1981 San Marino Grand Prix
| Date | Sunday, 3 May 1981 |
|---|---|
| Winner |
|
| Pole position | |
| Fastest lap | |
| Circuit | Imola, 60 laps |
| Round | 4 of 15 |
| Race numbers | The 1981 San Marino Grand Prix was the:
|
| More 1981 season | |
| More San Marino Grands Prix |
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +4 |  Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 60 | 1hr 51m 23.970s | 9 |
| 2 | +7 |  Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 60 | +4.580s | 6 |
| 3 | -1 |  Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 60 | +6.340s | 4 |
| 4 | +9 |  Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 60 | +22.890s | 3 |
| 5 | +1 |  Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 60 | +25.870s | 2 |
| 6 | +8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 60 | +1m 06.610s | 1 |
| 7 | -6 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 60 | +1m 41.970s | |
| 8 | -5 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 59 | +1 lap | |
| 9 | +12 |  Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 59 | +1 lap | |
| 10 | -3 |  John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 58 | +2 laps | |
| 11 | +5 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 58 | +2 laps | |
| 12 | -4 |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 58 | +2 laps | |
| 13 | +11 |  Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 57 | +3 laps | |
| NC | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra | 45 | +15 laps | ||
| R |  Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford Cosworth | 38 | DNF | ||
| R | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 31 | DNF | ||
| R | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 31 | DNF | ||
| R | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 28 | DNF | ||
| R |  Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 28 | DNF | ||
| R | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 26 | DNF | ||
| R |  Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 14 | DNF | ||
| R | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 7 | DNF | ||
| R | Alain Prost | Renault | 3 | DNF | ||
| R | Miguel Angel Guerra | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
Starting grid
Pole time: 1:34.523
| Pos | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 3 | Rene Arnoux | Renault |
| 4 | Alain Prost | Renault |
| 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth |
| 6 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari |
| 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
| 10 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra |
| 11 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo |
| 13 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth |
| 14 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 15 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth |
| 16 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford Cosworth |
| 17 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 18 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra |
| 19 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 20 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford Cosworth |
| 21 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford Cosworth |
| 22 | Miguel Angel Guerra | Osella-Ford Cosworth |
| 23 | Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford Cosworth |
| 24 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford Cosworth |
Qualifying result
| Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|
| Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford Cosworth |
 Derek Daly | March-Ford Cosworth |
 Jan Lammers | ATS-Ford Cosworth |
| Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth |
| Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart |
| Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart |
Championship standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | 25 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | 22 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | 18 |
| 4 | Riccardo Patrese | 10 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | 4 |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | 3 |
| = | Marc Surer | 3 |
| = | Hector Rebaque | 3 |
| 9 | Elio de Angelis | 3 |
| 10 | Eddie Cheever | 2 |
| = | Rene Arnoux | 2 |
| = | Didier Pironi | 2 |
| 13 | Patrick Tambay | 1 |
| = | Jacques Laffite | 1 |
| = | Andrea de Cesaris | 1 |
Statistics & milestones
- Race debut
- Michele Alboreto
- Slim Borgudd (first Swedish driver to start a race since 1978)
- Miguel Angel Guerra (only start)
- Eliseo Salazar (first Chilean driver to start a race)
- Milestone race start
- 50th for Renault (18th constructor to start 50 races)
- Wins
- 5th for Nelson Piquet
- 25th for Brabham
- Podiums
- 41st for Carlos Reutemann
- 9th for Nelson Piquet
- 4th for Riccardo Patrese (last for Arrows)
- 95th for Brabham
- 36th for Williams
- 4th for Arrows (last until 1985)
- Poles
- 2nd and last for Gilles Villeneuve (first since 1979; last Canadian polesitter until 1996)
- 90th for Ferrari (1st constructor to take 90 pole positions)
- Fastest laps
- 8th and last for Gilles Villeneuve (first since 1979; last Canadian driver to set a fastest lap until 1996)
- 90th for Ferrari (1st constructor to set 90 fastest laps)
- Front row starts
- 17th for Carlos Reutemann
- 6th for Gilles Villeneuve (first since 1979)
- Points finishes
- 1st for Andrea de Cesaris (205th different point scorer, 29th Italian driver)