1981 Brazilian Grand Prix
# 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix was the second race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship and was held on 29 March 1981 at Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Formula One moved to the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro from the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, after safety concerns with the long Interlagos circuit and the growing slums of São Paulo being at odds with the glamorous image of Formula One.

The Argentine driver Carlos Reutemann won the race in contentious circumstances; he ignored his pit signals to give up the lead to his teammate and team leader Alan Jones. Jones, who finished in 2nd, did not show up on the podium afterwards.

## Classification

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:35.786 | 1:35.079 | — |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:35.390 | 1:36.000 | +0.311 |
| 3 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:36.337 | 1:36.690 | +1.258 |
| 4 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:37.231 | 1:36.667 | +1.588 |
| 5 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:37.147 | 1:36.670 | +1.591 |
| 6 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:38.682 | 1:37.283 | +2.204 |
| 7 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:37.975 | 1:37.497 | +2.418 |
| 8 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:38.985 | 1:37.561 | +2.482 |
| 9 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:37.933 | 1:37.597 | +2.518 |
| 10 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 1:38.352 | 1:37.734 | +2.655 |
| 11 | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | 1:38.225 | 1:37.777 | +2.698 |
| 12 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:37.981 | 1:39.371 | +2.902 |
| 13 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:38.861 | 1:38.003 | +2.924 |
| 14 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:38.160 | 1:38.521 | +3.081 |
| 15 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:40.057 | 1:38.263 | +3.184 |
| 16 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:38.273 | 1:38.713 | +3.194 |
| 17 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:39.229 | 1:38.565 | +3.486 |
| 18 | 14 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | 1:39.296 | 1:38.570 | +3.491 |
| 19 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford | 1:38.726 | 1:39.668 | +3.647 |
| 20 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | 1:39.409 | 1:38.780 | +3.701 |
| 21 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | 1:40.297 | 1:39.190 | +4.111 |
| 22 | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:39.326 | 1:39.396 | +4.247 |
| 23 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Ligier-Matra | — | 1:39.398 | +4.319 |
| 24 | 4 | Ricardo Zunino | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:41.036 | 1:39.798 | +4.719 |
| 25 | 9 | Jan Lammers | ATS-Ford | 1:40.339 | 1:39.844 | +4.765 |
| 26 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra | 1:40.306 | withdrew | +5.227 |
| 27 | 32 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | 1:41.954 | 1:40.709 | +5.630 |
| 28 | 31 | Miguel Angel Guerra | Osella-Ford | 1:40.984 | 1:44.482 | +5.905 |
| 29 | 18 | Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford | 1:44.730 | 1:43.267 | +8.188 |
| 30 | 17 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | no time | no time | — |
| Source: |||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 62 | 2:00:23.66 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 62 | + 4.44 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 62 | + 1:03.08 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 14 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | 62 | + 1:17.03 | 18 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 62 | + 1:26.42 | 10 | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 62 | + 1:26.83 | 16 | 1 |
| 7 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Ligier-Matra | 62 | + 1:30.25 | 23 | |
| 8 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 61 | + 1 Lap | 15 | |
| 9 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | 61 | + 1 Lap | 12 | |
| 10 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford | 61 | + 1 Lap | 19 | |
| 11 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 61 | + 1 Lap | 13 | |
| 12 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 60 | + 2 Laps | 1 | |
| 13 | 4 | Ricardo Zunino | Tyrrell-Ford | 57 | + 5 Laps | 24 | |
| NC | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 49 | Not Classified | 14 | |
| NC | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 40 | Not Classified | 6 | |
| Ret | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 25 | Turbo | 7 | |
| Ret | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | 22 | Spun Off | 11 | |
| Ret | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 20 | Collision | 5 | |
| Ret | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | 20 | Accident | 21 | |
| Ret | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 19 | Collision | 17 | |
| Ret | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | 9 | Engine | 20 | |
| Ret | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 0 | Collision | 8 | |
| Ret | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 0 | Collision | 9 | |
| Ret | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 0 | Collision | 22 | |
| DNQ | 9 | Jan Lammers | ATS-Ford | | | | |
| DNQ | 32 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | | | | |
| DNQ | 31 | Miguel Angel Guerra | Osella-Ford | | | | |
| DNQ | 18 | Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford | | | | |
| DNQ | 17 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | | | | |
| DNP | 14 | Ricardo Londoño | Ensign-Ford | | Car raced by Surer | | |
| Source: ||||||||

Colombian driver Ricardo Londoño was denied a superlicense, was not allowed to participate in official practice, and unable to race.

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Alan Jones | 15 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | 15 |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | 4 |
| 4 | Riccardo Patrese | 4 |
| 5 | Mario Andretti | 3 |
| Source: |||
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Williams-Ford | 30 |
| 2 | Brabham-Ford | 4 |
| 3 | Arrows-Ford | 4 |
| 4 | Alfa Romeo | 3 |
| 5 | Ensign-Ford | 3 |
| Source: |||

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