1980 United States Grand Prix

The 1980 United States Grand Prix was the 14th and final round of the 1980 world championship. Alan Jones took the win ahead of Carlos Reutemann and Didier Pironi. 
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==Background==
With Alan Jones being crowned the world champion in Canada, and his team being crowned constructor's champion some races before, the title chase was closed before the final race at Watkins Glen began. The entry list was much the same, however after Jean-Pierre Jabouille had suffered serious leg injuries in Canada, opted to run only a single car. CART driver Kevin Cogan had signed for the entered Williams for the US, however after his failure to qualify in Canada, Cogan had given up on the team. Instead the team replaced him with out of work F1 driver, Geoff Lees.
The United States Grand Prix would mark the retirement for two F1 world champions. After a dismal final season at , Jody Scheckter had announced his retirement at the end of the season. Whilst still unannounced, Emerson Fittipaldi had made the decision to retire from Formula One at the end of the season, moving into the management of his team alongside his brother Wilson Fittipaldi.   
==Entry List==
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Jody Scheckter 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312T5 	 	015 3.0 F12 	
2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312T5 	 	015 3.0 F12 	
3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	Candy Team Tyrrell 	 	010 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
4 	Derek Daly 	Candy Team Tyrrell 	 	010 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
5 	Nelson Piquet 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
6 	Héctor Rebaque 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT49 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
7 	John Watson 	Marlboro Team McLaren 	 	M29 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
8 	Alain Prost 	Marlboro Team McLaren 	 	M30 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
9 	Marc Surer 	Team ATS 	 	D4 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
11 	Mario Andretti 	Team Essex Lotus 	 	81 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
12 	Elio de Angelis 	Team Essex Lotus 	 	81 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
14 	Jan Lammers 	Unipart Racing Team 	 	N180 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE20 	 	EF1 3.0 V6t 	
16 	René Arnoux 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE20 	 	EF1 3.0 V6t 	
20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	Skol Fittipaldi Team 	 	F8 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
21 	Keke Rosberg 	Skol Fittipaldi Team 	 	F8 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179 	 	1260 3.0 V12	
23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	179 	 	1260 3.0 V12	
25 	Didier Pironi 	Equipe Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS11/15	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
26 	Jacques Laffite 	Equipe Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS11/15	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
27 	Alan Jones 	Albilad-Williams Racing Team 	 	FW07B 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
28 	Carlos Reutemann 	Albilad-Williams Racing Team 	 	FW07B 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
29 	Riccardo Patrese 	Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	 	A3 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
30 	Jochen Mass 	Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	 	A3 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
31 	Eddie Cheever 	Osella Squadra Corse 	 	FA1 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
43 	Mike Thackwell 	Candy Team Tyrrell 	 	010 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
50 	Rupert Keegan 	RAM – Penthouse Rizla Racing 	 	FW07 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
51 	Geoff Lees 	RAM – Rainbow Jeans Racing 	 	FW07 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
60 	Nigel Mansell 	Team Essex Lotus 	 	81B 	 	DFV 3.0 V8 	
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
The big surprise of qualifying was when Bruno Giacomelli dominated both the Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions to take 's first pole since . Nelson Piquet was second with Carlos Reutemann third whilst Elio de Angelis had done well to claim fourth for . The new world champion Alan Jones was in fifth position. 
Alain Prost had a nasty accident in qualifying at Turn 12 when his suspension failed for the second week in a row. Prost's face hit the car's steering wheel hard and he suffered a nasty bang on the head and would not start the race. 
===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 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:34.551 	1:33.291 	—
2 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:35.202 	1:34.080T	+0.789s
3 	28 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	1:34.971 	1:34.111 	+0.820s
4 	12 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:35.385 	1:34.185 	+0.894s
5 	27 	Alan Jones 	 	1:34.563 	1:34.216 	+0.925s
6 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	1:34.839 	1:35.005 	+1.548s
7 	25 	Didier Pironi 	 	1:36.070 	1:34.971T	+1.680s
8 	6 	Héctor Rebaque 	 	1:36.097 	1:35.166 	+1.875s
9 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:35.330 	1:35.202 	+1.911s
10 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:35.947 	1:35.235 	+1.944s
11 	11 	Mario Andretti 	 	1:36.856 	1:35.343 	+2.052s
12 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:35.421 	— 	+2.130s
13* 	8 	Alain Prost 	 	1:35.988 	— 	+2.697s
14 	21 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:37.645 	1:36.332 	+3.041s
15 	50 	Rupert Keegan 	 	1:39.731 	1:36.750 	+3.459s
16 	31 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:36.908 	1:38.798 	+3.617s
17 	9 	Marc Surer 	 	1:37.788 	1:37.001T	+3.710s
18 	2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	1:37.572 	1:37.040 	+3.749s
19 	20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	 	1:42.720 	1:37.088 	+3.797s
20 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:37.405 	1:37.421 	+4.114s
21 	4 	Derek Daly 	 	1:38.073 	1:37.923 	+4.632s
22 	3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	1:37.966 	1:38.460 	+4.675s
23 	1 	Jody Scheckter 	 	1:38.645 	1:38.149 	+4.858s
24 	30 	Jochen Mass 	 	1:38.526 	1:38.691 	+5.235s
25 	14 	Jan Lammers 	 	1:38.532T	1:38.828T	+5.241s
DNQ 	43 	Mike Thackwell 	 	1:51.102 	— 	+17.811s
DNQ 	51 	Geoff Lees 	 	— 	— 	—
WD 	15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	 	Injury 	Injury 	Injury
WD 	60 	Nigel Mansell 	 	Withdrawn	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
*Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
*T Indicates a driver using a spare/test car to set their time in this session.
** Prost had failed to start due to his accident.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
Following his accident in qualifying, Alain Prost elected not to start the race due to head pains. His entry was taken by the fastest of the non-qualifiers, the of Jan Lammers. 
Alan Jones got a terrific start, climbing to second from fifth, however he outbraked himself going into the first corner and went wide and off the circuit where he dropped right down to the back of the grid. At the same time Andrea de Cesaris and René Arnoux also went wide and dropped down to the back of the pack as well. Bruno Giacomelli maintained his lead ahead of Nelson Piquet, Carlos Reutemann and Didier Pironi. 
De Cesaris became the first retirement when he spun out of the race on the second lap. The following lap Derek Daly suffered a suspension failure and was pitched off the circuit, Daly suffering one final accident before the end of the season. Jones who had went off the start was making a terrific comeback, climbing right through the midfield. 
Up the front Giacomelli began to extend his lead whilst behind him, Reutemann began to pressure Piquet. Piquet however blocked Reutemann's every move, the Argentine waving furiously at Piquet after being stuck behind the for a number of laps. This battle had allowed Pironi and Jones to climb up to the back of squabbling duo of Piquet and Reutemann. Eventually the pressure had become too much for Piquet and he spun off going into the first corner and was caught in the catchfencing. Piquet signalled the marshalls to give him a push-start and whilst he got the car going again, he was a lap down and simply trundled back to the pits and retired.
A couple of laps later, Jones had managed to take third place from Pironi. Jones then managed to catch up to the rear of teammate Reutemann and after a few laps, Jones was past Reutemann and into second. However Reutemann remained on Jones's tail and the two Williams cars continued to dice for second position. 
Giacomelli had control of the race, his Alfa Romeo 11 seconds ahead of Jones, however on lap 32 his car ground to a halt. The electrics on his Alfa had failed, denying Giacomelli a potential first Formula One win. It was then left for Jones to take a comfortable win ahead of Reutemann, Pironi, Elio de Angelis, Jacques Laffite and Mario Andretti, scoring at his home race. 
===Aftermath===
For the second consecutive year, the attendance at the race was disappointing. Unbeknownst to most, the track had been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for some time, and this weekend tipped it over. The circuit management defaulted on the prize monies due for the race, and told the FIA that there was no timetable to raise the money. 20 years of the race in upstate New York were over. After the track was late in paying prize money for the 1981 Six Hours of Watkins Glen sports car race, it filed for bankruptcy in US Federal Court, listing debts of close to $2,000,000. About $800,000 of that was owed to the FIA for the 1980 Grand Prix. The FIA then voted to suspend the track license indefinitely, and remove the track from the calendar. The track was shut down, and preparations were made for an auction of the assets.
In 1983, the track and all assets were purchased by Owens Corning (now known as Corning International), a maker of glass, fiberglass, pyrex and related products. As the largest single employer in the region, they felt that they were giving back to the community by giving the track a new lease on life. The track was refurbished, and the grand re-opening was held in 1984 with Camel Continental I, a non-FIA replacement to the six hours event. But things really turned around with the addition of a NASCAR date in 1986, and for the first time in several years the track was profitable. Sometime later the management very quietly started discussions with the FIA, and over time all monies owed to creditors were paid back, with interest. In response, an FIA delegate inspected the track, and gave the management a lengthy list of improvements needed for something like Formula One. The management decided that Formula One was not in the foreseeable future for the track.
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1 	27 	Alan Jones 	 	59 	1:34:36.05 	5 	9
2 	28 	Carlos Reutemann 	 	59 	+4.21s 	3 	6
3 	25 	Didier Pironi 	 	59 	+12.57s 	7 	4
4 	12 	Elio de Angelis 	 	59 	+29.69s 	4 	3
5 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	58 	+1 lap 	12 	2
6 	11 	Mario Andretti 	 	58 	+1 lap 	11 	1
7 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	58 	+1 lap 	6 	
8 	9 	Marc Surer 	 	57 	+2 laps 	17 	
9 	50 	Rupert Keegan 	 	57 	+2 laps 	15 	
10 	21 	Keke Rosberg 	 	57 	+2 laps 	14 	
11 	1 	Jody Scheckter 	 	56 	+3 laps 	23 	
NC* 	7 	John Watson 	 	50 	+9 laps 	9 	
Ret 	2 	Gilles Villeneuve 	 	49 	Accident 	18 	
NC* 	3 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	40 	+19 laps 	22 	
Ret 	30 	Jochen Mass 	 	36 	Driveshaft 	24 	
Ret 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	31 	Electrial 	1 	
Ret 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	25 	Spin 	2 	
Ret 	31 	Eddie Cheever 	 	21 	Suspension 	16 	
Ret 	6 	Héctor Rebaque 	 	20 	Engine 	8 	
Ret 	29 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	16 	Accident 	20 	
Ret 	14 	Jan Lammers 	 	16 	Steering 	25 	
Ret 	20 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	 	15 	Suspension 	19 	
Ret 	4 	Derek Daly 	 	3 	Accident 	21 	
Ret 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	2 	Accident 	10 	
DNS 	8 	Alain Prost 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	43 	Mike Thackwell 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	51 	Geoff Lees 	 	 	 	 	
WD 	15 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	 	 	 	 	
WD 	60 	Nigel Mansell 	 	 	 	 	
** Watson and Jarier would not be classified as they had failed to complete 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
*Final Formula One race for both Emerson Fittipaldi and Jody Scheckter.
*Final Formula One race at Watkins Glen.
==Standings after race==
        
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Alan Jones 	67 	
2 	Nelson Piquet 	54 	
3 	Carlos Reutemann 	42 	
4 	Jacques Laffite 	34 	
5 	Didier Pironi 	32 	1
6 	René Arnoux 	29 	1
7 	Elio de Angelis 	13 	
8 	Jean-Pierre Jabouille 	9 	
9 	Riccardo Patrese 	7 	
10 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	6 	
11 	John Watson 	6 	
12 	Gilles Villeneuve 	6 	
13 	Keke Rosberg 	6 	
14 	Derek Daly 	6 	
15 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	5 	
16 	Alain Prost 	5 	
17 	Jochen Mass 	4 	
18 	Bruno Giacomelli 	4 	
19 	Jody Scheckter 	2 	
20 	Mario Andretti 	2 	2
21 	Héctor Rebaque 	1 	1
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	120 	
2 	 	66 	
3 	 	55 	
4 	 	38 	
5 	 	14 	4
6 	 	12 	1
7 	 	11 	1
8 	 	11 	1
9 	 	11 	1
10 	 	8 	
11 	 	4 	
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1980 Grands Prix
Category:United States Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in the United States