The 1981 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 3 May 1981. It was the fourth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.
| 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 | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:34.523 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:48.064 on lap 46 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-Ford | ||
| Second | Arrows-Ford | ||
| Third | Williams-Ford | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
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 Lotus team withdrew their entries because the FIA upheld the ban on the Lotus 88 and team owner Colin Chapman felt the 81s were no longer competitive.[1]
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
|
Toleman-Hart | 1:54.020 | 1:43.187 | +8.664 |
| 30 | 35 | Brian Henton
|
Toleman-Hart | 1:49.951 | no time | +15.428 |
| WD | 11 | Elio de Angelis
|
Lotus-Ford | — | — | — |
| WD | 12 | Nigel Mansell
|
Lotus-Ford | — | — | — |
Source:[2]
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Race
Notes
- This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Swedish driver Slim Borgudd, British driver Derek Warwick and Italian driver and future Grand Prix winner Michele Alboreto.
- This was the 250th Grand Prix in which an Australian driver participated. Only British, American, French and Italian drivers had participated in more Formula One World Championship Grands Prix.
- This race marked the 50th podium finish for a Brazilian driver.
- This was the Formula One World Championship for British constructor Toleman. It wal also the 5th Grand Prix start for Theodore and the 50th Grand Prix start for Renault and a Renault-powered engine.
- This race marked the 25th Grand Prix win for Brabham.
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- ^ Lang, Mike (1992). Grand Prix! Vol 4. Haynes Publishing Group. p. 29. ISBN 0-85429-733-2.
- ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 118. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
- ^ "1981 San Marino Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "1981 San Marino Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 3 May 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- ^ a b "San Marino 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.