1981 British Grand Prix
| Date | Saturday, 18 July 1981 |
|---|---|
| Winner |
|
| Pole position |
|
| Fastest lap |
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| Circuit | Silverstone, 68 laps |
| Round | 9 of 15 |
| Race numbers | The 1981 British Grand Prix was the
|
| More 1981 season | |
| More British Grands Prix |
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +4 |  John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 68 | 1hr 26m 54.800s | 9 |
| 2 | +7 |  Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 68 | +40.650s | 6 |
| 3 | +11 |  Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 67 | +1 lap | 4 |
| 4 | +19 |  Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 67 | +1 lap | 3 |
| 5 | +8 |  Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 67 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | +15 |  Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 67 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | +10 |  Derek Daly | March-Ford Cosworth | 66 | +2 laps | |
| 8 | +12 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 65 | +3 laps | |
| 9 | -8 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 64 | DNF | |
| 10 |  Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 64 | DNF | ||
| 11 | +13 |  Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 61 | DNF | |
| R | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 59 | DNF | ||
| R |  Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 56 | DNF | ||
| DQ | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 25 | DSQ | ||
| R | Alain Prost | Renault | 17 | DNF | ||
| R | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | 15 | DNF | ||
| R | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 13 | DNF | ||
| R |  Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 11 | DNF | ||
| R | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 5 | DNF | ||
| R |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 4 | DNF | ||
| R |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 3 | DNF | ||
| R | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 3 | DNF | ||
| R | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
| R | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
Notes
- Rene Arnoux ended lap 64 in P2 before retiring on the following lap.
- Riccardo Patrese ended lap 64 in P4 before retiring on the following lap.
- Marc Surer ended lap 61 in P7 before retiring on the following lap.
- Elio de Angelis was disqualified during the race for ignoring yellow flags.
Starting grid
Pole time: 1:11.000
| Pos | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rene Arnoux | Renault |
| 2 | Alain Prost | Renault |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth |
| 4 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari |
| 5 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 6 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 7 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 8 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 9 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 10 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 11 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo |
| 12 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo |
| 13 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth |
| 14 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra |
| 15 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra |
| 16 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth |
| 17 | Derek Daly | March-Ford Cosworth |
| 18 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 19 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 20 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford Cosworth |
| 21 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford Cosworth |
| 22 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
| 23 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 24 | Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford Cosworth |
Non-qualifiers
| Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|
| Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth |
| Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart |
| Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford Cosworth |
 Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford Cosworth |
| Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart |
| Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford Cosworth |
Championship standings
How the championship standings stood post-1981 British Grand Prix.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | 43 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | 26 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | 24 |
| 4 | Gilles Villeneuve | 21 |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | 21 |
| 6 | John Watson | 19 |
| 7 | Alain Prost | 13 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | 10 |
| 9 | Eddie Cheever | 8 |
| 10 | Elio de Angelis | 8 |
| 11 | Didier Pironi | 7 |
| 12 | Nigel Mansell | 5 |
| 13 | Rene Arnoux | 5 |
| = | Hector Rebaque | 5 |
| 15 | Marc Surer | 4 |
| 16 | Mario Andretti | 3 |
| 17 | Patrick Tambay | 1 |
| = | Andrea de Cesaris | 1 |
| = | Slim Borgudd | 1 |
Constructor
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 67 |
| 2 | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 31 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 28 |
| 4 | Ligier-Matra | 21 |
| 5 | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 20 |
| 6 | Renault | 18 |
| 7 | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 13 |
| 8 | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 10 |
| 9 | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 8 |
| 10 | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 4 |
| 11 | Alfa Romeo | 3 |
| 12 |  Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 1 |
| = |  ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1 |
Statistics & milestones
- Milestone race start
- 100th for Jean-Pierre Jarier (16th driver to start 100 races, 2nd French driver)
- Wins
- 2nd for John Watson (first win since 1976; first British winner since 1977; first for McLaren; 4th driver to win the British Grand Prix for McLaren)
- 25th for McLaren (first since 1977)
- Podiums
- 43rd for Carlos Reutemann EQUALLED RECORD (shared with Jackie Stewart), 23rd for Jacques Laffite, 11th for John Watson
- 78th for McLaren, 39th for Williams, 29th for Ligier
- Poles
- 7th for Rene Arnoux
- 13th for Renault
- Qualifying 1-2
- 7th for Renault
- Fastest laps
- 7th for Rene Arnoux
- 8th for Renault
- Front row starts
- 12th for Rene Arnoux, 2nd for Alain Prost
- Points finishes
- 1st for Slim Borgudd (207th different point scorer, 5th Swedish driver)