1981 British Grand Prix
# 1981 British Grand Prix

The 1981 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 18 July 1981. It was the ninth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. John Watson won his first race for five years, and McLaren's first since James Hunt's victory at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix. The race also marked the first victory for a carbon fibre composite monocoque F1 car, the McLaren MP4/1.

## Classification

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:12.158 | 1:11.000 | — |
| 2 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:12.237 | 1:11.046 | +0.046 |
| 3 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:12.328 | 1:11.952 | +0.952 |
| 4 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:14.070 | 1:12.644 | +1.644 |
| 5 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:13.370 | 1:12.712 | +1.712 |
| 6 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | 1:13.976 | 1:12.728 | +1.728 |
| 7 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:12.998 | 1:13.250 | +1.998 |
| 8 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:14.182 | 1:13.311 | +2.311 |
| 9 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:13.467 | 1:13.371 | +2.371 |
| 10 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:15.217 | 1:13.762 | +2.762 |
| 11 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:14.440 | 1:13.928 | +2.928 |
| 12 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:14.119 | 1:14.442 | +3.119 |
| 13 | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | 1:14.594 | 1:14.542 | +3.542 |
| 14 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:15.313 | 1:14.798 | +3.798 |
| 15 | 25 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | 1:15.656 | 1:14.976 | +3.976 |
| 16 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:16.695 | 1:15.165 | +4.165 |
| 17 | 17 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | 1:15.189 | 1:15.303 | +4.189 |
| 18 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | 1:17.229 | 1:15.304 | +4.304 |
| 19 | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.446 | 1:15.850 | +4.850 |
| 20 | 32 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford | 1:15.943 | 1:15.898 | +4.898 |
| 21 | 9 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford | 1:16.758 | 1:15.959 | +4.959 |
| 22 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 1:16.029† | 1:15.971 | +4.971 |
| 23 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.381 | 1:16.099 | +5.099 |
| 24 | 33 | Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford | 1:17.124 | 1:16.155 | +5.155 |
| 25 | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:18.173 | 1:16.360 | +5.360 |
| 26 | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | 1:16.388 | 1:19.602 | +5.388 |
| 27 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:15.992† | 1:16.432 | +5.432 |
| 28 | 14 | Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford | 1:17.053 | 1:16.694 | +5.694 |
| 29 | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:17.998 | 1:16.891 | +5.891 |
| 30 | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | 1:20.377 | 1:17.784 | +6.784 |
| Source: |||||||

* †-time disallowed.

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | M | 68 | 1:26:54.80 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | G | 68 | +40.65 | 9 | 6 |
| 3 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | M | 67 | +1 lap | 14 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | M | 67 | +1 lap | 23 | 3 |
| 5 | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | G | 67 | +1 lap | 13 | 2 |
| 6 | 9 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford | A | 67 | +1 lap | 21 | 1 |
| 7 | 17 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | A | 66 | +2 laps | 17 | |
| 8 | 32 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford | M | 65 | +3 laps | 20 | |
| 9 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | M | 64 | Distributor | 1 | |
| 10 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | P | 64 | Engine | 10 | |
| 11 | 33 | Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford | A | 61 | Out of fuel | 24 | |
| Ret | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | M | 59 | Throttle | 11 | |
| Ret | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | M | 56 | Suspension | 16 | |
| DSQ | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | G | 25 | Ignoring yellow flags | 22 | |
| Ret | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | M | 17 | Distributor | 2 | |
| Ret | 25 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | M | 15 | Clutch | 15 | |
| Ret | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | M | 13 | Turbo | 4 | |
| Ret | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | G | 11 | Tyre | 3 | |
| Ret | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | M | 5 | Transmission | 12 | |
| Ret | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | M | 4 | Spun off | 8 | |
| Ret | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | G | 3 | Collision | 7 | |
| Ret | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | M | 3 | Spun off | 6 | |
| Ret | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | M | 1 | Clutch | 19 | |
| Ret | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | P | 0 | Spun off | 18 | |
| DNQ | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNQ | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | P | | | | |
| DNQ | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | G | | | | |
| DNQ | 14 | Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford | A | | | | |
| DNQ | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | P | | | | |
| DNQ | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | M | | | | |
| Source: |||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | 43 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | 26 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | 24 |
| 4 | Gilles Villeneuve | 21 |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | 21 |
| Source: |||
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Williams-Ford | 67 |
| 2 | Brabham-Ford | 31 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 28 |
| 4 | Ligier-Matra | 21 |
| 5 | McLaren-Ford | 20 |
| Source: |||

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