1981 Canadian Grand Prix
| 1981 Canadian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | September 27, 1981 | ||
| Official name | XXI Grand Prix du Canada | ||
| Location | Circuit Île Notre-Dame, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Course | Temporary Street Circuit | ||
| Course length | 4.410 km (2.740 miles) | ||
| Distance | 63 laps, 277.83 km (172.62 miles) | ||
| Weather | Wet, cold | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Brabham-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:29.211 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 John Watson | McLaren-Ford | |
| Time | 1:49.475 on lap 43 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ligier-Matra | ||
| Second | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
The 1981 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 27, 1981, at Montreal. Jacques Laffite won the race driving for Ligier. It would prove to be Ligier's last race win for fifteen years, until the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. Williams clinched the 1981 Constructors' Championship with one race left, as the two points scored by the Brabham team were not sufficient to allow them to catch Williams in the final race. This was also the last time the Canadian Grand Prix was held at the near-end of the season.
Pre-race
Prior to the race, Alan Jones announced that he was retiring from the sport after clinching the title the previous year. Rumors were also spreading around in paddock that Niki Lauda had tested for McLaren at Donington Park and that he was planning a comeback.
Qualifying
Nelson Piquet clinched pole with a time of 1:29.221, with teammate Carlos Reutemann alongside him on the front row. The top ten were completed by: Jones, Prost, Mansell, Rebaque, de Angelis, Arnoux, Watson and Lafite respectively.
Race
The race start was marred with bad weather. Immediately after the start, Jones took the lead after a minor collision with Reutemann which left Reutemann behind. Toward the middle of the pack, Arnoux and Pironi had a collision with resulted in Arnoux spinning out of the race. On lap 7, Jones spun and Piquet had to take evasive action, resulting in both drivers dropping down the pecking order. Prost took the lead with Laffite, who had climbed from tenth, second. Prost's lead did not last long, as Laffite overtook him on lap 13, and kept the lead to the end of the race. Prost was eventually overtaken by Villeneuve and Watson, before retiring with an accident on lap 48. Watson was able to catch and pass Villeneuve a few laps later and the two finished second and third respectively, with Villeneuve clinching his third and last podium of the year on home soil. Bruno Giacomelli of Alfa Romeo, who had started fifteenth, came home fourth, with pole-man Piquet coming in behind him.
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |  Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:29.211 | - |
| 2 | 2 |  Carlos Reutemann
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:29.359 | +0.148 |
| 3 | 1 |  Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford | 1:29.728 | +0.517 |
| 4 | 15 |  Alain Prost
|
Renault | 1:29.908 | +0.697 |
| 5 | 12 | Nigel Mansell
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:29.997 | +0.786 |
| 6 | 6 |  Hector Rebaque
|
Brabham-Ford | 1:30.182 | +0.971 |
| 7 | 11 |  Elio de Angelis
|
Lotus-Ford | 1:30.231 | +1.020 |
| 8 | 16 | René Arnoux
|
Renault | 1:30.232 | +1.021 |
| 9 | 7 | John Watson
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:30.566 | +1.355 |
| 10 | 26 | Jacques Laffite
|
Ligier-Matra | 1:30.705 | +1.494 |
| 11 | 27 |  Gilles Villeneuve
|
Ferrari | 1:31.115 | +1.904 |
| 12 | 28 | Didier Pironi
|
Ferrari | 1:31.350 | +2.139 |
| 13 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris
|
McLaren-Ford | 1:31.507 | +2.296 |
| 14 | 3 |  Eddie Cheever
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:31.547 | +2.336 |
| 15 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli
|
Alfa Romeo | 1:31.600 | +2.389 |
| 16 | 22 | Mario Andretti
|
Alfa Romeo | 1:31.740 | +2.529 |
| 17 | 25 | Patrick Tambay
|
Ligier-Matra | 1:31.747 | +2.536 |
| 18 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:31.969 | +2.758 |
| 19 | 33 |  Marc Surer
|
Theodore-Ford | 1:32.253 | +3.042 |
| 20 | 17 |  Derek Daly
|
March-Ford | 1:32.305 | +3.094 |
| 21 | 9 |  Slim Borgudd
|
ATS-Ford | 1:32.652 | +3.441 |
| 22 | 4 | Michele Alboreto
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:32.709 | +3.498 |
| 23 | 32 | Jean-Pierre Jarier
|
Osella-Ford | 1:33.432 | +4.221 |
| 24 | 14 |  Eliseo Salazar
|
Ensign-Ford | 1:33.848 | +4.637 |
| DNQ | 20 |  Keke Rosberg
|
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:34.310 | +5.099 |
| DNQ | 21 | Chico Serra
|
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:36.546 | +7.335 |
| DNQ | 35 | Brian Henton
|
Toleman-Hart | 1:36.648 | +7.437 |
| DNQ | 30 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Arrows-Ford | 1:36.729 | +7.518 |
| DNQ | 36 | Derek Warwick
|
Toleman-Hart | 1:36.999 | +7.788 |
| DNQ | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani
|
Osella-Ford | 1:37.493 | +8.282 |
Race
Standings after the race
|
|
- 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.