1981 South African Grand Prix

1981 South African Grand Prix
Non-championship race in the 1981 Formula One season
Race details
Date 7 February 1981
Location Kyalami
Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance 77 laps, 316.008 km (196.358 miles)
Weather Wet/Dry
Pole position
Driver Brabham-Ford
Time 1:12.78
Fastest lap
Driver Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford
Time 1:13.61 on Lap 72
Podium
First Williams-Ford
Second Brabham-Ford
Third Lotus-Ford

The 1981 South African Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held on 7 February 1981 at Kyalami.

The race was originally scheduled to be the opening round of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship. However, the ongoing war between Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) and the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) resulted in FISA insisting on a date change which was not acceptable to the race organisers.[1] Approval was ultimately given for the race to go ahead on its original date, but as a Formula Libre race rather than as a round of the Formula One World Championship.[1] The downgraded race was supported by the teams affiliated with FOCA, but not by the manufacturer teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Ligier, Osella and Renault), all of whom were aligned with FISA. (Toleman was experiencing troubles with its overweight car and would not debut until the San Marino Grand Prix).[1] The eleven teams present all fielded cars fitted with sliding side skirts, aerodynamic devices which were illegal in Formula One for 1981 but acceptable under Formula Libre regulations.[1] The absence of the manufacturer teams meant that all 19 cars in the race were powered by Ford Cosworth engines.[1] Due to tyre manufacturer Goodyear's retirement from the sport at the end of the previous season and Michelin's alignment with FISA, the cars ran equipped with old Avon tyres supplied by Bernie Ecclestone.[2]

The race was eventually won by Carlos Reutemann, driving a Williams, with Nelson Piquet second in a Brabham and Elio de Angelis third in a Lotus.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 1:12.94 1:12.78  —
2 2 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:12.98 - +0.20
3 1 Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 1:13.78 1:13.28 +0.50
4 20 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 1:14.45 1:13.29 +0.51
5 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:14.00 1:13.47 +0.69
6 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 1:15.03 1:14.07 +1.29
7 6 Argentina Ricardo Zunino Brabham-Ford 1:14.71 1:14.35 +1.57
8 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:14.38 1:14.48 +1.60
9 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 1:14.91 1:14.39 +1.61
10 9 Netherlands Jan Lammers ATS-Ford 1:14.93 1:14.85 +2.07
11 30 Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 1:16.16 1:14.93 +2.15
12 3 United States Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 1:14.95 1:15.32 +2.17
13 21 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:15.06 - +2.28
14 14 Switzerland Marc Surer Ensign-Ford 1:15.63 1:15.18 +2.40
15 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:15.25 1:15.85 +2.47
16 4 South Africa Desire Wilson Tyrrell-Ford 1:15.56 1:16.22 +2.78
17 17 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford 1:16.80 - +4.02
18 33 United Kingdom Geoff Lees Theodore-Ford 1:17.39 1:17.08 +4.30
19 18 Chile Eliseo Salazar March-Ford - - -
Source:[3]

Race

Pos. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Qual
1 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 77 1.44:54.03 2
2 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-Ford 77 + 20.14 1
3 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 77 + 1:06.24 5
4 Finland Keke Rosberg Fittipaldi-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 4
5 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 15
6 Italy Riccardo Patrese Arrows-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 6
7 United States Eddie Cheever Tyrrell-Ford 76 + 1 Lap 12
8 Argentina Ricardo Zunino Brabham-Ford 75 + 2 Laps 7
9 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 75 + 2 Laps 13
10 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 74 + 3 Laps 8
11 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly March-Ford 74 + 3 Laps 17
Ret Australia Alan Jones Williams-Ford 62 Skirt 3
Ret Switzerland Marc Surer Ensign-Ford 58 Battery 14
Ret Italy Andrea de Cesaris McLaren-Ford 54 Accident 9
Ret South Africa Desiré Wilson Tyrrell-Ford 51 Accident 16
Ret Chile Eliseo Salazar March-Ford 32 Gearbox 19
Ret Netherlands Jan Lammers ATS-Ford 16 Brakes 10
Ret Italy Siegfried Stohr Arrows-Ford 12 Engine 11
Ret United Kingdom Geoff Lees Theodore-Ford 11 Accident 18
Source:[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "The one that didn't count". forix.autosport.com. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  2. ^ Edmondson, Laurence (31 October 2010). "Bernie Ecclestone timeline". ESPN. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  3. ^ "1981 South African Grand Prix – Race Results & History – GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 7 February 1981. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  4. ^ "1981 South African GP". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 31 August 2024.

1981 SA Grand Prix Dieter Rencken RacingLines https://www.racefans.net/2019/01/23/wpdc-the-breakaway-threat-which-set-the-template-for-modern-f1/


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