1981 Italian Grand Prix
| 1981 Italian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 13 September 1981 | ||
| Official name | LII Gran Premio d'Italia | ||
| Location |
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Monza, Lombardy, Italy | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.8 km (3.604 miles) | ||
| Distance | 52 laps, 301.6 km (187.406 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry and sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:33.467 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | |
| Time | 1:37.528 on lap 48 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Renault | ||
| Second | Williams-Ford | ||
| Third | Williams-Ford | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 1981 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1981.[1]
Formula One returned to the Monza circuit after a year's absence; the year previous's Italian Grand Prix had been held at the Imola circuit.
Coming into Italy, both Nelson Piquet and Carlos Reutemann were tied on points in the Drivers' Championship; Reutemann would eventually leave with the lead. Alain Prost was also becoming a challenger for the world title, having been challenging both leaders in the recent races.
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 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 |  René Arnoux
|
Renault | 1:34.042 | 1:33.467 | |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann
|
Williams-Ford | 1:35.153 | 1:34.140 | +0.673 |
| 3 | 15 | Alain Prost
|
Renault | 1:34.492 | 1:34.374 | +0.907 |
| 4 | 26 | Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra | 1:36.529 | 1:35.062 | +1.575 |
| 5 | 1 |  Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford | 1:35.983 | 1:35.359 | +1.892 |
| 6 | 5 |  Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:35.449 | 1:35.484 | +1.982 |
| 7 | 7 |  John Watson
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:35.795 | 1:35.557 | +2.090 |
| 8 | 28 | Didier Pironi
|
Ferrari | 1:35.977 | 1:35.596 | +2.129 |
| 9 | 27 |  Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari | 1:35.627 | 1:55.012 | +2.160 |
| 10 | 23 |  Bruno Giacomelli
|
Alfa Romeo | 1:38.617 | 1:35.946 | +2.479 |
| 11 | 11 | Elio de Angelis
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:36.158 | 1:36.309 | +2.691 |
| 12 | 12 | Nigel Mansell
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:38.100 | 1:36.210 | +2.743 |
| 13 | 22 |  Mario Andretti
|
Alfa Romeo | 1:37.166 | 1:36.296 | +2.829 |
| 14 | 6 |  Héctor Rebaque
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:37.131 | 1:36.472 | +3.005 |
| 15 | 25 | Patrick Tambay
|
Ligier-Matra | 1:36.515 | 1:36.545 | +3.048 |
| 16 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
McLaren-Ford | no time | 1:37.019 | +3.552 |
| 17 | 3 | Eddie Cheever
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:38.736 | 1:37.160 | +3.693 |
| 18 | 32 | Jean-Pierre Jarier
|
Osella-Ford | 1:38.167 | 1:37.264 | +3.797 |
| 19 | 17 |  Derek Daly
|
March-Ford | 1:38.852 | 1:37.303 | +3.836 |
| 20 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:37.355 | 1:37.552 | +3.888 |
| 21 | 9 |  Slim Borgudd
|
ATS-Ford | 1:39.106 | 1:37.807 | +4.340 |
| 22 | 4 | Michele Alboreto
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:38.411 | 1:37.912 | +4.445 |
| 23 | 35 | Brian Henton
|
Toleman-Hart | 1:41.369 | 1:38.012 | +4.545 |
| 24 | 14 |  Eliseo Salazar
|
Ensign-Ford | 1:39.033 | 1:38.053 | +4.586 |
| DNQ | 33 |  Marc Surer
|
Theodore-Ford | 1:38.778 | 1:38.114 | +4.647 |
| DNQ | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani
|
Osella-Ford | 1:40.930 | 1:38.474 | +5.007 |
| DNQ | 36 | Derek Warwick
|
Toleman-Hart | 1:39.936 | 1:39.279 | +5.812 |
| DNQ | 30 | Siegfried Stohr
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:39.713 | 1:39.776 | +6.246 |
| DNQ | 20 |  Keke Rosberg
|
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:42.229 | 1:40.345 | +6.878 |
| DNQ | 21 | Chico Serra
|
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:41.185 | 1:40.437 | +6.970 |
| Source: [2] | ||||||
Race report
When the race started, pole-man René Arnoux fell back to third while Prost and Reutemann battled for the lead. Behind, Didier Pironi was fourth after overtaking four cars on the run up to the first chicane. Pironi continued his charge with Reutemann and Arnoux soon behind him. As his opponents dropped behind, Prost increased his lead and would keep it for the rest of the race. Jacques Laffite also made an excellent start, and was running third when he retired from the race with a puncture on lap 11.
On Lap 19, John Watson lost control of his car at the Lesmo and smashed into the barriers at high speed, igniting a small fire at the back of the car. His McLaren's engine tub broke off from the car and debris littered the track. Michele Alboreto, who was behind Watson, crashed into the broken off engine, while Carlos Reutemann took to the grass and brushed a barrier whilst avoiding the accident, losing a place and sustaining minor damage. Watson escaped unharmed.[3][4]
As the race reached the halfway point, the standings stood as: Prost, Jones, Piquet, Reutemann and de Angelis. In an incredible case of misfortune, Piquet's engine blew on the last lap, promoting Reutemann into third and turning the tables for title hopes of the two. The Brazilian, however, was able to score a point as the sixth driver to have covered the entire race distance. Andrea de Cesaris, suffered a puncture on the last lap.
Race classification
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- ^ "1981 Italian Grand Prix Entry list".
- ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 206. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
- ^ "John Watson Accidente en Monza, GP Italia 1981". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
- ^ "Grand Prix Results: Italian GP, 1981". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ "1981 Italian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "1981 Italian Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 13 September 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Italy 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
