1981 San Marino Grand Prix
346th World Championship race, 1st World Championship San Marino Grand Prix, 2nd World Championship race at Imola
Fact File
| Date: | Sunday, 3 May 1981 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Nelson Piquet  Brabham-Ford Cosworth |
| Pole position: |  Gilles Villeneuve  Ferrari |
| Fastest lap: | Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari |
| Circuit: | Imola, 60 laps |
| Round: | 4 of 15 |
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
- Highlight: race winner
- Highlight: second place
- Highlight: third place
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:34.523 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:35.229 |
| 3 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 1:35.281 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:35.579 |
| 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:35.733 |
| 6 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:35.868 |
| 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:36.241 |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:36.280 |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:36.390 |
| 10 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:36.477 |
| 11 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:36.776 |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:36.919 |
| 13 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.264 |
| 14 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.382 |
| 15 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.459 |
| 16 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.545 |
| 17 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.771 |
| 18 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra | 1:38.140 |
| 19 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.266 |
| 20 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.302 |
| 21 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.340 |
| 22 | Miguel
Angel Guerra | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.773 |
| 23 | Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.827 |
| 24 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.079 |
Qualifying Result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:34.523 | |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:35.229 | 0.706 |
| 3 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 1:35.281 | 0.758 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:35.579 | 1.056 |
| 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:35.733 | 1.210 |
| 6 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:35.868 | 1.345 |
| 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:36.241 | 1.718 |
| 8 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 1:36.280 | 1.757 |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:36.390 | 1.867 |
| 10 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:36.477 | 1.954 |
| 11 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:36.776 | 2.253 |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:36.919 | 2.396 |
| 13 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.264 | 2.741 |
| 14 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.382 | 2.859 |
| 15 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.459 | 2.936 |
| 16 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.545 | 3.022 |
| 17 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:37.771 | 3.248 |
| 18 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra | 1:38.140 | 3.617 |
| 19 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.266 | 3.743 |
| 20 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.302 | 3.779 |
| 21 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.340 | 3.817 |
| 22 | Miguel
Angel Guerra | Osella-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.773 | 4.250 |
| 23 | Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:38.827 | 4.304 |
| 24 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.079 | 4.556 |
| Did not qualify | ||||
| 25 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.112 | 4.589 |
| 26 |  Derek Daly | March-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.157 | 4.634 |
| 27 |  Jan Lammers | ATS-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.419 | 4.896 |
| 28 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth | 1:41.114 | 6.591 |
| 29 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:43.187 | 8.664 |
| 30 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | 1:49.951 | 15.428 |
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
- Driver: Michele Alboreto, Slim Borgudd, Miguel Angel Guerra (only start), Eliseo Salazar
- Wins
- Driver: 5th for Nelson Piquet
- Constructor: 25th for Brabham
- Podiums
- Driver: 41st for Carlos Reutemann, 9th for Nelson Piquet, 4th for Riccardo Patrese
- Constructor: 95th for Brabham, 36th for Williams, 4th for Arrows
- Poles
- Driver: 2nd and last for Gilles Villeneuve
- Constructor: 90th for Ferrari
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 8th and last for Gilles Villeneuve
- Constructor: 90th for Ferrari
- Front row starts
- Driver: 17th for Carlos Reutemann, 6th for Gilles Villeneuve
- Points finishes
- Driver: 1st for Andrea de Cesaris (205th different point scorer, 29th Italian driver)