1981 Italian Grand Prix

  1981 Italian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 13 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One season
Date	September 13, 1981
Official name	L Gran Premio d'Italia
Location	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza
Course	Permanent racing facility 5.800 km (3.60 mi)
Distance	52 laps, 301.600 km (187.400 mi)
Weather	Dry and sunny
Pole position
Driver	René Arnoux	Renault
Time	1:33.467
Fastest lap
Driver	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford
Time	1:37.528 on lap 48
Podium
First	Alain Prost	Renault
Second	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford
Third	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford

The 1981 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 13, 1981.

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.

The race would be known for the first time a Toleman-Hart qualified and finished in a race with Brian Henton qualifying the car in 23rd place.

Race

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.

One 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. Fortunately, Watson escaped unharmed.

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 very last lap.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:33.467	-
2	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	1:34.140	0.673
3	15	Alain Prost	Renault	1:34.374	0.907
4	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	1:35.062	1.575
5	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:35.359	1.892
6	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	1:35.449	1.982
7	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:35.557	2.090
8	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	1:35.596	2.129
9	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:35.627	2.160
10	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:35.946	2.479
11	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	1.36.158	2.691
12	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	1:36.210	2.743
13	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	1:36.296	2.829
14	6	Hector Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	1:36.472	3.005
15	25	Patrick Tambay	Ligier-Matra	1:36.515	3.048
16	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	1:37.019	3.552
17	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	1:37.160	3.693
18	32	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella-Ford	1:37.264	3.797
19	17	Derek Daly	March-Ford	1:37.309	3.842
20	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:37.355	3.888
21	9	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	1:37.807	4.340
22	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	1:37.912	4.445
23	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	1:38.012	4.545
24	14	Eliseo Salazar	Ensign-Ford	1:38.053	4.586
DNQ	33	Marc Surer	Theodore-Ford	1:38.114	4.647
DNQ	31	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	1:38.474	5.007
DNQ	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	1:39.279	5.812
DNQ	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	1:39.713	6.246
DNQ	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:40.345	6.878
DNQ	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:40.437	6.970

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	15	Alain Prost	Renault	52	1:26:36.897	3	9
2	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	52	+ 22.175	5	6
3	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	52	+ 50.587	2	4
4	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	52	+ 1:32.902	11	3
5	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	52	+ 1:34.522	8	2
6	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	51	Engine	6	1
7	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	51	Puncture	16
8	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	50	+ 2 Laps	10
9	32	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella-Ford	50	+ 2 Laps	18
10	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	49	+ 3 Laps	23
Ret	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	40	Engine	13
Ret	17	Derek Daly	March-Ford	36	Gearbox	19
Ret	25	Patrick Tambay	Ligier-Matra	22	Puncture	15
Ret	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	21	Suspension	12
Ret	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	19	Accident	7
Ret	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	18	Gearbox	20
Ret	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	17	Accident	22
Ret	14	Eliseo Salazar	Ensign-Ford	13	Spun Off	24
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	12	Spun Off	1
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	11	Puncture	4
Ret	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	11	Spun Off	17
Ret	9	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	10	Spun Off	21
Ret	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	5	Engine	9
Ret	6	Hector Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	1	Electrical	14
DNQ	33	Marc Surer	Theodore-Ford
DNQ	31	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford
DNQ	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart
DNQ	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford
DNQ	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford
DNQ	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford

Notes

• Haunted by the trauma of nearly killing mechanic Dave Luckett in a previous race, Siegfried Stohr crashed his Arrows during the qualifying session. He ultimately decided to stop racing and started a successful motor racing academy.
• Nelson Piquet was running 3rd when his engine expired on the next to last lap.
• John Watson had a huge accident at the Lesmo curves when he went wide coming out of the second Lesmo curve, touched the grass and spun across the track, and his carbon-fibre McLaren slammed backwards violently into the Armco barrier, exploded and tore the car in half and strew bits of the car across the track, which caused Michele Alboreto to crash, who escaped with only a few bruises. But Watson walked away unhurt- proving the strength of the McLaren's carbon fibre construction.^[1][2]

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Carlos Reutemann 49 2 Nelson Piquet 46 3 Alain Prost 37 4 Alan Jones 37 5 Jacques Laffite 34

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Ford 86 2 Brabham-Ford 57 3 Renault 48 4 Ligier-Matra 34 5 Ferrari 30

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

References

Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from "The Official Formula 1 website". Retrieved 2007-06-16.