1981 San Marino Grand Prix

The 1981 San Marino Grand Prix was the inaugral San Marino Grand Prix and the second championship race held at Imola. Nelson Piquet won the event ahead of Riccardo Patrese and Carlos Reutemann.__TOC__
==Background==
In 1980, the Italian Grand Prix was held for the first time in Formula One's history held at a circuit other than Monza. Contract disputes between the circuit and the FISA had prevented Monza from hosting a grand prix that year and after much outrage the event was moved to the Imola circuit for 1980. Despite the uproar from the fans at the loss of Monza, the Imola circuit proved to be a popular venue in 1980 and was seen by fans as a topline grand prix track. With the Italian Grand Prix returning to Monza in 1981, the FISA sought to implement Imola onto the calendar by giving it a separate grand prix title, lining it as the San Marino Grand Prix. 
The consistency of Carlos Reutemann in the opening rounds meant that he was leading the world championship on 21 points, three points clear of teammate Alan Jones. Nelson Piquet was in third place in the standings, his controversial but innovative with its hydro pneumatic suspension was proving to be the fastest car on the grid. However with the European season beginning, most teams had began to fit their own version of the hydro pneumatic suspension onto their cars which questioned how superior the Brabham would be in San Marino. 
With the Lotus 88 repeatedly being declared illegal by the FISA, had withdrawn its cars from the San Marino event. Instead the team remained in England with Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis testing a new and revised Lotus 87 designed to succeed the reject 88 chassis.
There was a new team on the grid in Imola, the team ran by Ted Toleman and Alex Hawkridge would enter the grid as a new competitor in Imola. Toleman had been competing for a number of seasons in Formula Two and had decided to advance to the major league in Formula One. The Toleman TG181 was designed by Rory Byrne and was uniquely powered by a turbo charged engine rather than the usual customer bought Ford-Cosworth DFV. Toleman would enter the same line-up it had used in the 1980 Formula Two Championship which had seen Brian Henton winning the F2 championship with teammate Derek Warwick second in the standings. Henton had competed in F1 sporadically in the past, however he had not competed since , four years previously. Warwick on the other had would be making his Formula One debut in Imola. 
Other driver changes in Imola saw expand to two cars with Swedish driver Slim Borgudd joining Jan Lammers in the team. Borgudd at the time served as pop music band ABBA's drummer. As a result the team ran ABBA logos on Borgudd's car. Ricardo Zunino had been replaced at by the reigning Formula Three champion, Michele Alboreto a young Italian driver who was proven to be both fast as well as having enough cash to fund the financially struggling Tyrrell outfit.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is displayed below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Alan Jones 	Albilad Williams Racing Team 	 	FW07C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
2 	Carlos Reutemann 	Albilad Williams Racing Team 	 	FW07C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
3 	Eddie Cheever 	Tyrrell Racing Team 	 	010 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
4 	Ricardo Zunino 	Tyrrell Racing Team 	 	010 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
5 	Nelson Piquet 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
6 	Héctor Rebaque 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
7 	John Watson 	Marlboro McLaren International	 	M29F 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
8 	Andrea de Cesaris 	Marlboro McLaren International	 	M29F 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
9 	Jan Lammers 	Team ATS 	 	D4 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
10 	Slim Borgudd 	Team ATS 	 	D4 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
11 	Elio de Angelis 	Team Essex Lotus 	 	81B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
12 	Nigel Mansell 	Team Essex Lotus 	 	81B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
14 	Ricardo Londoñor 	Ensign Racing 	 	N180B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
15 	Alain Prost 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE20B 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
16 	René Arnoux 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE20B 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
17 	Derek Daly 	March Grand Prix Team 	 	811 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
18 	Eliseo Salazar 	March Grand Prix Team 	 	811 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
20 	Keke Rosberg 	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F8C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
21 	Chico Serra 	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F8C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
22 	Mario Andretti 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179C 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179C 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
25 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Equipe Talbot Gitanes 	 	JS17 	 	MS81 V12 3.0	
26 	Jacques Laffite 	Equipe Talbot Gitanes 	 	JS17 	 	MS81 V12 3.0	
27 	Gilles Villeneuve 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126CK 	 	021 V6t 1.5 	
28 	Didier Pironi 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126CK 	 	021 V6t 1.5 	
29 	Riccardo Patrese 	Ragno Arrows Beta Racing Team 	 	A3 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
30 	Siegfried Stohr 	Ragno Arrows Beta Racing Team 	 	A3 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
31 	Miguel Ángel Guerra 	Osella Squadra Course 	 	FA1B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
32 	Beppe Gabbiani 	Osella Squadra Course 	 	FA1B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
33 	Patrick Tambay 	Theodore Racing Team 	 	TY01 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
35 	Brian Henton 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG181 	 	415T L4t 1.5	
36 	Derek Warwick 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG181 	 	415T L4t 1.5	
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
As was typical of the faster circuits such as Imola, the turbo charged cars typically performed well in qualifying. Practice and qualifying notably saw an improvement in pace from , the team competing as a front runner once again for the first time since . Gilles Villeneuve took a comfortable pole position for the team with Carlos Ruetemann doing well to pit his Williams on second the grid. The turbo charged 's of René Arnoux and Alain Prost were third and fourth whilst Nelson Piquet lined up fifth. Didier Pironi took sixth, John Watson in the new McLaren MP4/1 was seventh, Alan Jones a disappointing eighth ahead of Riccardo Patrese and Jacques Laffite.
Miguel Ángel Guerra qualified for his first Formula One race starting from twenty second as did Eliseo Salazar who started a position behind him. Slim Borgudd on his first attempt to qualify the ATS managed to break onto the last grid position whilst teammate Lammers failed to qualify. Alongside Lammers was Siegfried Stohr, Derek Daly, the two Toleman's of Derek Warwick and Brian Henton as well as Chico Serra's .
=== Qualifying Results ===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time 	Gap
1  	27 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	1:34.523	
2 	2 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	1:35.229	+ 0.706
3 	16 	 René Arnoux 	 	1:35.281	+ 0.758
4 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:35.579	+ 1.056
5 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:35.733	+ 1.210
6 	28 	Didier Pironi 	 	1:35.868	+ 1.345
7 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:36.241	+ 1.718
8 	1 	Alan Jones 	 	1:36.280	+ 1.757
9 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:36.390	+ 1.867
10 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:36.477	+ 1.954
11 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:36.776	+ 2.253
12 	22 	Mario Andretti 	 	1:36.919	+ 2.396
13 	6 	Héctor Rebaque 	 	1:37.264	+ 2.742
14 	8 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:37.382	+ 2.859
15 	20 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:37.459	+ 2.936
16 	33 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:37.545	+ 3.022
17 	4 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:37.771	+ 3.428
18 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	 	1:38.140	+ 3.617
19 	3 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:38.266	+ 3.743
20 	32 	Beppe Gabbiani 	 	1:38.302	+ 3.779
21 	14 	Marc Surer 	 	1:38.341	+ 3.818
22 	31 	Miguel Ángel Guerra 	 	1:38.773	+ 4.250
23 	17 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	1:38.827	+ 4.304
24 	10 	Slim Borgudd 	 	1:39.079	+ 4.556
DNQ 	30 	Siegfried Stohr 	 	1:39.112	+ 4.589
DNQ 	18 	Derek Daly 	 	1:39.157	+ 4.634
DNQ 	9 	Jan Lammers 	 	1:39.419	+ 4.896
DNQ 	21 	Chico Serra 	 	1:41.114	+ 6.591
DNQ 	36 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:43.187	+ 8.664
DNQ 	35 	Brian Henton 	 	1:49.951	+ 15.428
===Grid===
==Race==
=== Report ===
The Sunday morning saw heavy rain sweep the circuit, however by the time the race was ready to get underway the rain had subsided. The track remained very wet and all the cars bar Marc Surer's Ensign started the race on wet tyres. The start saw Gilles Villeneuve maintain his lead whilst behind him, Didier Pironi and Alan Jones got flying starts, Pironi was up to second to make it a Ferrari 1-2 whilst Jones was now in fourth position behind Williams teammate Carlos Reutemann. 
At the tail end of the field there was carnage going into the Tosa hairpin. Eliseo Salazar's March slammed into the back of Miguel Ángel Guerra's Osella. Guerra was pitched into the wall suffering a broken wrist and ankle. The front end of Guerra's car had been completely destroyed and the injured Guerra had to be cut from his car by the marshalls in order to be free of his wreck.
Jones and Reutemann diced for third, at the end of the first lap Jones made his move on Reutemann, only for the Argentine to angrily shut the door on Jones and in doing so damaging the latter's front wing. Jones then dropped behind Riccardo Patrese's before heading to the pits for a new front wing. Jones changing onto slick tyres in the stop. A few laps later Patrese was up to third when Reutemann went wide at the final corner and let the Arrows driver through.
Alain Prost became the first of the frontrunners to drop out, the gearbox on his Renault seizing and forcing him out on lap 3. A lap later Prost's teammate Arnoux spun from fifth losing a place to Piquet's Brabham. Soon enough the second Brabham of Rebaque had also passed Arnoux. The same lap John Watson was forced into the pits from seventh after spinning and damaging his nose. Watson notably rejoining the track on slick tyres. 
Meanwhile up front, the Ferrari's of Villeneuve and Pironi continued to dominate. On lap 14, Villeneuve made the surprising decision to come into the pits and pit for slick tyres. The move to slick tyres turned out to be a disaster for Villeneuve, two laps after pitting a light shower hit the circuit forcing him to return to the pits for wet tyres. The shower had also further damaged the race of Watson, Jones and Surer who were all also on slick tyres, the three being forced to return to the pits as well.
Piquet was now the car on the move, overtaking Patrese for second and then beginning to chase down Pironi who held a considerable lead in his Ferrari. 
Bruno Giacomelli and Eddie Cheever then had a coming together on lap 28, Giacomelli had slammed into the back of Cheever sending both cars into the barriers. Giacomelli had earlier been causing trouble making it difficult for Andrea de Cesaris's McLaren to pass. 
Pironi had began to suffer performance issues with Piquet climbing upon the Ferrari's rear. Pironi refused to relinquish the lead and the two drivers battled lap after lap, neither driver's giving an inch. On lap 47, Piquet finally was able to take the lead from Pironi, the Ferrari driver immediately falling back. The following lap, Patrese had overtaken Pironi for second and then a few laps later Reutemann had also moved ahead of Pironi. A final blow to Pironi's day saw Rebaque's Brabham overtake Pironi to take fourth place. Andrea de Cesaris did well to finish the race in sixth position and take his first points at his home grand prix.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	60 	1:51:23.97 	5 	9
2 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	60 	+ 4.58s 	9 	6
3 	2 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	60 	+ 6.34s 	2 	4
4 	6 	Héctor Rebaque 	 	60 	+ 22.89s 	13 	3
5 	28 	Didier Pironi 	 	60 	+ 25.87s 	6 	2
6 	8 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	60 	+ 1:06.61 	14 	1
7 	27 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	60 	+ 1:41.97 	1 	
8 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	59 	+ 1 Lap 	3 	
9 	14 	Marc Surer 	 	59 	+ 1 Lap 	21 	
10 	7 	John Watson 	 	58 	+ 2 Laps 	7 	
11 	33 	Patrick Tambay 	 	58 	+ 2 Laps 	16 	
12 	1 	Alan Jones 	 	58 	+ 2 laps 	8 	
13 	10 	Slim Borgudd 	 	57 	+ 3 Laps 	24 	
NC 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	 	45 	+ 15 Laps 	18 	
Ret 	17 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	38 	Oil pressure	23 	
Ret 	4 	Michele Alboreto 	 	31 	Accident 	17 	
Ret 	32 	Beppe Gabbiani 	 	31 	Accident 	20 	
Ret 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	28 	Accident 	11 	
Ret 	3 	Eddie Cheever 	 	28 	Accident 	19 	
Ret 	22 	Mario Andretti 	 	26 	Gearbox 	12 	
Ret 	20 	Keke Rosberg 	 	14 	Engine 	15 	
Ret 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	7 	Accident 	10 	
Ret 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	3 	Gearbox 	4 	
Ret 	31 	Miguel Ángel Guerra 	 	0 	Accident 	22 	
DNQ 	30 	Siegfried Stohr 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	18 	Derek Daly 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	9 	Jan Lammers 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	21 	Chico Serra 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	36 	Derek Warwick 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	36 	Brian Henton 	 	 	 	 	
WD 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	 	 	 	
WD 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	 	 	 	
==Milestones==
*First entry for Derek Warwick.
==Standings after race==
==Notes==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1981 Grands Prix
Category:San Marino Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Italy