Regular Ligier driver Jacques Laffite was joined by Jean-Pierre Jabouille, a race winner for Renault, for 1981. However, the latter had not yet recovered from injuries sustained in a crash the previous year and so Jean-Pierre Jarier was contracted for the first race of the year in the United States. Both drivers qualified in mid-field, Jarier ahead of Laffite, but failed to finish the race itself. Jabouille tried to drive at the following race in Brazil but was still unfit and Jarier had to stand in again. He finished seventh behind Laffite, who scored the car's first points finish with sixth place.