1982 South African Grand Prix
# 1982 South African Grand Prix

The 1982 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 23 January 1982. It was the first race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. It was the 28th edition of the South African Grand Prix and the 16th time that the race had been held at Kyalami.

The prelude to the race was notable for a strike action by the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, led by Niki Lauda and Didier Pironi, in protest at the new superlicence conditions imposed by FISA, which would have tied the drivers to a single team for up to three years. A late compromise was reached and the race went ahead. The drivers were subsequently fined between US$5,000 and US$10,000 and handed suspended race bans; however, the FIA Court of Appeal later reduced the penalties and criticised FISA's handling of the dispute.

Turbocharged cars took the first six positions on the grid. Despite Alain Prost suffering a puncture while leading, he was able to recover to win the race. Lauda, in his first race after two years out of F1, finished fourth. It was the final podium finish for Carlos Reutemann, who retired from Formula One after the next race in Brazil. It also was the last race held in January.

## Classification

### Qualifying

| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:06.351 | |
| 2 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:06.625 | +0.274 |
| 3 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:07.106 | +0.755 |
| 4 | 2 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham-BMW | 1:07.398 | +1.047 |
| 5 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:08.133 | +1.782 |
| 6 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:08.360 | +2.009 |
| 7 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Ford | 1:08.892 | +2.541 |
| 8 | 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:09.306 | +2.955 |
| 9 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:09.736 | +3.385 |
| 10 | 3 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:10.037 | +3.686 |
| 11 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:10.241 | +3.890 |
| 12 | 10 | Eliseo Salazar | ATS-Ford | 1:10.624 | +4.273 |
| 13 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-Ford | 1:10.681 | +4.330 |
| 14 | 35 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:10.685 | +4.334 |
| 15 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 1:10.685 | +4.334 |
| 16 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Alfa Romeo | 1:10.952 | +4.601 |
| 17 | 25 | Eddie Cheever | Ligier-Matra | 1:11.005 | +4.654 |
| 18 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:11.227 | +4.876 |
| 19 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:11.285 | +4.934 |
| 20 | 9 | Manfred Winkelhock | ATS-Ford | 1:11.808 | +5.457 |
| 21 | 18 | Raul Boesel | March-Ford | 1:12.077 | +5.726 |
| 22 | 17 | Jochen Mass | March-Ford | 1:12.100 | +5.749 |
| 23 | 4 | Slim Borgudd | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:12.366 | +6.015 |
| 24 | 33 | Derek Daly | Theodore-Ford | 1:13.418 | +7.067 |
| 25 | 20 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:13.467 | +7.116 |
| 26 | 31 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford | 1:13.834 | +7.483 |
| DNQ | 30 | Mauro Baldi | Arrows-Ford | 1:13.976 | +7.625 |
| DNQ | 32 | Riccardo Paletti | Osella-Ford | 1:15.504 | +9.153 |
| DNQ | 29 | Brian Henton | Arrows-Ford | 1:16.653 | +10.302 |
| DNQ | 36 | Teo Fabi | Toleman-Hart | No time | |

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | M | 77 | 1:32:08.401 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | G | 77 | + 14.946 | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | M | 77 | + 27.900 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-Ford | M | 77 | + 32.113 | 13 | 3 |
| 5 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Ford | G | 77 | + 43.139 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | M | 77 | + 50.993 | 9 | 1 |
| 7 | 3 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | G | 76 | + 1 lap | 10 | |
| 8 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | G | 76 | + 1 lap | 15 | |
| 9 | 10 | Eliseo Salazar | ATS-Ford | A | 75 | + 2 laps | 12 | |
| 10 | 9 | Manfred Winkelhock | ATS-Ford | A | 75 | + 2 laps | 20 | |
| 11 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | M | 74 | + 3 laps | 19 | |
| 12 | 17 | Jochen Mass | March-Ford | P | 74 | + 3 laps | 22 | |
| 13 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Alfa Romeo | M | 73 | + 4 laps | 16 | |
| 14 | 33 | Derek Daly | Theodore-Ford | A | 73 | + 4 laps | 24 | |
| 15 | 18 | Raul Boesel | March-Ford | P | 72 | + 5 laps | 21 | |
| 16 | 4 | Slim Borgudd | Tyrrell-Ford | G | 72 | + 5 laps | 23 | |
| 17 | 20 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | P | 72 | + 5 laps | 25 | |
| 18 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | G | 71 | + 6 laps | 6 | |
| Ret | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | M | 54 | Fuel system | 11 | |
| Ret | 35 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | P | 43 | Accident | 14 | |
| Ret | 2 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham-BMW | G | 18 | Turbo | 4 | |
| Ret | 25 | Eddie Cheever | Ligier-Matra | M | 11 | Fuel system | 17 | |
| Ret | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | G | 6 | Turbo | 3 | |
| Ret | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | G | 3 | Spun off | 2 | |
| Ret | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | G | 0 | Electrical | 18 | |
| Ret | 31 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford | P | 0 | Collision | 26 | |
| DNQ | 30 | Mauro Baldi | Arrows-Ford | P | | | | |
| DNQ | 32 | Riccardo Paletti | Osella-Ford | P | | | | |
| DNQ | 29 | Brian Henton | Arrows-Ford | P | | | | |
| DNQ | 36 | Teo Fabi | Toleman-Hart | P | | | | |
| WD | 14 | Roberto Guerrero | Ensign-Ford | A | | | | |
| Source: |||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Alain Prost | 9 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | 6 |
| 3 | René Arnoux | 4 |
| 4 | Niki Lauda | 3 |
| 5 | Keke Rosberg | 2 |
| Source: |||
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Renault | 13 |
| 2 | Williams-Ford | 8 |
| 3 | McLaren-Ford | 4 |
| Source: |||

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