1981 San Marino Grand Prix

1981 San Marino Grand Prix
Race 4 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	3 May 1981
Official name	1º Gran Premio di San Marino
Location	Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.040 km (3.132 miles)
Distance	60 laps, 302.400 km (187.902 miles)
Weather	Rain, cold
Pole position
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:34.523
Fastest lap
Driver	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Time	1:48.064 on lap 46
Podium
First	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford
Second	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford
Third	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1981 San Marino Grand Prix was a

The race was the first to bear the title "San Marino Grand Prix", although the Imola circuit is in Italy and several non-championship Formula One races and the 1980 Italian Grand Prix had previously been held at the circuit. The Acque-Minerali chicane had been widened from the year before and was faster; the chicane in its original narrow configuration in 1980 was unpopular with drivers because it was very slow.

The

Gilles Villeneuve took the early lead until an ill-fated pit stop for slick tyres, whereafter Didier Pironi held the lead until late in the race and was passed by Nelson Piquet, who eventually won the race. As well as being Michele Alboreto's Grand Prix debut, the race is also notable for the recovery of Gilles Villeneuve to seventh place, after misjudgement of tyre selection for the conditions. While the team did not qualify for the race, it was the first race entered by Toleman, which is now Alpine F1 Team.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Gap
1	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:35.576	1:34.523	—
2	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	1:35.844	1:35.229	+0.706
3	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:35.281	1:35.292	+0.758
4	15	Alain Prost	Renault	1:35.579	3:58.089	+1.056
5	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	1:37.417	1:35.733	+1.210
6	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	1:36.168	1:35.868	+1.345
7	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:37.639	1:36.241	+1.718
8	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:36.280	1:36.317	+1.757
9	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:37.061	1:36.390	+1.867
10	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	1:38.908	1:36.477	+1.954
11	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:39.372	1:36.776	+2.253
12	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	1:37.587	1:36.919	+2.396
13	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	1:38.822	1:37.264	+2.741
14	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	1:38.019	1:37.382	+2.859
15	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:37.459	1:37.906	+2.936
16	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore-Ford	1:39.215	1:37.545	+3.022
17	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	1:39.341	1:37.771	+3.248
18	25	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Ligier-Matra	1:38.140	1:38.702	+3.617
19	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	1:38.369	1:38.266	+3.743
20	32	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	1:39.245	1:38.302	+3.779
21	14	Marc Surer	Ensign-Ford	1:38.341	1:38.488	+3.818
22	31	Miguel Angel Guerra	Osella-Ford	1:39.799	1:38.773	+4.250
23	18	Eliseo Salazar	March-Ford	1:39.161	1:38.827	+4.304
24	10	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	1:41.196	1:39.079	+4.556
25	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	1:39.112	1:39.553	+4.589
26	17	Derek Daly	March-Ford	1:39.453	1:39.157	+4.634
27	9	Jan Lammers	ATS-Ford	1:40.872	1:39.419	+4.896
28	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:51.453	1:41.114	+6.591
29	36	Derek Warwick	Hart	1:54.020	1:43.187	+8.664
30	35	Brian Henton	Hart	1:49.951	no time	+15.428
WD	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	—	—	—
WD	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	—	—	—
Source:[2]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	M	60	1:51:23.97	5	9
2	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	M	60	+ 4.58	9	6
3	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	M	60	+ 6.34	2	4
4	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	M	60	+ 22.89	13	3
5	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	M	60	+ 25.87	6	2
6	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	M	60	+ 1:06.61	14	1
7	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	60	+ 1:41.97	1
8	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	59	+ 1 Lap	3
9	14	Marc Surer	Ensign-Ford	M	59	+ 1 Lap	21
10	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	M	58	+ 2 Laps	7
11	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore-Ford	M	58	+ 2 Laps	16
12	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	M	58	+ 2 Laps	8
13	10	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	M	57	+3 Laps	24
NC	25	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Ligier-Matra	M	45	Not Classified	18
Ret	17	Eliseo Salazar	March-Ford	M	38	Spun Off	23
Ret	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	M	31	Collision	17
Ret	32	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	M	31	Collision	20
Ret	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	M	28	Collision	11
Ret	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	M	28	Collision	19
Ret	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	M	26	Gearbox	12
Ret	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	A	14	Engine	15
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	M	7	Suspension	10
Ret	15	Alain Prost	Renault	M	3	Gearbox	4
Ret	31	Miguel Angel Guerra	Osella-Ford	M	0	Accident	22
DNQ	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	M
DNQ	18	Derek Daly	March-Ford	M
DNQ	9	Jan Lammers	ATS-Ford	M
DNQ	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	A
DNQ	36	Derek Warwick	Hart	P
DNQ	35	Brian Henton	Hart	P
WD	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	M
WD	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	M
Source:[3][4]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Carlos Reutemann 25 2 Nelson Piquet 22 3 Alan Jones 18 4 Riccardo Patrese 10 5 Alain Prost 4 Source: [5]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Ford 43 2 Brabham-Ford 25 3 Arrows-Ford 10 4 Renault 6 5 Alfa Romeo 3 Source: [5]

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

References