1983 Dutch Grand Prix

The 1983 Dutch Grand Prix was the twelfth race of the 1983 Formula One Season, held at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr385.html Having qualified on pole, Nelson Piquet was put out of the race by championship leader Alain Prost in a clumsy move on the 42nd lap, allowed René Arnoux and Patrick Tambay to take a one-two for Ferrari. John Watson claimed the last non-turbo podium until the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix, and one which also be his last visit to the rostrum in his career.http://www.statsf1.com/en/1983/pays-bas.aspx
==Background==
Two weeks between the Austrian and Dutch Grand Prix saw numerous stories emerge off the track. Alain Prost was tipped to be moving from Renault and joining Ferrari , linking up once again with René Arnoux despite their falling out in 1982. Williams, meanwhile, confirmed that Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite would be driving for them in 1984, although news of their Honda engine was yet to surface.
The biggest news, and a piece that would affect the Dutch Grand Prix, came from McLaren, however, as they lauched their new MP4/1E chassis. This was an important step for the British team, as it meant that they would be using the TAG-Porsche engine in a race for the first time, with Niki Lauda chosen to drive the new car at Zandvoort. Their expectations were limited, however, as the team looked to see that the engine would last the race rather than score meaningful points (although they could but hope).
Prost, meanwhile, brought a fourteen point lead with him in the Championship over Nelson Piquet, with the Brazilian three ahead of Arnoux. Patrick Tambay was a further three behind, maintaining an outside chance of the title, with Rosberg now considered to be out of the title hunt, despite still having a mathematical chance. Ferrari and Renault continued their battle in the Constructor's Championship, with the Frenchmen three ahead of the Italians coming to Zandvoort. Brabham were next, but were now unlikely to take the title, and were now in a battle with Williams, and McLaren, to hold on to third.
==Entry List==
The full entry list for the is shown below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Keke Rosberg 	TAG Williams Racing Team 	 	FW08C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
2 	Jacques Laffite 	TAG Williams Racing Team 	 	FW08C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
3 	Michele Alboreto 	Benetton Tyrrell Team 	 	012 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
4 	Danny Sullivan 	Benetton Tyrrell Team 	 	011B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
5 	Nelson Piquet 	Fila Sport 	 	BT52B 	 	M12/13 L4t 1.5 	
6 	Riccardo Patrese 	Fila Sport 	 	BT52B 	 	M12/13 L4t 1.5 	
7 	John Watson 	Marlboro McLaren International	 	MP4/1C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
8 	Niki Lauda 	Marlboro McLaren International	 	MP4/1E 	 	TTE PO1 V6t 1.5	
9 	Manfred Winkelhock	Team ATS 	 	D6 	 	M12/13 L4t 1.5 	
11 	Elio de Angelis 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	94T 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
12 	Nigel Mansell 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	94T 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
15 	Alain Prost 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE40 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
16 	Eddie Cheever 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE40 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
17 	Kenny Acheson 	RAM Racing Team March 	 	01 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	183T 	 	890T V8t 1.5 	
23 	Mauro Baldi 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	183T 	 	890T V8t 1.5 	
25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Equipe Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS21 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
26 	Raul Boesel 	Equipe Ligier Gitanes 	 	JS21 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
27 	Patrick Tambay 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126C3 	 	021 V6t 1.5 	
28 	René Arnoux 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126C3 	 	021 V6t 1.5 	
29 	Marc Surer 	Arrows Racing Team 	 	A6 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
30 	Thierry Boutsen 	Arrows Racing Team 	 	A6 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
31 	Corrado Fabi 	Osella Squadra Corse 	 	FA1E 	 	1260 V12 3.0 	
32 	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Squadra Corse 	 	FA1E 	 	1260 V12 3.0 	
33 	Roberto Guerrero 	Theodore Racing Team 	 	N183 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
34 	Johnny Cecotto 	Theodore Racing Team 	 	N183 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
35 	Derek Warwick 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG183B 	 	415T L4t 1.5 	
36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG183B 	 	415T L4t 1.5 	
40 	Stefan Johansson 	Spirit Racing 	 	201 	 	RA163-E V6t 1.5	
==Practice Overview==
Practice showed that the turbo was to be in fine form around the sand dunes at Zandvoort, as the fastest thirteen cars all had the help of turbo power.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Dutch_Grand_Prix Particularly impressive were the Team Lotus cars of Elio de Angelis and Nigel Mansell, both of whom got into the top five with their Renault engines. The TAG turbo set the fifteenth fastest time, with Niki Lauda a second quicker than team mate John Watson (using the Ford Cosworth DFV engine as usual), as no non-turbo car managed to set a time under 1:20.000 in practice.
==Qualifying==
It had been five straight pole positions for Ferrari coming into the Netherlands, but Saturday in Zandvoort belonged to Nelson Piquet, whose time of 1:15.630 saw him take pole position from title rival Patrick Tambay. Elio de Angelis dropped to third after being fastest in practice, beating Alain Prost and team mate Nigel Mansell in the Renault powered battle. René Arnoux was left in tenth, a second off team mate Tambay's pace, while Marc Surer claimed the honour of being the fastest non-turbo car, qualifying in fourteenth.
Niki Lauda took nineteenth in the TAG powered McLaren, and was therefore beaten by the Ford Cosworthpowered McLaren of team mate John Watson (fifteenth). Out of qualifying went Piercarlo Ghinzani in the second Osella, Johnny Cecotto in the second Theodore, and Kenny Acheson in the RAM, with seven and a half seconds covering first to 29th in qualifying.
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Time
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Q1 	Q2
1 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:17.194 	1:15.630
2 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:16.857 	1:16.370
3 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:16.411 	No Time
4 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:16.611 	1:16.642
5 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:16.721 	1:16.711
6 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:17.544 	1:16.940
7 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:17.198 	1:17.666
8 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:17.233 	1:17.552
9 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock 	 	1:18.086 	1:17.306
10 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	1:18.202 	1:17.397
11 	16 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:18.067 	1:17.676
12 	23 	Mauro Baldi 	 	1:17.887 	1:17.885
13 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:18.642 	1:17.902
14 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	1:20.153 	1:19.696
15 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:21.010 	1:19.787
16 	40 	Stefan Johansson 	 	1:20.447 	1:19.966
17 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:21.395 	1:19.979
18 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:20.149 	1:20.282
19 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:20.169 	1:21.050
20 	33 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	1:21.592 	1:20.190
21 	30 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	1:20.145 	1:20.257
22 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	1:20.381 	1:20.247
23 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:20.666 	1:20.391
24 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	1:21.738 	1:20.660
25 	31 	Corrado Fabi 	 	1:22.047 	1:20.815
26 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	1:20.863 	1:20.842
DNQ 	32 	Piercarlo Ghinzani 	 	1:21.763 	1:20.926
DNQ 	34 	Johnny Cecotto 	 	1:21.734 	1:20.955
DNQ 	17 	Kenny Acheson 	 	1:23.425 	1:23.093
Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap	Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap	Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap	Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap	Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap	Bold indicates a driver's fastest lap
==Race==
After qualifying, it was reported that Arnoux had been suffering from engine issues, although Ferrari opted not to change it before the race. As such, the grid order remained unchanged, with Nelson Piquet hoping to close the gap to Alain Prost in the championship.
===Report===
A stunted start for Patrick Tambay gave Piquet an immediate advantage to take the lead off the line, with Eddie Cheever (through a combination of timing and Tambay's bunching) flying into second from eleventh. Prost climbed into third, with the second Brabham of Riccardo Patrese leading Andrea de Cesaris in the lead Alfa Romeo. Elio de Angelis and Nigel Mansell got their wheels together at several points off the line, with the two Lotus 94Ts tumbling down the order, while Tambay registered in a distant 21st place at the end of the first lap.
An opportunistic move by Patrese saw him take third from Prost early on, before taking the second placed Renault of Cheever on lap 8. De Cesaris had dropped out with engine failure on the sixth lap, much to the Italian's disappointment, which meant Arnoux was now on the tail of Prost. A quick exchange of moves saw Arnoux sieze the advantage going into the hairpin, with the former Renault driver sweeping past the Championship leader and setting off after Cheever.
The TAG engined McLaren of Niki Lauda, meanwhile, opted to have a brake failure on lap 25, ending a race which looked set to end in the tail end of the points, while John Watson and Tambay were making large steps through the field as the pitstop window approached. Back at the front of the field, and Arnoux was now challenging Cheever for third, taking the Renault at the same place as he took Prost, before quickly drawing onto the back of Patrese. On lap 22, Arnoux battled his way past the Italian, taking second as the pitstops came closer.
The stops began on lap 38, after Patrese had fallen to Cheever on increasingly worn tyres. Piquet had a flawless stop to emerge in the lead, although he was under pressure as Prost emerged in second, just behind the Brabham after traffic and the usual pitstop chaos. On lap 42, however, Prost made an error that ended both of their races. In the run up to Tarzan, Prost got to the inside of Piquet, braking as hard as he could on the dirt, causing him to slide. With nowhere to go, and having braked too late, Prost slammed into the Brabham, putting the innocent Piquet out of the race, with Prost continuing. It was not too long before Prost retired aswell, however, with his front wing folding underneath the car and causing the Frenchman to slide out of the race half a lap later.
In the aftermath of their coming together, Arnoux now led from Patrese, with Tambay and Watson having battled up to third and fourth. Derek Warwick was a distant fifth with Mauro Baldi and Michele Alboreto in relatively close company, although the order would not change until the 70th lap. In what turned into a dismal day for Brabham, Patrese suffered a turbo failure with two laps to go, promoting Tambay to second and Watson to third.
With that, Arnoux and Patrese came home to record the first one-two for Ferrari since the fateful 1982 San Marino Grand Prix, with Watson grabbing what turned out to be his last podium place. Warwick held on to a lonely fourth place for Toleman, with Baldi and Alboreto claiming the final points.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	72 	1:38:41.950 	10 	9
2 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	72 	+20.839s 	2 	6
3 	7 	John Watson 	 	72 	+43.741s 	15 	4
4 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	72 	+1:16.839 	7 	3
5 	23 	Mauro Baldi 	 	72 	+1:24.292 	12 	2
6 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	71 	+1 lap 	18 	1
7 	40 	Stefan Johansson 	 	70 	+2 laps 	16 	
8 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	70 	+2 laps 	14 	
9 	6 	Riccardo Patrese* 	 	70 	Turbo 	6 	
10 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	70 	+2 laps 	24 	
11 	31 	Corrado Fabi* 	 	68 	Engine 	25 	
12 	33 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	68 	+4 laps 	20 	
13 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli* 	 	68 	Spin 	13 	
14 	30 	Thierry Boutsen* 	 	65 	Engine 	21 	
Ret 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	53 	Ignition 	23 	
DSQ 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock†	 	50 	Disqualified	9 	
Ret 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	41 	Accident 	1 	
Ret 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	41 	Accident 	4 	
Ret 	16 	Eddie Cheever 	 	39 	Electrical 	11 	
Ret 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	37 	Handling 	17 	
Ret 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	26 	Spin 	5 	
Ret 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	25 	Brakes 	19 	
Ret 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	20 	Engine 	26 	
Ret 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	12 	Electrical 	3 	
Ret 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	5 	Engine 	8 	
Ret 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	3 	Suspension 	22 	
** Patrese, Fabi, Giacomelli and Boutsen were all classified despite retiring.
*† Winkelhock was judged to have overtaken on the parade lap, and was immediately disqualifed from the race on lap 51.
==Milestones==
*1st race for a TAG-Porsche engine.
*150th start for Alfa Romeo.
*7th and final win for René Arnoux .
**10th fastest lap for Arnoux.
*20th and final podium for John Watson.
**Last podium for a Cosworth engine until the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix.
==Standings after race==
With Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet failing to score, the biggest mover in the table was René Arnoux courtesy of his victory. A nine point swing in his favour meant he jumped ahead of Piquet and was now eight behind his former team mate Prost with three races to go. Patrick Tambay also gained in the title battle, moving level on points with Piquet on 37, with those two remaining fourteen points behind Prost. Keke Rosberg's title defence was now over, requiring three wins without Prost scoring at all.
The one-two for Ferrari was also a significant step in the Constructor's Championship, as the Italian team moved 12 points clear as Renault failed to score any points at all. Brabham held on to third, although they and Williams (both of whom failed to score in the Netherlands) were now underpressure from McLaren in the battle for third, after John Watson's podium closed the now turbo aided team to within two points of the latter.
1983 Drivers' World Championship	1983 Drivers' World Championship	1983 Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts
1 	Alain Prost 	51
2 	 René Arnoux 	43
3 	 Nelson Piquet 	37
4 	Patrick Tambay 	37
5 	Keke Rosberg 	25
Only the top 5 drivers are displayed.
1983 Constructors' World Championship	1983 Constructors' World Championship	1983 Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts
1 	 	80
2 	 	68
3 	 	41
4 	 	36
5 	 	34
Only the top 5 constructors are displayed.
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Dutch Grand Prix
Category:1983 Grands Prix