1981 British Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Great Britain in 1981 took place on 18 July in Silverstone and was the ninth race of the Formula 1 season 1981.
- 3.1 qualifying
- 3.2 race
- 4.1 Drivers' Championship
- 4.2 Constructors' Championship
Reports
Background
Before the ninth world championship race of the year Jean -Pierre Jarier was brought in as second Osella - pilot. The Team Lotus tried one more time, the controversial, now further developed Lotus 88B to report with double chassis for the race weekend. During training, the car was again classified as non-compliant and all lap times thus obtained were deleted.
Several teams changed their tire partner. So Lotus came with Goodyear tires and Arrows chose Pirelli instead of Michelin.
Training
The two Renault driver René Arnoux and Alain Prost qualified for the front row in front of Nelson Piquet in a Brabham and Didier Pironi at Ferrari. The two McLaren team driver John Watson and Andrea de Cesaris formed the third row ahead of reigning world champion Alan Jones and Gilles Villeneuve.
Due to the deprivation of her made on Friday with the Lotus 88B in the first qualifying lap times, the two drivers Elio de Angelis and Nigel Mansell were forced to qualify for the second passage on Saturday with the Lotus 87. Mansell did not succeed. Moreover, since the two Toleman pilots Brian Henton and Derek Warwick failed again in the qualifiers, John Watson was the only British participant who could earn his home Grand Prix this year.
Race
Prost finished the first lap as the leader before Pironi, Villeneuve, Arnoux and Piquet. By the third lap Arnoux fought past two Ferrari drivers and put the original Renault double guide restore that had resulted from the training.
Shortly after he had been overtaken by Piquet, Villeneuve turned up in the Woodcote curve. When trying to evade the Ferrari, Jones collided with this and with the McLaren MP4 / 1 of de Cesaris, who violently struck consequently into the barriers. Villeneuve's car first appeared still roadworthy, but after a few meters, the Canadians had to abandon the race.
In the fifth round Pironi was overtaken by Piquet. Due to a puncture but it crashed in the twelfth round.
Watson, who had also been hampered by the collision between de Cesaris and Jones had, meanwhile, worked at Mario Andretti and Carlos Reutemann past to fourth forward. By Pironi's failure in lap 14 he came in third place behind the two Renault.
An engine failure of the leader Prost brought Arnoux on the 18th lap in the lead and Watson into second place. They were followed Reutemann and Riccardo Patrese and Andretti and Héctor Rebaque.
As from the 50th round, the second Renault engine caused problems, Watson was able to catch the leader and eventually overtake him on lap 60. Ultimately, John Watson reached his second Grand Prix victory almost five years after his success at the Grand Prix of Austria in 1976 before Carlos Reutemann, Jacques Laffite, Eddie Cheever, Héctor Rebaque and Slim Borgudd.
It was the first Grand Prix victory for a car with machined from carbon fiber -reinforced plastic monocoque.
Message list
1 The Lotus 88B was used by both drivers only on the first day of practice.
Classifications
Qualifying
2 The lap times from the first qualifying session were the two Lotus drivers disallowed because they had been made with the amount classified as non-compliant Lotus 88B.
Race
WM stands after the race
The first six of the race were 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point (s).