1980 United States Grand Prix West

The 1980 United States Grand Prix West was the fourth round of the 1980 Formula One Season. The race was won by Nelson Piquet in a ahead of the of Riccardo Patrese and Emerson Fittipaldi in his brother's car. The race was marred by a serious accident which saw driver, Clay Regazzoni crash out on lap 50, suffering severe injuries to his spine. The accident not only ended the career of Regazzoni but left him paralysed from the waist down for the rest of his life.
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==Background==
After his back to back wins in Brazil and South Africa, René Arnoux had taken the lead of the driver's championship ahead of driver Alan Jones. As well as this now led the constructor's championship ahead of the Williams team.
 driver Alain Prost was still out of action with a broken wrist following his qualifying accident in South Africa. The team had hoped to run former driver and world champion, James Hunt who had recently retired from racing the previous year, however Hunt himself was injured with a broken leg following a skiing accident. The team instead hired, Formula Two racer Stephen South for the grand prix.
Similarily at , Jan Lammers returned as a full time driver with regular driver Marc Surer out of action after breaking his legs in qualifying for the previous event. 
==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 	Stephen South 	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 	Clay Regazzoni 	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 	 	DN11 	 	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 	
==Qualifying==
===Qualifying Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor
1  	5 	Nelson Piquet 	
2 	16 	René Arnoux 	
3 	22 	Patrick Depailler 	
4 	9 	Jan Lammers 	 
5 	27 	Alan Jones 	
6 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	
7 	28 	Carlos Reutemann 	
8 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	
9 	25 	Didier Pironi 	
10 	2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	
11 	15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	
12 	3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	
13 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	
14 	4 	Derek Daly 	
15 	11 	Mario Andretti 	
16 	1 	Jody Scheckter 	
17 	30 	Jochen Mass 	
18 	6 	Ricardo Zunino 	
19 	31 	Eddie Cheever 	
20 	12 	Elio de Angelis 	
21 	7 	John Watson 	
22 	21 	Keke Rosberg 	
23 	14 	Clay Regazzoni 	
24 	20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	
DNQ 	18 	Dave Kennedy 	
DNQ 	17 	Geoff Lees 	
DNQ 	8 	Stephen South 	
==Race==
===Report===
As the race began, Nelson Piquet maintained his lead heading into the first corner. At the back, John Watson's failed to get away and had to be push-started by his mechanics. There was carnage heading into the first corner, Ricardo Zunino, Mario Andretti, Jochen Mass and Jean-Pierre Jarier all made contact. Zunino was out on the spot, whilst Andretti limped back to the pits to retire from the race.
Patrick Depailler moved into second position ahead of René Arnoux, Alan Jones, Bruno Giacomelli, Riccardo Patrese, Carlos Reutemann, Gilles Villeneuve and Derek Daly. 
Jan Lammers who had a magnificent qualifying to start from fourth, had retired on the first lap with transmission problems.
On lap two, Reutemann managed to overtake Patrese for sixth position. The following lap however, Giacomelli spun at the hairpin, leaving Reutemann nowhere to go, piling into the back of him. The two cars blocked the circuit, causing much of the mid-field to be caught up in the accident. Elio de Angelis and Jarier were caught up in the crash, retiring from the race alongside Reutemann. Jody Scheckter and Eddie Cheever were also involved in the accident but were able to continue. Giacomelli who had started the pile-up managed to continue the race with the assistance of a push-start from the marshalls.
Meanwhile up front, Piquet was dominating the race. His lead over Depailler in second position extended lap after lap, Depailler unable to compete as he began to battle brake troubles. He then fell into the clutches of Alan Jones who had moved up to third following an overtake on Arnoux. Arnoux was dropping back and would soon fall behind Patrese as well. After a long battle, Jones was able to overtake Depailler on lap 18. Depailler would then retire on lap 46 with suspension troubles.
Towards the rear of the field, the second Alfa Romeo of Bruno Giacomelli was making a comeback. Giacomelli held an extensive battle with Clay Regazzoni, Emerson Fittipaldi and John Watson at the rear before managing to clear the trio and begin carving his way through the mid-field. 
Lap 46 saw Gilles Villeneuve retire from the race, the driver pulling into the pits with transmission troubles. Villeneuve retiring, following an incident which saw him clip the back of Daly's Tyrrell whilst lapping him.
On lap 47, Jones who was moving through the backmarkers went to overtake the surging Bruno Giacomelli. The Alfa Romeo driver, however closed the door and the two driver's collided. Giacomelli's move had ruined both driver's race and they were out on the spot.
Piquet continued to dominate, now leading Arnoux, Patrese and the battling trio of Regazzoni, Fittipaldi and Watson. The three cars who had been battling throughout the race provided an exciting spectacle for the spectators, however the race was about to take a dramatic turn for the worse. On lap 50, Regazzoni who was running well in fourth place failed to brake heading into the Queen's Hairpin. The driver suffering a brake failure slammed into the barriers at full speed. Regazzoni smashed through Zunino's parked Brabham, several tyre barriers before colliding with a concrete wall.
It immediately became apparent that Regazzoni was severely injured. Medical teams were quickly on the scene to extract Regazzoni from his stricken Ensign. Whilst Regazzoni remarkably survived the incident, he suffered severe spinal injuries that would render him a paraplegic, bringing an end to his ten year Formula One career.   
Arnoux dropped out of second following a puncture, leaving Patrese to inherit second position. This meant the now battling duo of Fittipaldi and Watson were now fighting for the final podium position. Watson was able to briefly overtake Fittipaldi, however the driver began to suffer brake troubles and lost third to Fittipaldi once again. Watson began to drop back into the clutches of Jody Scheckter's Ferrari. Scheckter attempted an overtake, however botched his manoeuvere, forcing him to drop back and concede fourth place to Watson.
Piquet went on to take a dominant race win, 49 seconds ahead of Patrese's . Fittipaldi was in a remarkable third place, having barely qualified into the final grid place ahead of Watson, Scheckter and Didier Pironi.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	80 	1:50.19.4 	1 	9
2 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	80 	+49.212 	8 	6
3 	20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	 	80 	+1:18.563 	24 	4
4 	7 	John Watson 	 	79 	+1 lap 	21 	3
5 	1 	Jody Scheckter 	 	79 	+1 lap 	16 	2
6 	25 	Didier Pironi 	 	79 	+1 lap 	9 	1
7 	30 	Jochen Mass 	 	79 	+1 lap 	17 	
8 	4 	Derek Daly 	 	79 	+1 lap 	14 	
9 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	78 	+2 laps 	2 	
10 	15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	 	71 	+9 laps 	11 	
Ret 	21 	Keke Rosberg 	 	58 	Overheating 	22 	
Ret 	14 	Clay Regazzoni 	 	50 	Accident 	23 	
Ret 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	49 	Collision 	6 	
Ret 	27 	Alan Jones 	 	47 	Collision 	5 	
Ret 	2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	46 	Transmission	10 	
Ret 	22 	Patrick Depailler 	 	40 	Suspension 	3 	
Ret 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	36 	Puncture 	13 	
Ret 	31 	Eddie Cheever 	 	11 	Transmission	19 	
Ret 	28 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	3 	Transmission	7 	
Ret 	3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	3 	Accident 	12 	
Ret 	12 	Elio de Angelis 	 	3 	Accident 	20 	
Ret 	9 	Jan Lammers 	 	0 	Transmission	4 	
Ret 	11 	Mario Andretti 	 	0 	Accident 	15 	
Ret 	6 	Ricardo Zunino 	 	0 	Accident 	18 	
DNQ 	18 	Dave Kennedy 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	17 	Geoff Lees 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	8 	Stephen South 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Milestones==
*Final race for Clay Regazzoni
*Last podium for the Fittipaldi Automotives
==Standings after race==
  
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	René Arnoux 	18 	
2 	Nelson Piquet 	18 	1
3 	Alan Jones 	13 	1
4 	Didier Pironi 	8 	
5 	Riccardo Patrese 	7 	7
6 	Elio de Angelis 	6 	1
7 	Jacques Laffite 	6 	1
8 	Keke Rosberg 	4 	1
9 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	4 	7
10 	Alain Prost 	3 	2
11 	Derek Daly 	3 	2
12 	John Watson 	3 	4
13 	Bruno Giacomelli 	2 	3
14 	Carlos Reutemann 	2 	3
15 	Jody Scheckter 	2 	2
16 	Jochen Mass 	1 	3
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	18 	
2 	 	18 	2
3 	 	15 	1
4 	 	14 	1
5 	 	8 	5
6 	 	8 	
7 	 	6 	
8 	 	6 	2
9 	 	3 	1
10 	 	2 	1
11 	 	2 	1
  
{| class="wikitable" style="width:80%"	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos.	Driver 	Pts 	+/- 	
1 	René Arnoux 	18 	— 	
2 	Nelson Piquet 	18 	▲1 	
3 	Alan Jones 	13 	▼1 	
4 	Didier Pironi 	8 	— 	
5 	Riccardo Patrese 	7 	▲7 	
6 	Elio de Angelis 	6 	▼1 	
7 	Jacques Laffite 	6 	▼1 	
8 	Keke Rosberg 	4 	▼1 	
9 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	4 	▲7 	
10 	Alain Prost 	3 	▼2 	
11 	Derek Daly 	3 	▼2 	
12 	John Watson 	3 	▲4 	
13 	Bruno Giacomelli 	2 	▼3 	
14 	Carlos Reutemann 	2 	▼3 	
15 	Jody Scheckter 	2 	▲2 	
16 	Jochen Mass 	1 	▼3 	
==External Links==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:United States Grand Prix West
Category:1980 Grands Prix
Category:Formula One races in the United States