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 mi)
Distance	52 laps, 301.6 km (187.406 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
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.

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[]

Haunted by the trauma of nearly killing mechanic Dave Luckett earlier in the season, Siegfried Stohr crashed his Arrows during the qualifying session. He ultimately decided to stop racing and started a successful motor racing academy.

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.^[2][3]

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.

Classification[]

Qualifying[]

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: [4]

Race[]

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

Championship 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 Source: [7]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Ford 86 2 Brabham-Ford 57 3 Renault 48 4 Ligier-Matra 34 5 Ferrari 30 Source: [7]

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

References[]