1981 British Grand Prix
Motor car race
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The 1981 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 18 July 1981. It was the ninth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. John Watson won his first race since the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, and McLaren's first since James Hunt's victory at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix. The race also marked the first victory for a carbon composite monocoque F1 car, the McLaren MP4/1.
Date
18 July 1981
Official name
XXXIV Marlboro British Grand Prix
Location
Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, Great Britain
Course
Permanent racing facility
| 1981 British Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship | |||
|
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| Race details | |||
| Date | 18 July 1981 | ||
| Official name | XXXIV Marlboro British Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, Great Britain | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.718[1] km (2.932 miles) | ||
| Distance | 68 laps, 320.824[1] km (199.351 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:11.000 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 René Arnoux | Renault | |
| Time | 1:15.067 on lap 50 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Second | Williams-Ford | ||
| Third | Ligier-Matra | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | René Arnoux |
Renault | 1:12.158 | 1:11.000 | — |
| 2 | 15 | Alain Prost |
Renault | 1:12.237 | 1:11.046 | +0.046 |
| 3 | 5 |  Nelson Piquet |
Brabham-Ford | 1:12.328 | 1:11.952 | +0.952 |
| 4 | 28 | Didier Pironi |
Ferrari | 1:14.070 | 1:12.644 | +1.644 |
| 5 | 7 |  John Watson |
McLaren-Ford | 1:13.370 | 1:12.712 | +1.712 |
| 6 | 8 |  Andrea de Cesaris |
McLaren-Ford | 1:13.976 | 1:12.728 | +1.728 |
| 7 | 1 |  Alan Jones |
Williams-Ford | 1:12.998 | 1:13.250 | +1.998 |
| 8 | 27 |  Gilles Villeneuve |
Ferrari | 1:14.182 | 1:13.311 | +2.311 |
| 9 | 2 |  Carlos Reutemann |
Williams-Ford | 1:13.467 | 1:13.371 | +2.371 |
| 10 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese |
Arrows-Ford | 1:15.217 | 1:13.762 | +2.762 |
| 11 | 22 |  Mario Andretti |
Alfa Romeo | 1:14.440 | 1:13.928 | +2.928 |
| 12 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli |
Alfa Romeo | 1:14.119 | 1:14.442 | +3.119 |
| 13 | 6 |  Héctor Rebaque |
Brabham-Ford | 1:14.594 | 1:14.542 | +3.542 |
| 14 | 26 | Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Matra | 1:15.313 | 1:14.798 | +3.798 |
| 15 | 25 | Patrick Tambay |
Ligier-Matra | 1:15.656 | 1:14.976 | +3.976 |
| 16 | 20 |  Keke Rosberg |
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:16.695 | 1:15.165 | +4.165 |
| 17 | 17 |  Derek Daly |
March-Ford | 1:15.189 | 1:15.303 | +4.189 |
| 18 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr |
Arrows-Ford | 1:17.229 | 1:15.304 | +4.304 |
| 19 | 4 | Michele Alboreto |
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.446 | 1:15.850 | +4.850 |
| 20 | 32 | Jean-Pierre Jarier |
Osella-Ford | 1:15.943 | 1:15.898 | +4.898 |
| 21 | 9 |  Slim Borgudd |
ATS-Ford | 1:16.758 | 1:15.959 | +4.959 |
| 22 | 11 | Elio de Angelis |
Lotus-Ford | 1:16.029† | 1:15.971 | +4.971 |
| 23 | 3 | Eddie Cheever |
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.381 | 1:16.099 | +5.099 |
| 24 | 33 |  Marc Surer |
Theodore-Ford | 1:17.124 | 1:16.155 | +5.155 |
| 25 | 21 | Chico Serra |
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:18.173 | 1:16.360 | +5.360 |
| 26 | 35 | Brian Henton |
Toleman-Hart | 1:16.388 | 1:19.602 | +5.388 |
| 27 | 12 | Nigel Mansell |
Lotus-Ford | 1:15.992† | 1:16.432 | +5.432 |
| 28 | 14 |  Eliseo Salazar |
Ensign-Ford | 1:17.053 | 1:16.694 | +5.694 |
| 29 | 36 | Derek Warwick |
Toleman-Hart | 1:17.998 | 1:16.891 | +5.891 |
| 30 | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani |
Osella-Ford | 1:20.377 | 1:17.784 | +6.784 |
| Source:[2] | ||||||
- †-time disallowed.
Race
Notes
- This was the 200th Grand Prix start for McLaren. In those 200 races, McLaren had won 25 Grands Prix, achieved 78 podium finishes, 18 pole positions, 14 fastest laps, 2 Grand Slams, and had won 2 Driver's and 1 Constructor's Championship.
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.