1982 Swiss Grand Prix

The 1982 Swiss Grand Prix, named so that the organisers could avoid presenting a French bias, was the fourteenth race of 1982, held at Dijon-Prenois in France.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: SWISS GP, 1982', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 1999), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr371.html, (Accessed 30/07/2015) The first "Swiss" Grand Prix since 1954 would be won by Keke Rosberg, who took the lead on the penultimate lap. 
It would be the first and only win for Rosberg in 1982, and also the last "Swiss" Grand Prix to be held, but played an important part in the Championship. With Didier Pironi still in hospital from his accident in Germany, the Championship fight was opened to everyone from John Watson in third, to Niki Lauda in fifth, with appeals from earlier in the season still to be decided upon.
==Background==
The Dijon-Prenois circuit in Prenois, France had been chosen to host the "Swiss" Grand Prix for three reasons. The first was that the success of French drivers over the recent years (which was demonstrated by the 1-2-3-4 in the French Grand Prix earlier in the season) meant that France should arguably host two Grand Prix. The second was that Switzerland still outlawed motor racing within its borders (a fact which remains to this day), meaning that Dijon could become the host of the Swiss Grand Prix to fulfill this opinion (as it had done so for a non-championship race in 1975). But, most importantly, the cancellation of the 1982 Argentine Grand Prix meant that another Grand Prix could be held in Europe, the home of the Championship.
Driver wise there were no changes, which meant that attention would be solely focused on the championship. The main contenders for the championship emerged from Austria, with Keke Rosberg sitting six points behind Didier Pironi (whom was unlikely to race in F1 again after the injuries he sustained in Germany). John Watson retained an outside chance of the title (particularly if his recent run of bad luck changed), although he was increasingly likely to fall behind Alain Prost, the other man with momentum.
The Constructors' Championship saw Ferrari maintain their lead coming into the Swiss spectacle, although with only Patrick Tambay in their garage, they were more than likely to fall behind McLaren if the British team had a good weekend. Williams and Renault seemed to be in a private duel for third, while Team Lotus had built a big lead over Tyrrell after Elio de Angelis' win for fifth.
==Entry List==
The full entry list for the is shown below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Nelson Piquet 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT50 	 	M12/13 L4t 1.5	
2 	Riccardo Patrese 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT50 	 	M12/13 L4t 1.5	
3 	Michele Alboreto 	Team Tyrrell 	 	011 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
4 	Brian Henton 	Team Tyrrell 	 	011 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
5 	Derek Daly 	TAG Williams Team 	 	FW08 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
6 	Keke Rosberg 	TAG Williams Team 	 	FW08 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
7 	John Watson 	Marlboro McLaren International	 	MP4/1B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
8 	Niki Lauda 	Marlboro McLaren International	 	MP4/1B 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
9 	Manfred Winkelhock	Team ATS 	 	D5 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
10 	Eliseo Salazar 	Team ATS 	 	D5 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
11 	Elio de Angelis 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	91 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
12 	Nigel Mansell 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	91 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
14 	Roberto Guerrero 	Ensign Racing 	 	N181 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
15 	Alain Prost 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE30B 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
16 	René Arnoux 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE30B 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
17 	Rupert Keegan 	Rothmans March Grand Prix Team	 	821 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
18 	Raul Boesel 	Rothmans March Grand Prix Team	 	821 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
20 	Chico Serra 	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F9 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	182 	 	1260 V12 3.0 	
23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo 	 	182 	 	1260 V12 3.0 	
25 	Eddie Cheever 	Equipe Talbot Gitanes 	 	JS19 	 	MS81 V12 3.0 	
26 	Jacques Laffite 	Equipe Talbot Gitanes 	 	JS19 	 	MS81 V12 3.0 	
27 	Patrick Tambay 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126C2 	 	021 V6t 1.5 	
29 	Marc Surer 	Arrows Racing Team 	 	A4 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
30 	Mauro Baldi 	Arrows Racing Team 	 	A4 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
31 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella Squadra Course 	 	FA1D 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
33 	Tommy Byrne 	Theodore Racing Team 	 	TY02 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
35 	Derek Warwick 	Toleman Group Motorsport 	 	TG181C 	 	415T L4t 1.5 	
36 	Teo Fabi 	Toleman Group Motorsport 	 	TG181C 	 	415T L4t 1.5 	
==Practice Overview==
Renault dominated the practice as they had done in Paul Ricard for the French Grand Prix. Brabham continued with their plan to refuel during races, constantly practising stops, having actually got as far as making a pitstop before their cars retired in Austria. Marc Surer was also going well in practice for his home Grand Prix, although his chances of victory were thinner than a piece of paper at best.
==Qualifying==
The same story was told in qualifying, with Rene Arnoux (who changed his set up to be more competitive during the race), losing out to Alain Prost in the battle for pole.'Classic F1 - Swiss Grand Prix 1982', bbc.co.uk, (British Broadcasting Company, 25/05/2011), http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8703618.stm, (Accessed 30/07/2015) They were followed by Riccardo Patrese in his (a second off the pace of Arnoux), while Niki Lauda claimed fourth to start highest of the normally aspirated cars. Patrick Tambay had a difficult session, only managing tenth place, while Keke Rosberg lapped quick enough to claim eighth.
Eliminated from qualifying were Chico Serra (), Tommy Byrne () and Mauro Baldi (whom cut a depressed figure in his after his impressive display in Austria). Marc Surer, meanwhile, took his best qualifying position of the year with 14th, making up for his team mate's disappointing display.
===Qualifying Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time'1982 Swiss Grand Prix: Qualifying', manipef1.com, (Manipe F1, 2004), http://www.manipef1.com/results/1982/switzerland/qualifying/, (Accessed 30/07/2015)	Gap
1 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:01.380 	
2 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	1:01.740 	+0.360s
3 	2 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:02.710 	+1.330s
4 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:02.984 	+1.604s
5 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:03.032 	+1.643s
6 	1 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:03.183 	+1.803s
7 	5 	Derek Daly 	 	1:03.291 	+1.911s
8 	6 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:03.589 	+2.209s
9 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:03.776 	+2.396s
10 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:03.896 	+2.516s
11 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:03.995 	+2.615s
12 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:04.069 	+2.689s
13 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:04.087 	+2.707s
14 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	1:04.928 	+3.548s
15 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:04.967 	+3.621s
16 	25 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:05.001 	+3.799s
17 	31 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	1:05.179 	+4.011s
18 	4 	Brian Henton 	 	1:05.391 	+4.015s
19 	14 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	1:05.395 	+4.071s
20 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock	 	1:05.451 	+4.497s
21 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:05.877 	+4.631s
22 	17 	Rupert Keegan 	 	1:06.011 	+4.637s
23 	36 	Teo Fabi 	 	1:06.017 	+4.756s
24 	18 	Raul Boesel 	 	1:06.136 	+4.788s
25 	10 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	1:06.168 	+4.831s
26 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:06.211 	+4.959s
DNQ 	20 	Chico Serra 	 	1:06.339 	+4.959s
DNQ 	33 	Tommy Byrne 	 	1:06.990 	+5.610s
DNQ 	30 	Mauro Baldi 	 	1:07.836 	+6.456s
===Grid===
The starting grid for the is shown below:
==Race==
The big story after qualifying was the decision by Patrick Tambay to miss the start just before the race, a pinched nerve causing his enough discomfort that he did not want to compete. Further down, Roberto Guerrero was forced to start from the pitlane (officially 30 seconds after the race start) after replacing his engine after practice. These were, however, minor concerns compared to anticipated duel at the front, as the Renault team mates went to track to fight for victory.
===Report===
Arnoux had the better start, sweeping ahead of Prost at the first corner, although Prost would echo his manoeuvre a lap later to take the lead. They pulled well ahead of the rest of the field, As Patrese fought off Lauda, his team mate Nelson Piquet and Rosberg in the Williams. It was not long before the Brazilian (dragging the Finn in his wake) made his way to third, setting off after the quickly disappearing Frenchmen.
By the eleventh lap, Piquet had forced his way past Arnoux, where he stayed, until he stopped for his pitstop on lap 40, dropping him to fifth (Brabham again attempting to use a pitstop strategy to beat the Renaults). Arnoux was left to defend from the charging Rosberg, whom suddenly found additional speed in the latter third of the race. When Arnoux fell to a fuel injection failure five laps from the end, Rosberg set his sights on his main title rival.
Prost had little to fight with, shown by the ease with which Rosberg pulled up behind him with two laps left to run. Rosberg then calmly swept aside the Frenchman, but had to complete an additional lap as the officials forgot to wave the chequered flag on the final circuit. Nonetheless, Rosberg claimed his first Formula One victory, and took the lead in the driver's championship.
The points would be handed out to Lauda (another quiet drive securing him third place), Piquet (whom struggled for pace after his pitstop), Patrese (again victim of a post-pitstop preamble) and Elio de Angelis of Team Lotus. This result left Ferrari in pole position for the Constructor's title, despite Tambay not competing, as their major rivals (McLaren and Renault) failed to secure enough points over the weekend to overhaul their lead.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired 	Grid	Points
1 	6 	Keke Rosberg 	 	80 	1:32:41.087s 	8 	9
2 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	80 	+4.442s 	1 	6
3 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	80 	+1:00.343 	4 	4
4 	1 	Nelson Piquet 	 	79 	+1 lap 	6 	3
5 	2 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	79 	+1 lap 	3 	2
6 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	79 	+1 lap 	15 	1
7 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	79 	+1 lap 	12 	
8 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	79 	+1 lap 	26 	
9 	5 	Derek Daly 	 	79 	+1 lap 	7 	
10 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	78 	+2 laps 	5 	
11 	4 	Brian Henton 	 	78 	+2 laps 	18 	
12 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	78 	+2 laps 	9 	
13 	7 	John Watson 	 	77 	+3 laps 	11 	
14 	10 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	76 	+4 laps 	25 	
15 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	76 	+4 laps 	14 	
16 	16 	René Arnoux* 	 	75 	Fuel Injection	2 	
Ret 	25 	Eddie Cheever 	 	70 	Handling 	16 	
Ret 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock	 	55 	Chassis 	20 	
Ret 	31 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	44 	Engine 	17 	
Ret 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	33 	Handling 	13 	
Ret 	36 	Teo Fabi 	 	31 	Engine 	23 	
Ret 	18 	Raul Boesel 	 	31 	Water leak 	24 	
Ret 	17 	Rupert Keegan 	 	25 	Spin 	22 	
Ret 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	24 	Engine 	21 	
Ret 	14 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	4 	Engine 	19 	
DNS 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	0 	Injury 	10 	
DNQ 	20 	Chico Serra 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	33 	Tommy Byrne 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	30 	Mauro Baldi 	 	 	 	 	
* Arnoux was still classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
*Last Swiss Grand Prix to be held in Formula One.
*First win for Keke Rosberg.
**First win for a driver of Finnish birth.
==Standings==
With victory came the spoils for Keke Rosberg, as he claimed the lead in the Championship by three points, with Didier Pironi unlikely to race again in 1982. Alain Prost was therefore the Finn's closest challenger, but now eleven points down (a margin the Frenchman had held after the Brazilian Grand Prix), with John Watson a further point behind. The Brit was also level on points with team mate Niki Lauda, as Elio de Angelis successfully fended off the Brabham duo of Riccardo Patrese and Nelson Piquet for another weekend.
Ferrari remained at the summit of the Constructors Championship despite not running Patrick Tambay in Dijon. McLaren, to their credit, had closed the gap to just four points, but it was Williams who were on the move, now on 55 points. Renault broke the 50 barrier at the Swiss Grand Prix too, but remained in fourth, as Team Lotus and looked set to squabble for fifth place.  
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Keke Rosberg 	42 	1
2 	Didier Pironi 	39 	1
3 	Alain Prost 	31 	2
4 	John Watson 	30 	1
5 	Niki Lauda 	30 	1
6 	Elio de Angelis 	23 	
7 	Riccardo Patrese 	21 	1
8 	Nelson Piquet 	20 	2
9 	 René Arnoux 	19 	2
10 	Patrick Tambay 	19 	1
11 	Michele Alboreto 	14 	
12 	Eddie Cheever 	10 	
13 	Nigel Mansell 	7 	
14 	Derek Daly 	7 	
15 	Carlos Reutemann 	6 	
16 	Gilles Villeneuve 	6 	
17 	Jacques Laffite 	5 	
18 	Andrea de Cesaris 	5 	
19 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	3 	
20 	Marc Surer 	3 	
21 	Bruno Giacomelli 	2 	
22 	Eliseo Salazar 	2 	
23 	Manfred Winkelhock 	2 	
24 	Mauro Baldi 	2 	
25 	Chico Serra 	1 	
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	64 	
2 	 	60 	
3 	 	55 	
4 	 	50 	
5 	 	30 	
6 	  	22 	1
7 	  	19 	1
8 	 	15 	
9 	 	14 	
10 	 	7 	
11 	 	5 	
12 	 	4 	
13 	 	3 	
14 	 	1 	
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1982 Grands Prix
Category:Swiss Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in France