned to Team Lotus after a 2-year hiatus.

The pole went to Jacques Laffite on his Ligier-Matra with the two Williams-Cosworth of Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann second and third ahead of John Watson's McLaren, Alain Prost's Renault and the Alfa Romeo of Bruno Giacomelli. Gilles Villeneuve was seventh.

Race day was unusually hot. At the beginning of the race Jones and Reutemann went into the lead, as Laffite made a poor start. Villeneuve jumped into third place at the first corner, damaging Prost's front wing as he took the position. At the end of the first lap Villeneuve pulled out of Reutemann's slipstream and took second place. Jones began to build a lead but on lap 14 he went off the track, when he was 10 seconds ahead of the Canadian.

This left Villeneuve with Reutemann on his tail. Behind them Watson, Laffite and Elio de Angelis began to close on the dueling leaders. Reutemann was having some trouble with his gearbox and when Laffite arrived behind him there was little the Argentine could do to stop him from overtaking. Reutemann would later drop behind Watson. The five front-runners became a train of cars, packed together for the remaining laps of the race.

Villeneuve used the power of his Ferrari engine on the straight to gain a little margin and not get overtaken by his rivals, but in the corners they were all over him. Many times Laffite pulled alongside the Canadian as they went out a corner but the Ferrari would stay ahead as the horsepower kicked in. The five remained locked together right to the flag, crossing the line covered by just 1.24 seconds to record the second-closest race in the history of Formula One.

This would be the last Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, owing to criticism of the track being too narrow for modern Formula One, the unpleasant conditions and the small crowd (the small turn-out was probably due to the backlash of the previous year's race not being counted as a World Championship race, the announcement was made on the weekend itself)[citation needed]; and the last Spanish Grand Prix until the 1986 season, when it would be held at the newly built Jerez circuit in the south of the country. At this Grand Prix the Equipe Banco Occidental team became the last privateer team to have entered a car for a race alongside a works team when they entered a Williams car alongside the Williams works team, but eventually withdrew before the practice and qualifying.[4]

Classification

[edit]

Qualifying

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:14.822 1:13.754  —
2 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:14.424 1:14.024 +0.270
3 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:14.808 1:14.342 +0.588
4 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:15.094 1:14.657 +0.903
5 15 France Alain Prost Renault 1:14.980 1:14.669 +0.915
6 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:16.807 1:14.897 +1.143
7 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:16.548 1:14.987 +1.233
8 22 United States Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:15.576 1:15.159 +1.405
9 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:16.861 1:15.355 +1.601
10 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:15.399 1:15.449 +1.645
11 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:16.226 1:15.562 +1.808
12 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:16.038 1:15.627 +1.873
13 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:16.522 1:15.715 +1.961
14 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:16.119 1:15.850 +2.096
15 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:16.040 1:15.924 +2.170
16 33 France Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford 1:17.347 1:16.355 +2.601
17 16 France René Arnoux Renault 1:17.132 1:16.406 +2.652
18 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:16.722 1:16.527 +2.773
19 25 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Ligier-Matra 1:16.559 1:16.794 +2.805
20 3 United States Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:17.459 1:16.641 +2.887
21 21 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:18.705 1:16.782 +3.028
22 17 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford 1:17.416 1:16.979 +3.225
23 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:18.331 1:17.294 +3.540
24 14 Chile Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:18.769 1:17.822 +4.068
25 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:18.859 1:17.943 +4.189
26 31 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford no time 1:18.169 +4.415
27 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:20.028 1:18.263 +4.509
28 35 United Kingdom Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:19.815 1:18.340 +4.586
29 36 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:20.342 1:18.872 +5.118
30 32 Italy Giorgio Francia Osella-Ford 1:19.586 8:22.382 +5.832
WD 37 Spain Emilio de Villota Williams-Ford  —  —  —
Source: [5]

Race

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 27 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari M 80 1:46:35.01 7 9
2 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 80 + 0.22 1 6
3 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford M 80 + 0.58 4 4
4 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford M 80 + 1.01 3 3
5 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford M 80 + 1.24 10 2
6 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford M 80 + 28.58 11 1
7 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford M 80 + 56.58 2  
8 22 United States Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo M 80 + 1:00.80 8  
9 16 France René Arnoux Renault M 80 + 1:07.08 17  
10 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 80 + 1:13.65 6  
11 21 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford M 79 + 1 Lap 21  
12 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford M 78 + 2 Laps 15  
13 33 France Patrick Tambay Theodore-Ford M 78 + 2 Laps 16  
14 14 Chile Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford M 77 + 3 Laps 24  
15 28 France Didier Pironi Ferrari M 76 + 4 Laps 13  
16 17 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford M 75 + 5 Laps 22  
NC 3 United States Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford M 62 Not Classified 20  
Ret 25 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille Ligier-Matra M 51 Brakes 19  
Ret 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford M 46 Gearbox 18  
Ret 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford M 43 Ignition 23  
Ret 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford M 43 Accident 9  
Ret 15 France Alain Prost Renault M 28 Spun Off 5  
Ret 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford M 21 Brakes 12  
Ret 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford M 9 Accident 14  
DNQ 4 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford M    
DNQ 31 Italy Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford M    
DNQ 9 Sweden Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford M    
DNQ 35 United Kingdom Brian Henton Toleman-Hart P    
DNQ 36 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P    
DNQ 32 Italy Giorgio Francia Osella-Ford M        
Source: [6][7]

Notes

[edit]
  • This was the 300th Grand Prix in which a Frenchman participated. In those 300 races, French drivers had won 15 Grands Prix, achieved 106 podium finishes, 24 pole positions, 29 fastest laps and 2 Grand Slams.

Championship standings after the race

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

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lang, Mike (1992). Grand Prix! Vol 4. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 40. ISBN 0-85429-733-2.
  2. ^ Lang, Mike (1992). Grand Prix! Vol 4. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 43. ISBN 0-85429-733-2.
  3. ^ Gerald Donaldson. Gilles Villeneuve: The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver (London: Motor Racing Publications, 1996) ISBN 978-0-947981-44-0
  4. ^ "1981 Spanish Grand Prix Entry list".
  5. ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 146. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
  6. ^ "1981 Spanish Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. ^ "1981 Spanish Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 21 June 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Spain 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.


Previous race:
1981 Monaco Grand Prix 		FIA Formula One World Championship
1981 season 		Next race:
1981 French Grand Prix
Previous race:
1980 Spanish Grand Prix 		Spanish Grand Prix Next race:
1986 Spanish Grand Prix
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