1980 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1980 Belgian Grand Prix saw French driver Didier Pironi take his maiden Formula One victory for the team. Rounding off the podium were the two cars of Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann
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==Background==
After a five week break in between the USA and Belgium, it was announced that Don Nichols, the owner of the had called it quits after eight years in Formula One and had sold the team to Teddy Yip's organisation. In the first five races the team had been only able to qualify once, it had been a disappointing final season for Shadow. Despite now being under Theodore ownership, the team retained the Shadow name for the remainder of the season and kept its driver line-up of Geoff Lees and Dave Kennedy. 
Alain Prost was back racing with the team after missing the previous two events after breaking his wrist. also had to find a new driver following Clay Regazzoni's career ending crash in Long Beach. The team signed Tiff Needell as a replacement. Needell had previously signed as a race driver for the team in , however failed to attain a superlicense due to a lack of experience. A season in British Formula One finally provided Needell the opportunity to race in Formula One as Regazzoni's replacement. 
Belgium would also mark the first race without qualifying tyres. Formula One's tyre suppliers, Goodyear and Michelin had agreed to no longer produce the special compound qualifying tyres. Instead the team's would now have to use the same type of compound tyres in qualifying as they would during the race.
Heading into Belgium,  René Arnoux and Nelson Piquet were tied in the lead of the driver's championship with 18 points. Alan Jones was not far behind, only five points adrift. Similarily in the Constructor's championship and were tied for the lead with and trailing not far behind.
==Entry List==
Below is the full entry list for the :
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Jody Scheckter 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312T5 	 	015 F12 3.0 	
2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312T5 	 	015 F12 3.0 	
3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	Candy Team Tyrrell 	 	010 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
4 	Derek Daly 	Candy Team Tyrrell 	 	010 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
5 	Nelson Piquet 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
6 	Ricardo Zunino 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
7 	John Watson 	Marlboro Team McLaren 	 	M29C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
8 	Alain Prost 	Marlboro Team McLaren 	 	M29C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
9 	Jan Lammers 	Team ATS 	 	D4 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
11 	Mario Andretti 	Team Essex Lotus 	 	81 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
12 	Elio de Angelis 	Team Essex Lotus 	 	81 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
14 	Tiff Needell 	Unipart Racing Team 	 	N180 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE20 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
16 	René Arnoux 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE20 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
17 	Geoff Lees 	Shadow Cars 	 	DN12 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
18 	David Kennedy 	Shadow Cars 	 	DN11 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	Skol Fittipaldi Team 	 	F7 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
21 	Keke Rosberg 	Skol Fittipaldi Team 	 	F7 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
22 	Patrick Depailler 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
25 	Didier Pironi 	Equipe Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS11/15	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
26 	Jacques Laffite 	Equipe Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS11/15	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
27 	Alan Jones 	Albilad Williams Racing Team 	 	FW07B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
28 	Carlos Reutemann 	Albilad Williams Racing Team 	 	FW07B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
29 	Riccardo Patrese 	Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	 	A3 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
30 	Jochen Mass 	Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	 	A3 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
31 	Eddie Cheever 	Osella Squadra Course 	 	FA1 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
Qualifying for Belgium was extremely wet as for the first time in 1980, the full wet tyre compounds were getting some use. The battle for the pole position was highly intense with less than a second covering the top six. , and appeared to have the measure over the rest of the field, and the race lead seemed likely to be fought by these six cars. Alan Jones took pole ahead of Didier Pironi, Jacques Laffite, Carlos Reutemann, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and René Arnoux. 
===Qualifying Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time 	Gap
1  	27 	Alan Jones 	 	1:19.12	
2 	25 	Didier Pironi 	 	1:19.35	+ 0.23
3 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:19.69	+ 0.57
4 	28 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	1:19.79	+ 0.67
5 	15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	 	1:19.89	+ 0.77
6 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	1:19.89	+ 0.77
7 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:20.23	+ 1.11
8 	12 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:20.96	+ 1.84
9 	3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	1:21.36	+ 2.24
10 	22 	Patrick Depailler 	 	1:21.45	+ 2.33
11 	4 	Derek Daly 	 	1:21.51	+ 2.39
12 	2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	1:21.54	+ 2.42
13 	30 	Jochen Mass 	 	1:21.55	+ 2.43
14 	1 	Jody Scheckter 	 	1:21.58	+ 2.46
15 	9 	Jan Lammers 	 	1:21.72	+ 2.60
16 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:21.75	+ 2.63
17 	11 	Mario Andretti 	 	1:22.07	+ 2.95
18 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:22.20	+ 3.08
19 	8 	Alain Prost 	 	1:22.26	+ 3.14
20 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:22.57	+ 3.45
21 	21 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:22.97	+ 3.85
22 	6 	Ricardo Zunino 	 	1:23.18	+ 4.06
23 	14 	Tiff Needell 	 	1:23.50	+ 4.38
24 	20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	 	1:24.22	+ 5.10
DNQ 	17 	Geoff Lees 	 	1:24.37	+ 5.25
DNQ 	18 	David Kennedy 	 	1:24.64	+ 5.52
DNQ 	31 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:40.06	+ 20.94
==Race==
===Report===
Unlike during qualifying, race day at Zolder was held in sunny and warm conditions. As the lights went green, Didier Pironi immediately took the lead from Alan Jones heading into the first corner. Bad luck struck Jean-Pierre Jabouille once again, the driver suffering a clutch failure which saw him struggle to get away before retiring the next lap. The second lap saw Jochen Mass's spin into the catch fencing, forcing his retirement from the race. 
Out front Pironi continued to lead the field ahead of Jones, Jacques Laffite, Carlos Reutemann, René Arnoux and Nelson Piquet. Lap five saw Ricardo Zunino pull into the pits and retire with gearbox trouble. 
Pironi began to pull away in the lead whilst Jones and Laffite began to create a gap to the trio of Reutemann, Arnoux and Piquet. Lap seven saw John Watson pull into the pits with mechanical trouble. The driver would spend several laps in the pits as his mechanics repaired his car, Watson would rejoin the race albeit several laps down. 
Reutemann, Arnoux and Piquet held an intense battle for fourth place. On lap 17, Arnoux attempted to overtake Reutemann but succeeded in only spinning off the circuit. Arnoux dropped to tenth behind Piquet, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Gilles Villeneuve and Elio de Angelis. Arnoux then had to battle through the field in order to make his return to the front of the field.
On lap 32, Arnoux's comeback was further assisted when Nelson Piquet spun off the circuit and into retirement. At the front, Jacques Laffite was suffering from brake wear and was dropping back from Alan Jones and into the clutches of the second of Carlos Reutemann.  Lap 38 saw Reutemann overtake Laffite, the following lap Laffite pitted to get his brakes fixed. This dropped him well out of the running for points. 
The final laps provided some interest as a four way battle occured for fourth place. Arnoux had fought his way back into fourth place, however Jarier, Villeneuve and De Angelis were hot on his heels. Three laps from the end, De Angelis spun off the circuit and into retirement as Arnoux, Jarier and Villeneuve continued to battle. In the end Arnoux maintained fourth just ahead of Jarier and Villeneuve.
Pironi took a dominant first Formula One win ahead of the two Williams cars of Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired 	Grid	Points
1 	25 	Didier Pironi 	 	72 	1:38.47.4 	2 	9
2 	27 	Alan Jones 	 	72 	+47.37s 	1 	6
3 	28 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	72 	+84.12s 	4 	4
4 	16 	 René Arnoux 	 	71 	+1 lap 	6 	3
5 	3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	71 	+1 lap 	9 	2
6 	2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	71 	+1 lap 	12 	1
7 	21 	Keke Rosberg 	 	71 	+1 lap 	21 	
8 	1 	Jody Scheckter 	 	70 	+2 laps 	14 	
9 	4 	Derek Daly 	 	70 	+2 laps 	11 	
10 	12 	Elio de Angelis 	 	69 	Spun off 	8 	
11 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	68 	+4 laps 	3 	
12 	9 	Jan Lammers 	 	64 	Engine 	15 	
NC 	7 	John Watson 	 	61 	Not classified	20 	
Ret 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	58 	Spun off 	16 	
Ret 	11 	Mario Andretti 	 	41 	Gearbox 	17 	
Ret 	22 	Patrick Depailler 	 	38 	Exhaust 	10 	
Ret 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	32 	Spun off 	7 	
Ret 	8 	Alain Prost 	 	29 	Transmission 	19 	
Ret 	20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	 	16 	Electrical 	24 	
Ret 	14 	Tiff Needell 	 	12 	Engine 	23 	
Ret 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	11 	Suspension 	18 	
Ret 	6 	Ricardo Zunino 	 	5 	Gearbox 	22 	
Ret 	30 	Jochen Mass 	 	1 	Spun off 	13 	
Ret 	15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	 	1 	Clutch 	5 	
DNQ 	17 	Geoff Lees 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	18 	Dave Kennedy 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	31 	Eddie Cheever 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Milestones==
==Standings after race==
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	René Arnoux 	21 	
2 	Alan Jones 	19 	1
3 	Nelson Piquet 	18 	1
4 	Didier Pironi 	17 	
5 	 Riccardo Patrese 	7 	
6 	Carlos Reutemann 	6 	8
7 	Elio de Angelis 	6 	1
8 	 Jacques Laffite 	6 	1
9 	 Keke Rosberg 	4 	1
10 	 Emerson Fittipaldi 	4 	1
11 	 Alain Prost 	3 	1
12 	 Derek Daly 	3 	1
13 	 John Watson 	3 	1
14 	 Bruno Giacomelli 	2 	1
15 	 Jody Scheckter 	2 	
16 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	2 	3
17 	 Jochen Mass 	1 	1
18 	Gilles Villeneuve 	1 	1
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	25 	2
2 	 	23 	2
3 	 	21 	2
4 	 	18 	2
5 	 	8 	
6 	 	8 	
7 	 	6 	
8 	 	6 	
9 	 	5 	
10 	 	3 	1
11 	 	2 	1
==External Links==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1980 Grands Prix
Category:Belgian Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Belgium