1981 French Grand Prix
# 1981 French Grand Prix

The 1981 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon-Prenois near Dijon, France on 5 July 1981. It was the eighth race of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The 80-lap race was won by Alain Prost, driving a Renault. On home soil, Prost scored the first of an eventual 51 Grand Prix victories, in a race that was stopped after 58 laps due to heavy rain and then restarted, with aggregate times determining the final positions. John Watson finished second in his McLaren-Ford, while Nelson Piquet, who had been leading in his Brabham-Ford when the race was stopped, finished third.

Prior to the race, Jean-Pierre Jabouille decided to retire from Formula One, having not fully recovered from the leg injuries he had sustained in Canada the previous year. His place at Ligier was taken for the rest of the season by Patrick Tambay, who moved from Theodore.

## Classification

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:07.09 | 1:05.95 | — |
| 2 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:07.05 | 1:06.36 | +0.41 |
| 3 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:07.57 | 1:06.36 | +0.41 |
| 4 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:09.21 | 1:06.91 | +0.96 |
| 5 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | 1:08.83 | 1:07.03 | +1.08 |
| 6 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:08.71 | 1:07.09 | +1.14 |
| 7 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:08.83 | 1:07.42 | +1.47 |
| 8 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 1:08.40 | 1:07.52 | +1.57 |
| 9 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:09.28 | 1:07.53 | +1.58 |
| 10 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:10.09 | 1:07.56 | +1.61 |
| 11 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:07.60 | 1:07.68 | +1.65 |
| 12 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:09.81 | 1:07.63 | +1.68 |
| 13 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:09.06 | 1:07.72 | +1.77 |
| 14 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:08.09 | 1:08.27 | +2.14 |
| 15 | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | 1:09.69 | 1:08.21 | +2.26 |
| 16 | 25 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | 1:09.51 | 1:08.47 | +2.52 |
| 17 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:10.13 | 1:09.35 | +3.40 |
| 18 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:09.37 | 1:10.14 | +3.42 |
| 19 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:11.50 | 1:09.88 | +3.93 |
| 20 | 17 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | 1:12.10 | 1:09.94 | +3.99 |
| 21 | 33 | Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford | 1:19.46 | 1:10.12 | +4.17 |
| 22 | 14 | Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford | 1:15.59 | 1:10.50 | +4.55 |
| 23 | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:12.37 | 1:10.64 | +4.69 |
| 24 | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:13.60 | 1:10.86 | +4.91 |
| 25 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | 1:13.13 | 1:11.24 | +5.29 |
| 26 | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | 1:29.13 | 1:11.28 | +5.33 |
| 27 | 9 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford | 1:14.62 | 1:12.20 | +6.25 |
| 28 | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | 1:12.24 | 1:36.20 | +6.29 |
| 29 | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:13.65 | no time | +7.70 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | M | 80 | 1:35:48.13 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | M | 80 | + 2.29 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | G | 80 | + 24.22 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | M | 80 | + 42.30 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | M | 79 | + 1 Lap | 14 | 2 |
| 6 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | M | 79 | + 1 Lap | 8 | 1 |
| 7 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | M | 79 | + 1 Lap | 13 | |
| 8 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | M | 79 | + 1 Lap | 10 | |
| 9 | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | G | 78 | + 2 Laps | 15 | |
| 10 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | G | 78 | + 2 Laps | 7 | |
| 11 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | M | 78 | + 2 Laps | 5 | |
| 12 | 33 | Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford | A | 78 | + 2 Laps | 21 | |
| 13 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | M | 77 | + 3 Laps | 19 | |
| 14 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | M | 77 | + 3 Laps | 18 | |
| 15 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | M | 77 | + 3 Laps | 12 | |
| 16 | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | M | 77 | + 3 Laps | 23 | |
| 17 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | G | 76 | Collision | 9 | |
| Ret | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | M | 57 | Suspension | 6 | |
| Ret | 17 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | A | 55 | Engine | 20 | |
| Ret | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | M | 41 | Electrical | 11 | |
| Ret | 25 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | M | 30 | Wheel Bearing | 16 | |
| Ret | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | M | 11 | Suspension | 17 | |
| Ret | 14 | Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford | A | 6 | Suspension | 22 | |
| DNS | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | M | 0 | Non starter | 24 | |
| DNQ | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNQ | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | P | | | | |
| DNQ | 9 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNQ | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNQ | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | P | | | | |
| Source: |||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | 37 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | 26 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | 24 |
| 4 | Gilles Villeneuve | 21 |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | 17 |
| Source: |||
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Williams-Ford | 61 |
| 2 | Brabham-Ford | 29 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 28 |
| 4 | Renault | 18 |
| 5 | Ligier-Matra | 17 |
| Source: |||

* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
