# 1981 Monaco Grand Prix

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E﻿ / ﻿43.7346500°N 7.421333°E﻿ / 43.7346500; 7.421333
The 1981 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 31 May 1981. It was the sixth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.
The 76-lap race was won by Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve, driving a Ferrari. Brazilian Nelson Piquet took pole position in his Brabham-Ford and led until he crashed out on lap 54. Australian Alan Jones finished second in a Williams-Ford, with Frenchman Jacques Laffite third in a Ligier-Matra.

## Race

The start of the race was delayed after a fire in the Loews Hotel kitchens, which necessitated the fire service pumping large quantities of water to put the fires out. Water then seeped through the floors of the hotel and into the tunnel, delaying the race for an hour. Nelson Piquet led for much of the race, but crashed out late on. New race leader Alan Jones then suffered a fuel feed problem in the latter stages of the race, allowing Gilles Villeneuve in his Ferrari, to take his first victory since 1979 as well as becoming the first, and to this day, the only Canadian to win in Monaco. Championship leader Carlos Reutemann retired with gearbox problems, breaking a 15-race streak of consistently finishing in the points.

## Classification
### Pre-qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
| 1 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford | 1:30.492 | |
| 2 | 14 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | 1:31.249 | +0.757 |
| 3 | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | 1:32.704 | +2.212 |
| 4 | 32 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Ford | 1:33.189 | +2.697 |
| 5 | 10 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford | 1:33.285 | +2.793 |
| 6 | 18 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | 1:33.800 | +3.308 |
| 7 | 17 | Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford | 1:35.249 | +4.757 |
| 8 | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | 1:37.528 | +7.036 |
| 9 | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:41.966 | +11.474 |

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
| 1 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:25.710 | 1:28.667 | |
| 2 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:26.891 | 1:25.788 | +0.078 |
| 3 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:27.174 | 1:25.815 | +0.105 |
| 4 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:27.643 | 1:26.010 | +0.300 |
| 5 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:27.447 | 1:26.040 | +0.330 |
| 6 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 1:28.381 | 1:26.259 | +0.549 |
| 7 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:26.938 | 1:26.538 | +0.828 |
| 8 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:27.468 | 1:26.704 | +0.994 |
| 9 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:27.623 | 1:26.953 | +1.243 |
| 10 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:28.137 | 1:27.058 | +1.348 |
| 11 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | 1:28.966 | 1:27.122 | +1.412 |
| 12 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:27.512 | 1:28.162 | +1.802 |
| 13 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:28.613 | 1:27.513 | +1.803 |
| 14 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | 1:29.789 | 1:27.564 | +1.854 |
| 15 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:29.282 | 1:27.594 | +1.884 |
| 16 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford | 1:28.897 | 1:27.939 | +2.229 |
| 17 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:29.150 | 1:28.266 | +2.556 |
| 18 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:28.335 | 1:28.323 | +2.613 |
| 19 | 14 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | 1:29.611 | 1:28.339 | +2.629 |
| 20 | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:30.699 | 1:28.358 | +2.648 |
| 21 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:29.924 | 1:28.436 | +2.726 |
| 22 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra | 1:29.752 | 1:28.841 | +3.131 |
| 23 | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | 1:29.188 | 1:29.256 | +3.478 |
| 24 | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:32.109 | 1:29.434 | +3.724 |
| 25 | 32 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Ford | no time | 1:29.694 | +3.984 |
| 26 | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | 1:30.963 | 1:29.795 | +4.085 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | M | 76 | 1:54:23.38 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | M | 76 | + 39.91 | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | M | 76 | + 1:29.24 | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | M | 75 | + 1 Lap | 17 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | M | 74 | + 2 Laps | 15 | 2 |
| 6 | 14 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | M | 74 | + 2 Laps | 19 | 1 |
| 7 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford | M | 72 | + 4 Laps | 16 | |
| Ret | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | M | 53 | Spun off | 1 | |
| Ret | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | M | 52 | Engine | 10 | |
| Ret | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | M | 50 | Collision | 20 | |
| Ret | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | M | 50 | Collision | 18 | |
| Ret | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | M | 45 | Engine | 9 | |
| Ret | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | M | 33 | Gearbox | 4 | |
| Ret | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | M | 32 | Engine | 6 | |
| Ret | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | M | 32 | Spun off | 13 | |
| Ret | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | M | 29 | Gearbox | 5 | |
| Ret | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | M | 15 | Suspension | 3 | |
| Ret | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | M | 14 | Fuel system | 14 | |
| Ret | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | M | 0 | Collision | 11 | |
| Ret | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | M | 0 | Collision | 12 | |
| DNQ | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | A | | | | |
| DNQ | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier-Matra | M | | | | |
| DNQ | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNQ | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | A | | | | |
| DNQ | 32 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNQ | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNPQ | 10 | Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNPQ | 18 | Derek Daly | March-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNPQ | 17 | Eliseo Salazar | March-Ford | M | | | | |
| DNPQ | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | P | | | | |
| DNPQ | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | P | | | | |
| Source: |||||||||