1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix
357th World Championship race, 1st World Championship Caesars Palace Grand Prix, 1st World Championship race at Las Vegas
Fact File
| Date: | Saturday, 17 October 1981 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Alan Jones  Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| Pole position: |  Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| Fastest lap: |  Didier Pironi  Ferrari |
| Circuit: | Las Vegas, 75 laps |
| Round: | 15 of 15 |
Race Result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 75 | 1hr 44m 09.077s | 9 |
| 2 | +3 | Alain Prost | Renault | 75 | +20.048s | 6 |
| 3 | +5 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 75 | +20.428s | 4 |
| 4 | +5 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 75 | +47.473s | 3 |
| 5 | -1 |  Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 75 | +1m 16.438s | 2 |
| 6 | +6 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 75 | +1m 18.175s | 1 |
| 7 | -1 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 75 | +1m 18.497s | |
| 8 | -7 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 74 | +1 lap | |
| 9 | +9 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 73 | +2 laps | |
| 10 | +10 |  Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 73 | +2 laps | |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 71 | +4 laps | ||
| 12 | +2 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 69 | +6 laps | |
| 13 | +4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 67 | DNF | |
| NC |  Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 61 | +14 laps | ||
| R | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 43 | DNF | ||
| R |  Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 29 | DNF | ||
| DQ |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 22 | DSQ | ||
| R |  Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 20 | DNF | ||
| R |  Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 19 | DNF | ||
| R | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 10 | DNF | ||
| R | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 10 | DNF | ||
| R | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | 2 | DNF | ||
| R | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 2 | DNF | ||
| R | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF |
- Gilles Villeneuve was disqualified during the race after starting the race from the wrong grid position.
Starting Grid
- Highlight: race winner
- Highlight: second place
- Highlight: third place
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.821 |
| 2 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.995 |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:18.060 |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.161 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:18.433 |
| 6 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.617 |
| 7 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | 1:18.681 |
| 8 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:18.792 |
| 9 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.044 |
| 10 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:19.068 |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.152 |
| 12 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:19.167 |
| 13 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 1:19.197 |
| 14 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.217 |
| 15 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.562 |
| 16 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.571 |
| 17 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.774 |
| 18 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:19.899 |
| 19 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.475 |
| 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.729 |
| 21 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.781 |
| 22 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:21.294 |
| 23 | Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 1:21.430 |
| 24 | Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:21.629 |
Qualifying Result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.821 | |
| 2 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.995 | 0.174 |
| 3 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:18.060 | 0.239 |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.161 | 0.340 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:18.433 | 0.612 |
| 6 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.617 | 0.796 |
| 7 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | 1:18.681 | 0.860 |
| 8 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:18.792 | 0.971 |
| 9 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.044 | 1.223 |
| 10 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:19.068 | 1.247 |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.152 | 1.331 |
| 12 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:19.167 | 1.346 |
| 13 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 1:19.197 | 1.376 |
| 14 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.217 | 1.396 |
| 15 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.562 | 1.741 |
| 16 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.571 | 1.750 |
| 17 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.774 | 1.953 |
| 18 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:19.899 | 2.078 |
| 19 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.475 | 2.654 |
| 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.729 | 2.908 |
| 21 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.781 | 2.960 |
| 22 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:21.294 | 3.473 |
| 23 | Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 1:21.430 | 3.609 |
| 24 | Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:21.629 | 3.808 |
| Did not qualify | ||||
| 25 |  Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:21.665 | 3.844 |
| 26 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:21.672 | 3.851 |
| 27 |  Derek Daly | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:21.824 | 4.003 |
| 28 | Jacques Villeneuve Sr | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:22.822 | 5.001 |
| 29 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | 1:22.960 | 5.139 |
| 30 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 1:26.634 | 8.813 |
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
- Highlight: driver/constructor confirmed as world champion for 1981
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | 50 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | 49 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | 46 |
| 4 | Jacques Laffite | 44 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | 43 |
| 6 | John Watson | 27 |
| 7 | Gilles Villeneuve | 25 |
| 8 | Elio de Angelis | 14 |
| 9 | Rene Arnoux | 11 |
| 10 | Hector Rebaque | 11 |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | 10 |
| 12 | Eddie Cheever | 10 |
| 13 | Didier Pironi | 9 |
| 14 | Nigel Mansell | 8 |
| 15 | Bruno Giacomelli | 7 |
| 16 | Marc Surer | 4 |
| 17 | Mario Andretti | 3 |
| 18 | Patrick Tambay | 1 |
| = | Andrea de Cesaris | 1 |
| = | Slim Borgudd | 1 |
| = | Eliseo Salazar | 1 |
Constructor
Statistics & Milestones
- Race debut
- Driver: Derek Warwick
- Last start
- Driver: Hector Rebaque
- World Champion
- Driver: 1st World Championship for Nelson Piquet (19th different world champion, 2nd Brazilian champion)
- Wins
- Driver: 12th and last for Alan Jones
- Constructor: 15th for Williams
- Podiums
- Driver: 24th and last for Alan Jones, 6th for Alain Prost, 1st and only for Bruno Giacomelli (139th different podium finisher, 18th Italian driver)
- Constructor: 43rd for Williams, 22nd for Alfa Romeo, 15th for Renault
- Poles
- Driver: 6th and last for Carlos Reutemann
- Constructor: 8th for Williams
- Qualifying 1-2
- Constructor: 1st for Williams (16th different constructor to qualify 1-2)
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 3rd for Didier Pironi
- Constructor: 91st for Ferrari
- Front row starts
- Driver: 21st and last for Carlos Reutemann, 13th and last for Alan Jones