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.
| 1981 British Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 18 July 1981 | ||
| Official name | XXXIV Marlboro British Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, Great Britain | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.718[1] km (2.932 miles) | ||
| Distance | 68 laps, 320.824[1] km (199.351 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:11.000 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 René Arnoux | Renault | |
| Time | 1:15.067 on lap 50 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Second | Williams-Ford | ||
| Third | Ligier-Matra | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
Classification
editQualifying
edit| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Renault | 1:12.158 | 1:11.000 | — | |
| 2 | 15 | Renault | 1:12.237 | 1:11.046 | +0.046 | |
| 3 | 5 | Brabham-Ford | 1:12.328 | 1:11.952 | +0.952 | |
| 4 | 28 | Ferrari | 1:14.070 | 1:12.644 | +1.644 | |
| 5 | 7 | McLaren-Ford | 1:13.370 | 1:12.712 | +1.712 | |
| 6 | 8 | McLaren-Ford | 1:13.976 | 1:12.728 | +1.728 | |
| 7 | 1 | Williams-Ford | 1:12.998 | 1:13.250 | +1.998 | |
| 8 | 27 | Ferrari | 1:14.182 | 1:13.311 | +2.311 | |
| 9 | 2 | Williams-Ford | 1:13.467 | 1:13.371 | +2.371 | |
| 10 | 29 | Arrows-Ford | 1:15.217 | 1:13.762 | +2.762 | |
| 11 | 22 | Alfa Romeo | 1:14.440 | 1:13.928 | +2.928 | |
| 12 | 23 | Alfa Romeo | 1:14.119 | 1:14.442 | +3.119 | |
| 13 | 6 | Brabham-Ford | 1:14.594 | 1:14.542 | +3.542 | |
| 14 | 26 | Ligier-Matra | 1:15.313 | 1:14.798 | +3.798 | |
| 15 | 25 | Ligier-Matra | 1:15.656 | 1:14.976 | +3.976 | |
| 16 | 20 | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:16.695 | 1:15.165 | +4.165 | |
| 17 | 17 | March-Ford | 1:15.189 | 1:15.303 | +4.189 | |
| 18 | 30 | Arrows-Ford | 1:17.229 | 1:15.304 | +4.304 | |
| 19 | 4 | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.446 | 1:15.850 | +4.850 | |
| 20 | 32 | Osella-Ford | 1:15.943 | 1:15.898 | +4.898 | |
| 21 | 9 | ATS-Ford | 1:16.758 | 1:15.959 | +4.959 | |
| 22 | 11 | Lotus-Ford | 1:16.029† | 1:15.971 | +4.971 | |
| 23 | 3 | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.381 | 1:16.099 | +5.099 | |
| 24 | 33 | Theodore-Ford | 1:17.124 | 1:16.155 | +5.155 | |
| 25 | 21 | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:18.173 | 1:16.360 | +5.360 | |
| 26 | 35 | Toleman-Hart | 1:16.388 | 1:19.602 | +5.388 | |
| 27 | 12 | Lotus-Ford | 1:15.992† | 1:16.432 | +5.432 | |
| 28 | 14 | Ensign-Ford | 1:17.053 | 1:16.694 | +5.694 | |
| 29 | 36 | Toleman-Hart | 1:17.998 | 1:16.891 | +5.891 | |
| 30 | 31 | Osella-Ford | 1:20.377 | 1:17.784 | +6.784 | |
| Source: [2] | ||||||
- †-time disallowed.
Race
editNotes
edit- This was the 200th Grand Prix start for McLaren. In those 200 races, McLaren had won 25 Grands Prix, achieved 78 podium finishes, 18 pole positions, 14 fastest laps, 2 Grand Slams, and had won 2 Driver's and 1 Constructor's Championship.
Championship standings after the race
edit
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
edit- ^ a b c Jenkinson, Denis (August 1981). "The British Grand Prix: A very popular win". Motor Sport magazine archive. p. 1048. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
- ^ Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 166. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
- ^ "1981 British Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "1981 British Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 18 July 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Britain 1981 - Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.