1981 Monaco Grand Prix
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43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E
| 1981 Monaco Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 31 May 1981 | ||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco | ||
| Course | Street circuit | ||
| Course length | 3.312 km (2.057 miles) | ||
| Distance | 76 laps, 251.712 km (156.406 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Brabham-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:25.710 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | |
| Time | 1:27.47 on lap 48 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Williams-Ford | ||
| Third | Ligier-Matra | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 1981 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 31 May 1981. It was the sixth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.[1]
The 76-lap race was won by Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve, driving a Ferrari. Brazilian Nelson Piquet took pole position in his Brabham-Ford and led until he crashed out on lap 54. Australian Alan Jones finished second in a Williams-Ford, with Frenchman Jacques Laffite third in a Ligier-Matra.
Delay
The race was due to start at 3:30pm Central European Time (UTC+1) but was delayed after a fire in the Loews Hotel kitchens, which necessitated the fire service pumping large quantities of water to put the fires out. Water then seeped through the floors of the hotel and into the tunnel. The race got started at 4:30pm, Nelson Piquet led for much of the race, but crashed out late on. New race leader Alan Jones then suffered a fuel feed problem in the latter stages of the race, allowing Gilles Villeneuve in his Ferrari, to take his first victory since 1979 as well as becoming the first, and to this day, the only Canadian to win in Monaco. Championship leader Carlos Reutemann retired with gearbox problems, breaking a 15-race streak of consistently finishing in the points.
Classification
Pre-qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 |  Patrick Tambay |
Theodore-Ford | 1:30.492 | |
| 2 | 14 |  Marc Surer |
Ensign-Ford | 1:31.249 | +0.757 |
| 3 | 31 |  Beppe Gabbiani |
Osella-Ford | 1:32.704 | +2.212 |
| 4 | 32 | Piercarlo Ghinzani |
Osella-Ford | 1:33.189 | +2.697 |
| 5 | 10 |  Slim Borgudd |
ATS-Ford | 1:33.285 | +2.793 |
| 6 | 18 |  Derek Daly |
March-Ford | 1:33.800 | +3.308 |
| 7 | 17 |  Eliseo Salazar |
March-Ford | 1:35.249 | +4.757 |
| 8 | 35 |  Brian Henton |
Toleman-Hart | 1:37.528 | +7.036 |
| 9 | 36 | Derek Warwick |
Toleman-Hart | 1:41.966 | +11.474 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |  Nelson Piquet |
Brabham-Ford | 1:25.710 | 1:28.667 | |
| 2 | 27 |  Gilles Villeneuve |
Ferrari | 1:26.891 | 1:25.788 | +0.078 |
| 3 | 12 | Nigel Mansell |
Lotus-Ford | 1:27.174 | 1:25.815 | +0.105 |
| 4 | 2 |  Carlos Reutemann |
Williams-Ford | 1:27.643 | 1:26.010 | +0.300 |
| 5 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese |
Arrows-Ford | 1:27.447 | 1:26.040 | +0.330 |
| 6 | 11 | Elio de Angelis |
Lotus-Ford | 1:28.381 | 1:26.259 | +0.549 |
| 7 | 1 | Alan Jones |
Williams-Ford | 1:26.938 | 1:26.538 | +0.828 |
| 8 | 26 | Jacques Laffite |
Ligier-Matra | 1:27.468 | 1:26.704 | +0.994 |
| 9 | 15 | Alain Prost |
Renault | 1:27.623 | 1:26.953 | +1.243 |
| 10 | 7 | John Watson |
McLaren-Ford | 1:28.137 | 1:27.058 | +1.348 |
| 11 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris |
McLaren-Ford | 1:28.966 | 1:27.122 | +1.412 |
| 12 | 22 |  Mario Andretti |
Alfa Romeo | 1:27.512 | 1:28.162 | +1.802 |
| 13 | 16 | René Arnoux |
Renault | 1:28.613 | 1:27.513 | +1.803 |
| 14 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr |
Arrows-Ford | 1:29.789 | 1:27.564 | +1.854 |
| 15 | 3 | Eddie Cheever |
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:29.282 | 1:27.594 | +1.884 |
| 16 | 33 | Patrick Tambay |
Theodore-Ford | 1:28.897 | 1:27.939 | +2.229 |
| 17 | 28 | Didier Pironi |
Ferrari | 1:29.150 | 1:28.266 | +2.556 |
| 18 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli |
Alfa Romeo | 1:28.335 | 1:28.323 | +2.613 |
| 19 | 14 | Marc Surer |
Ensign-Ford | 1:29.611 | 1:28.339 | +2.629 |
| 20 | 4 | Michele Alboreto |
Tyrrell-Ford | 1:30.699 | 1:28.358 | +2.648 |
| 21 | 20 |  Keke Rosberg |
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:29.924 | 1:28.436 | +2.726 |
| 22 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille |
Ligier-Matra | 1:29.752 | 1:28.841 | +3.131 |
| 23 | 6 |  Héctor Rebaque |
Brabham-Ford | 1:29.188 | 1:29.256 | +3.478 |
| 24 | 21 | Chico Serra |
Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:32.109 | 1:29.434 | +3.724 |
| 25 | 32 | Piercarlo Ghinzani |
Osella-Ford | no time | 1:29.694 | +3.984 |
| 26 | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani |
Osella-Ford | 1:30.963 | 1:29.795 | +4.085 |
| Source:[2] | ||||||