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Home / Seasons / 1981 F1 World Championship Season / 1981 British Grand Prix

1981 British Grand Prix

Date
Winner
Pole position
Fastest lap
CircuitSilverstone, 68 laps
Round9 of 15
Race numbers

The 1981 British Grand Prix was the:

  • 351st World Championship race
  • 32nd World Championship British Grand Prix
  • 18th World Championship race at Silverstone
More 1981 season
More British Grands Prix

Race result

PosDriverConstructorLapsTimePoints
1+4(GBR) John WatsonMcLaren-Ford Cosworth681hr 26m 54.800s9
2+7(ARG) Carlos ReutemannWilliams-Ford Cosworth68+40.650s6
3+11(FRA) Jacques LaffiteLigier-Matra67+1 lap4
4+19(USA) Eddie CheeverTyrrell-Ford Cosworth67+1 lap3
5+8(MEX) Hector RebaqueBrabham-Ford Cosworth67+1 lap2
6+15(SWE) Slim BorguddATS-Ford Cosworth67+1 lap1
7+10(IRL) Derek DalyMarch-Ford Cosworth66+2 laps 
8+12(FRA) Jean-Pierre JarierOsella-Ford Cosworth65+3 laps 
9-8(FRA) Rene ArnouxRenault64DNF 
10 (ITA) Riccardo PatreseArrows-Ford Cosworth64DNF 
11+13(CHE) Marc SurerTheodore-Ford Cosworth61DNF 
R (USA) Mario AndrettiAlfa Romeo59DNF 
R (FIN) Keke RosbergFittipaldi-Ford Cosworth56DNF 
DQ (ITA) Elio de AngelisLotus-Ford Cosworth25DSQ 
R (FRA) Alain ProstRenault17DNF 
R (FRA) Patrick TambayLigier-Matra15DNF 
R (FRA) Didier PironiFerrari13DNF 
R (BRA) Nelson PiquetBrabham-Ford Cosworth11DNF 
R (ITA) Bruno GiacomelliAlfa Romeo5DNF 
R (CAN) Gilles VilleneuveFerrari4DNF 
R (AUS) Alan JonesWilliams-Ford Cosworth3DNF 
R (ITA) Andrea de CesarisMcLaren-Ford Cosworth3DNF 
R (ITA) Michele AlboretoTyrrell-Ford Cosworth0DNF 
R (ITA) Siegfried StohrArrows-Ford Cosworth0DNF 

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

PosDriverConstructor
1(FRA) Rene ArnouxRenault
2(FRA) Alain ProstRenault
3(BRA) Nelson PiquetBrabham-Ford Cosworth
4(FRA) Didier PironiFerrari
5(GBR) John WatsonMcLaren-Ford Cosworth
6(ITA) Andrea de CesarisMcLaren-Ford Cosworth
7(AUS) Alan JonesWilliams-Ford Cosworth
8(CAN) Gilles VilleneuveFerrari
9(ARG) Carlos ReutemannWilliams-Ford Cosworth
10(ITA) Riccardo PatreseArrows-Ford Cosworth
11(USA) Mario AndrettiAlfa Romeo
12(ITA) Bruno GiacomelliAlfa Romeo
13(MEX) Hector RebaqueBrabham-Ford Cosworth
14(FRA) Jacques LaffiteLigier-Matra
15(FRA) Patrick TambayLigier-Matra
16(FIN) Keke RosbergFittipaldi-Ford Cosworth
17(IRL) Derek DalyMarch-Ford Cosworth
18(ITA) Siegfried StohrArrows-Ford Cosworth
19(ITA) Michele AlboretoTyrrell-Ford Cosworth
20(FRA) Jean-Pierre JarierOsella-Ford Cosworth
21(SWE) Slim BorguddATS-Ford Cosworth
22(ITA) Elio de AngelisLotus-Ford Cosworth
23(USA) Eddie CheeverTyrrell-Ford Cosworth
24(CHE) Marc SurerTheodore-Ford Cosworth

Non-qualifiers

DriverConstructor
(BRA) Chico SerraFittipaldi-Ford Cosworth
(GBR) Brian HentonToleman-Hart
(GBR) Nigel MansellLotus-Ford Cosworth
(CHL) Eliseo SalazarEnsign-Ford Cosworth
(GBR) Derek WarwickToleman-Hart
(ITA) Beppe GabbianiOsella-Ford Cosworth

Championship standings

How the championship standings stood post-race.

Driver

PosDriverPoints
1(ARG) Carlos Reutemann43
2(BRA) Nelson Piquet26
3(AUS) Alan Jones24
4(CAN) Gilles Villeneuve21
5(FRA) Jacques Laffite21
6(GBR) John Watson19
7(FRA) Alain Prost13
8(ITA) Riccardo Patrese10
9(USA) Eddie Cheever8
10(ITA) Elio de Angelis8
11(FRA) Didier Pironi7
12(GBR) Nigel Mansell5
13(FRA) Rene Arnoux5
=(MEX) Hector Rebaque5
15(CHE) Marc Surer4
16(USA) Mario Andretti3
17(FRA) Patrick Tambay1
=(ITA) Andrea de Cesaris1
=(SWE) Slim Borgudd1

Constructor

PosConstructorPoints
1Williams-Ford Cosworth67
2Brabham-Ford Cosworth31
3Ferrari28
4Ligier-Matra21
5McLaren-Ford Cosworth20
6Renault18
7Lotus-Ford Cosworth13
8Arrows-Ford Cosworth10
9Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth8
10Ensign-Ford Cosworth4
11Alfa Romeo3
12Theodore-Ford Cosworth1
=ATS-Ford Cosworth1

Stats & 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
1-2 start
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)