1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix

The 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix was the final race of the 1981 Formula One season. It was held on October 17, 1981, and it saw Nelson Piquet win the first of his three World Championships.
The race was won by Alan Jones of , with 's Alain Prost in second and 's Bruno Giacomelli in third, achieving Alfa Romeo's only podium finish this season.
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==Background==
After the Watkins Glen circuit went bankrupt following the 1980 event which saw the circuit fail to pay its $800,000 debt to the teams, the circuit was deemed unfit to host a race in 1981. A race circuit was hastily developed to replace it in Las Vegas, Nevada which would be hosted in the car park behind the Caesar's Palace casino. It was deemed an odd venue for a Formula One race which drew much criticism. The climate of Las Vegas was much hotter than the drivers were generally used to, which notably drew criticism as well as the dusty circuit which held little to no grip on the tarmac.
The race was hosted as the championship finale for 1981 with three drivers remaining with a chance as claiming the 1981 championship. Carlos Reutemann led the championship on 49 points, one point ahead of Nelson Piquet. With an outside chance in the championship was Jacques Laffite who was six points behind Reutemann on 43 championship points.
Heading into Las Vegas, reigning world champion Alan Jones was announced to be retiring from Formula One at the end of 1981. Jones had become disillusioned with the sport due to political infighting, which had cost him a victory as Spain earlier in the year, and the contentious relationship he had with teammate Carlos Reutemann. Another factor was the new ground effect cars which many of his colleagues found unpleasurable to drive. Before the race, Jones had quite bluntly announced that Reutemann would receive no help from him in the race, the two having fallen out after Reutemann failed to give way to his team leader way back in Brazil, the second race of the season.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Alan Jones 	TAG Williams Team 	 	FW07C 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
2 	Carlos Reutemann 	TAG Williams Team 	 	FW07C 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
3 	Eddie Cheever 	Tyrrell Racing Team 	 	011 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
4 	Michele Alboreto 	Tyrrell Racing Team 	 	011 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
5 	Nelson Piquet 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49C 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
6 	Héctor Rebaque 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49C 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
7 	John Watson 	Marlboro McLaren International 	 	MP4/1 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
8 	Andrea de Cesaris 	Marlboro McLaren International 	 	MP4/1 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
9 	Slim Borgudd 	Team ATS 	 	HGS1 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
11 	Elio de Angelis 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	87 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
12 	Nigel Mansell 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	87 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
14 	Eliseo Salazar 	Ensign Racing 	 	N180B 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
15 	Alain Prost 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE30 	 	EF1 3.0 V6t 	
16 	René Arnoux 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE30 	 	EF1 3.0 V6t 	
17 	Derek Daly 	March Grand Prix Team 	 	811 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
20 	Keke Rosberg 	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F8C 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
21 	Chico Serra 	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F8C 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
22 	Mario Andretti 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179D 	 	1260 3.0 V12 	
23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179C 	 	1260 3.0 V12 	
25 	Patrick Tambay 	Equipe Talbot Gitanes 	 	JS17 	 	MS81 3.0 V12 	
26 	Jacques Laffite 	Equipe Talbot Gitanes 	 	JS17 	 	MS81 3.0 V12 	
27 	Gilles Villeneuve 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126CK 	 	021 3.0 V6t 	
28 	Didier Pironi 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126CK 	 	021 3.0 V6t 	
29 	Riccardo Patrese 	Ragno Arrows Beta Racing Team 	 	A3 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
30 	Jacques Villeneuve, Sr. 	Ragno Arrows Beta Racing Team 	 	A3 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
31 	Beppe Gabbiani 	Osella Squadra Corse 	 	FA1B 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
32 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	Osella Squadra Corse 	 	FA1C 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
33 	Marc Surer 	Theodore Racing Team 	 	TY01 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
35 	Brian Henton 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG181 	 	415T 3.0 L4t 	
36 	Derek Warwick 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG181 	 	415T 3.0 L4t 	
Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/engages.aspx, (Accessed (07/03/2020)'1981 Caesers Palace Grand Prix race report', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/11/1981), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1981/38/las-vegas-grand-prix-3, (Accessed (07/03/2020)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
Practice and qualifying saw many complaints about the circuit from the drivers. The anti-clockwise circuit saw significant strain on the driver's necks as well as many drivers suffering from heat stroke in the baking hot conditions of Las Vegas. Championship challenger Nelson Piquet in particular was struggling, his back was badly bruised after practice which saw him miss most of qualifying. His main rival Carlos Reutemann had meanwhile taken pole position and looked in prime position for the world championship. Piquet still managed to put his car fourth on the grid, but his competitiveness was looking grim. Jacques Laffite had the worst qualifying putting him well down in twelfth position.
Alan Jones in the sister Williams lined up on the front row for his last race in second, next to teammate and arch-nemesis Reutemann. Gilles Villeneuve who ever impressed in his was third ahead of Piquet, Alain Prost and John Watson. Patrick Tambay was seventh, the second Ligier driver to Laffite had impressed unlike his teammate. Ligier had nonetheless announced they were dropping him at the end of the season although Tambay like Jones and Andretti was heading for Formula One retirement.
Bruno Giacomelli was eighth in his with Nigel Mansell ninth and Mario Andretti in tenth. Those drivers that failed to qualify were Slim Borgudd, Chico Serra, Derek Daly, Jacques Villeneuve, Sr., Brian Henton and Beppe Gabbiani. Derek Warwick finally qualified to race for the first time after failing to make the cut in his for half a season. The young Brit lined up twenty second on the grid.
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Time 	Gap
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Q1 	Q2 	Gap
1 	2 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	1:17.821 	1:18.343 	—
2 	1 	Alan Jones 	 	1:18.236 	1:17.995 	+0.174s
3 	27 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	1:18.457 	1:18.060 	+0.239s
4 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:18.954 	1:18.161 	+0.340s
5 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:18.433 	1:18.760 	+0.612s
6 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:19.975 	1:18.617 	+0.796s
7 	25 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:19.874 	1:18.681 	+0.860s
8 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:20.570 	1:18.792 	+0.971s
9 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:19.044 	1:19.623 	+1.223s
10 	22 	Mario Andretti 	 	1:19.594 	1:19.068 	+1.247s
11 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:20.132 	1:19.152 	+1.331s
12 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:19.878 	1:19.167 	+1.346s
13 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	1:19.966 	1:19.197 	+1.376s
14 	8 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:19.338 	1:19.217 	+1.396s
15 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:20.337 	1:19.562 	+1.741s
16 	6 	Héctor Rebaque 	 	1:20.555 	1:19.571 	+1.750s
17 	4 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:21.964 	1:19.774 	+1.953s
18 	28 	Didier Pironi 	 	1:19.899 	1:21.347 	+2.078s
19 	3 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:21.116 	1:20.475 	+2.654s
20 	20 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:21.299 	1:20.729 	+2.908s
21 	32 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	22:19.563 	1:20.781 	+2.960s
22 	36 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:22.491 	1:21.294 	+3.473s
23 	33 	Marc Surer 	 	1:21.889 	1:21.430 	+3.609s
24 	14 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	1:22.616 	1:21.629 	+3.808s
DNQ 	9 	Slim Borgudd 	 	1:21.665 	1:21.731 	+3.844s
DNQ 	21 	Chico Serra 	 	1:22.612 	1:21.672 	+3.851s
DNQ 	17 	Derek Daly 	 	1:21.846 	1:21.824 	+4.003s
DNQ 	30 	Jacques Villeneuve, Sr. 	 	1:22.977 	1:22.822 	+5.001s
DNQ 	35 	Brian Henton 	 	1:23.857 	1:22.960 	+5.139s
DNQ 	31 	Beppe Gabbiani 	 	1:26.634 	— 	+8.813s
Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/qualification.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/qualification.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/qualification.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/qualification.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/qualification.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/qualification.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/qualification.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)
*Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
*T Indicates a driver using a test/spare car to set their best/qualifying time in that session.
===Grid===
==Race==
The start of the race saw Alan Jones take the lead as championship leader Carlos Reutemann struggled to get away and dropped to fifth behind Gilles Villeneuve, Alain Prost and Bruno Giacomelli. Nelson Piquet had also made a poor start dropping by John Watson and Jacques Laffite who had made a remarkable start from twelfth on the grid. Reutemann appeared to be struggling as by lap three he had dropped behind Watson and Laffite and was now only just ahead of main rival Piquet.
Patrick Tambay had a sizeable accident on lap two, his Ligier hitting the barriers hard. Tambay was left hopping out of the car with an injured left ankle. The third lap saw Prost overtake Villeneuve who had begun to hold up the cars behind him in his poorly handling Ferrari. Only four seconds separated Villeneuve, Giacomelli, Watson, Laffite, Reutemann, Piquet and Andretti. Laffite soon moved ahead of Watson whilst on lap 17 before soon moving to third after passing Giacomelli. Piquet crucially moved ahead of Reutemann to move into seventh.
Piquet then charged by Watson to take sixth and move into the points, the position then became fifth on lap 22 when Villeneuve pulled out with engine problems. Mario Andretti had overtaken Reutemann shortly after Piquet and soon charged by the Brazilian championship contender himself. The two Alfa Romeo's of Giacomelli and Andretti battled together until Giacomelli spun dropping down to tenth position.
Reutemann who could see his championship hopes slipping away, provided a hopeful comeback for his fans when he overtook Watson's McLaren to move into the points in sixth. Andretti's fine drive on what many believed to be his last before his retirement pulled off on lap 29 with suspension issues.
Jones continued to dominate the race out front with Prost in a comfortable second. The Renault driver began to suffer tyre degradation which forced the Frenchman into the pits for new tyres. This put Laffite in second, Piquet in third and Reutemann fourth. It all began to fall apart for Reutemann as first Nigel Mansell's Lotus overtook him and he then fell behind the recovering Prost and Giacomelli.
Piquet who seemed set for the championship honours was not performing well either and dropped behind Prost and Giacomelli as well. Laffite was forced to stop for tyres dropping down to sixth. Mansell in the closing laps overtook the struggling Piquet who despite his issues remained crucially ahead of Reutemann who remained in seventh.
Alan Jones was meanwhile dominating his final Formula One race before his retirement, taking victory by 20 seconds. Prost and Giacomelli took a well deserved second and third. Giacomelli getting his first Formula One podium after a torrid 1981 campaign for Alfa Romeo. Nigel Mansell took a hard earned fourth whilst crucially Nelson Piquet was fifth to take his first Formula One championship. Piquet's struggles in the race was down to physical fatigue, he had vomited in the cockpit and could barely walk following his exit from the car. Laffite took sixth position whilst Reutemann was seventh, the Argentine seemed to have the championship in the bag but inexplicably had lost his form when he needed it the most.
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Alan Jones 	 	75 	1:44:09.077 	2 	9
2 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	75 	+20.048s 	5 	6
3 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	75 	+20.428s 	8 	4
4 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	75 	+47.473s 	9 	3
5 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	75 	+1:16.438 	4 	2
6 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	75 	+1:18.175 	12 	1
7 	7 	John Watson 	 	75 	+1:18.497 	6 	
8 	2 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	74 	+1 lap 	1 	
9 	28 	Didier Pironi 	 	73 	+2 laps 	18 	
10 	20 	Keke Rosberg 	 	73 	+2 laps 	20 	
11 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	71 	+4 laps 	11 	
12 	8 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	69 	+6 laps 	14 	
13* 	4 	Michele Alboreto 	 	67 	Engine 	17 	
NC† 	14 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	61 	+14 laps 	17 	
Ret 	36 	Derek Warwick 	 	43 	Gearbox 	22 	
Ret 	22 	Mario Andretti 	 	29 	Suspension 	10 	
DSQ‡ 	27 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	22 	Spin 	3 	
Ret 	6 	Héctor Rebaque 	 	20 	Overheating 	16 	
Ret 	33 	Marc Surer 	 	19 	Suspension 	23 	
Ret 	3 	Eddie Cheever 	 	10 	Engine 	19 	
Ret 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	10 	Misfire 	13 	
Ret 	25 	Patrick Tambay 	 	2 	Accident 	7 	
Ret 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	2 	Water leak 	15 	
Ret 	32 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	0 	Engine 	21 	
DNQ 	9 	Slim Borgudd 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	21 	Chico Serra 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	17 	Derek Daly 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	30 	Jacques Villeneuve, Sr. 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	35 	Brian Henton 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	31 	Beppe Gabbiani 	 	 	 	 	
Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)	Source:'Las Vegas 1981: Results', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1981/las-vegas/classement.aspx, (Accessed (08/03/2020)
** Alboreto was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
*† Salazar could not be classified as he had failed to complete 90% of the race distance.
*‡ G. Villeneuve was disqualified for starting on an improper grid position.
==Milestones==
*The sixth and final pole position for Carlos Reutemann.
*The twelfth and final victory for Alan Jones.
*Only podium for Bruno Giacomelli.
*Final race for Héctor Rebaque and Beppe Gabbiani.
==Standings==
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts.
1 	Nelson Piquet 	50
2 	Carlos Reutemann 	49
3 	Alan Jones 	46
4 	Jacques Laffite 	44
5 	Alain Prost 	43
6 	John Watson 	27
7 	Gilles Villeneuve 	25
8 	Elio de Angelis 	14
9 	Héctor Rebaque 	11
= 	René Arnoux 	11
11 	Héctor Rebaque 	10
= 	Eddie Cheever 	10
13 	Didier Pironi 	9
14 	Nigel Mansell 	8
15 	Bruno Giacomelli 	7
16 	Marc Surer 	4
17 	Mario Andretti 	3
18 	Patrick Tambay 	1
= 	Andrea de Cesaris 	1
= 	Slim Borgudd 	1
= 	Eliseo Salazar 	1
International Cup for Constructors	International Cup for Constructors	International Cup for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts.
1 	 	95
2 	 	61
3 	 	54
4 	 	44
5 	 	34
6 	 	28
7 	 	22
8 	 	10
= 	 	10
= 	 	10
11 	 	5
12 	 	1
= 	 	1
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1981 Grands Prix
Category:Caesars Palace Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in the United States