1981 Austrian Grand Prix

The 1981 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on 16 August 1981. It was the eleventh race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.[1]

1981 Austrian Grand Prix
Race 11 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
The Österreichring Circuit (1977-1987)
Race details
Date 16 August 1981
Official name XIX Großer Preis von Osterreich
Location Österreichring
Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.942 km (3.692 mi)
Distance 53 laps, 314.926 km (195.686 mi)
Weather Mild, Dry
Pole position
Driver
Renault
Time 1:32.018
Fastest lap
Driver Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra
Time 1:37.62 on lap 47
Podium
First
Ligier-Matra
Second
Renault
Third
Brabham-Ford

The 53-lap race was won by Frenchman Jacques Laffite, driving a Ligier-Matra. Compatriot René Arnoux finished second in a Renault, having started from pole position, with Brazilian Nelson Piquet third in a Brabham-Ford. Piquet moved to within six points of Drivers' Championship leader, Argentine Carlos Reutemann, who finished fifth in his Williams-Ford.

Report

Qualifying

In qualifying, just like the previous year, it was an all-French front row; René Arnoux planted his turbocharged Renault on pole, alongside his teammate Alain Prost. Next was Gilles Villeneuve in his turbocharged Ferrari, Jacques Laffite in the Ligier, Carlos Reutemann and Alan Jones in the Williams cars were 5th and 6th, then Nelson Piquet in a Brabham and then Didier Pironi in the other turbocharged Ferrari.

The Fittipaldi team was not present because they did not have enough engines.[2]

Race

At the start, Villeneuve got the jump on the two Renaults and led into the Hella-Licht chicane. On the next lap, Prost passed Villeneuve into the Hella-Licht; Villeneuve tried to outbrake Prost but he locked up solid and went into some runoff area; as did Reutemann. Both the Canadian and Argentine drivers were able to rejoin, but with time lost.

At the high-speed Österreichring, a power advantage paid dividends. Prost and Arnoux were able to pull away from the rest of the field. Around lap 4, Pironi (who had made a lightning start from 8th on the grid) was running 3rd, and Laffite, Piquet, Jones and eventually Reutemann had caught up to Pironi. None of them could find a way past, and were held up by Pironi for a number of laps. In a similar situation to the Spanish Grand Prix earlier in the year, the Ferrari had more power than any of the cars behind it did, but its handling was way worse; so they were able to stay with the Ferrari. The 5 drivers battled it out, with Piquet, Laffite, Jones and Reutemann keeping with and desperately trying to find a way past Pironi, but not being able to because of the Ferrari's power pulling away on the straights; made more difficult by the fact that the scenic Österreichring was made up almost entirely of long corners and straights.

Villeneuve crashed heavily at the Bosch-Kurve on lap 12, and finally, Laffite, having already passed Piquet, managed to outbrake Pironi into the first of the Texaco bends, and then the rest of the three drivers got by as well. Prost retired from the lead with damaged suspension, and Laffite then charged after Arnoux, passing him at the second of the 2 Texaco Bends. Laffite was to hold the lead until the end, and the poor performance of the Ferrari in relation to other cars meant that Pironi managed to hold up more cars.

Laffite crossed the line, followed by Arnoux, Piquet, Jones, Reutemann (who coasted over the finish line with a dead engine) and John Watson in the carbon-fibre McLaren.

Classification

Qualifying
PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap
1 16 René Arnoux Renault 1:32.682 1:32.018  —
2 15 Alain Prost Renault 1:32.798 1:32.321 +0.303
3 27 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:33.334 1:35.150 +1.316
4 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:35.002 1:34.398 +2.380
5 2 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:34.531 1:35.633 +2.513
6 1 Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:34.654 1:34.999 +2.636
7 5 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:34.871 1:35.519 +2.853
8 28 Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:35.346 1:35.037 +3.019
9 11 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:35.294 1:35.858 +3.276
10 29 Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:35.912 1:35.442 +3.424
11 12 Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:36.688 1:35.569 +3.551
12 7 John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:36.007 1:35.977 +3.959
13 22 Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 1:36.560 1:36.079 +4.061
14 32 Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:38.004 1:36.117 +4.099
15 6 Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 1:36.511 1:36.150 +4.132
16 23 Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:37.637 1:36.216 +4.198
17 25 Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 1:36.233 1:36.443 +4.215
18 8 Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:36.657 no time +4.639
19 17 Derek Daly March-Ford 1:37.777 1:37.230 +5.212
20 14 Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 1:38.273 1:37.631 +5.613
21 9 Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 1:38.529 1:37.709 +5.691
22 4 Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:39.674 1:38.084 +6.066
23 33 Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 1:38.522 1:44.262 +6.504
24 30 Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:38.616 1:38.546 +6.528
25 3 Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:38.583 1:39.351 +6.565
26 36 Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:40.391 1:38.593 +6.575
27 35 Brian Henton Toleman-Hart 1:39.987 1:38.691 +6.673
28 31 Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford 1:41.198 1:46.079 +9.180
WD 20 Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford  —  —  —
WD 21 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford  —  —  —
Source: [3]

Race
PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 53 1:27:36.47 4 9
2 16 René Arnoux Renault 53 + 5.17 1 6
3 5 Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 53 + 7.34 7 4
4 1 Alan Jones Williams-Ford 53 + 12.04 6 3
5 2 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 53 + 31.85 5 2
6 7 John Watson McLaren-Ford 53 + 1:31.14 12 1
7 11 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 52 + 1 Lap 9  
8 8 Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 52 + 1 Lap 18  
9 28 Didier Pironi Ferrari 52 + 1 Lap 8  
10 32 Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 51 + 2 Laps 14  
11 17 Derek Daly March-Ford 47 + 6 Laps 19  
Ret 22 Mario Andretti Alfa Romeo 46 Engine 13  
Ret 9 Slim Borgudd ATS-Ford 44 Brakes 21  
Ret 29 Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 43 Engine 10  
Ret 14 Eliseo Salazar Ensign-Ford 43 Oil Pressure 20  
Ret 4 Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 40 Gearbox 22  
Ret 23 Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 35 Fire 16  
Ret 6 Héctor Rebaque Brabham-Ford 32 Clutch 15  
Ret 30 Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 27 Overheating 24  
Ret 15 Alain Prost Renault 26 Suspension 2  
Ret 25 Patrick Tambay Ligier-Matra 26 Engine 17  
Ret 12 Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 23 Engine 11  
Ret 27 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 11 Accident 3  
Ret 33 Marc Surer Theodore-Ford 0 Distributor 23  
DNQ 3 Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford        
DNQ 36 Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart        
DNQ 35 Brian Henton Toleman-Hart        
DNQ 31 Beppe Gabbiani Osella-Ford        
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
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References
  1. "1981 Austrian Grand Prix Entry list". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Grand Prix Results: Austrian GP, 1981". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  3. Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 186. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
  4. "1981 Austrian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  5. "Austria 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
Previous race:
1981 German Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
1981 season		 Next race:
1981 Dutch Grand Prix
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1980 Austrian Grand Prix		 Austrian Grand Prix Next race:
1982 Austrian Grand Prix
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