1983 German Grand Prix

The 1983 German Grand Prix, publicised as the XLII Großer Preis von Deutschland, was the tenth round of the 1983 Formula One World Championship, held at the Hockenheimring in West Germany.http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr383.html A fourth straight pole for Ferrari (going to Patrick Tambay) resulted in the sixth career victory for René Arnoux , after his team mate had fallen early on with an engine failure. 
Also on the podium were Andrea de Cesaris and Riccardo Patrese, while championship leader Alain Prost extended his lead to nine points by finishing fourth. Niki Lauda finished fifth but was later disqualfied, promoting John Watson and Jacques Laffite into the points.
==Background==
A three week gap between Silverstone and Hockenheim allowed many teams to test their creations. Williams handed a drive to a little known, but rising, talent named Ayrton Senna, giving the youngster a chance in a fully fledged Formula One car for the first time. Brabham were another team giving out drives, although their age pool included the rather older Stirling Moss among other potential drivers.
With no changes to the entry list, however, Germany would not witness a comeback for the British legend, although there were several rumours of changes to come. Patrick Tambay was thought to be out of favour at Ferrari, with Michele Alboreto the favourite to replace him for 1984. Arrows were also the focus of some discussion, with the era of the turbo beginning to reach the smaller teams causing some to speculate they would be fitting BMW engines in their cars the following year. At Spirit Racing, meanwhile, Honda had given permission for the team to compete in the second half of the season, despite their initial wishes to keep the development of their engine as secret as possible.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_German_Grand_Prix
The Championship standings, on another note, saw Alain Prost bring a six point lead with him to the Geramn circuit, with Nelson Piquet and Tambay chasing him on 33 and 31 respectively. Keke Rosberg, defending World Champion, was a further six points back, but his chances of taking the title were looking thin at best, with René Arnoux slowly closing the gap to the leading Frenchman. The French were also on top in the Constructor's battle, with Renault's tally of 53 giving them a three point lead over the Italian Ferraris.
==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 	 	011B 	 	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	 	MP4/1C 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
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 	 	93T 	 	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==
The legendary straights and fast layout of the Hockenheimring was expected, as it had been the year before, to give the turbo equipped cars an advantage, and one which was duly demonstrated in practice. It was an all Italian affair at the front, with Tambay topping Arnoux in the Ferraris, while Andrea de Cesaris set the third fastest time of the day for Alfa Romeo. Problems for Manfred Winkelhock, meanwhile, prevented him from setting a time at all in the ATS at his home race.
==Qualifying==
A wet qualifying session meant that the times from practice stood, handing Ferrari their fourth pole position in a row (and their second straight front-row lockout). De Cesaris was to start from an impressive third, with Alain Prost alongside him in fourth. Keke Rosberg was, once again, the best placed of the runners using a normally aspirated engine, while Stefan Johansson took the to thirteenth, one place behind the Finn.
Winkelhock's problems persisted into qualifying, meaning he failed to set at time (although his chances of qualifying, given the conditions, were probably non-existent), with Corrado Fabi and Kenny Acheson joining him. It was also a difficult day for John Watson, with the Brit well off the pace and starting from 23rd, although the last time the man from Northern Ireland had started there, he had won the race (that race being the 1983 United States Grand Prix West).
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Time
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Q1 	Q2
1 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:49.329 	2:10.057
2 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	1:49.435 	2:09.594
3 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:50.845 	2:16.694
4 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:51.082 	2:16.969
5 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:51.228 	2:13.620
6 	16 	Addie Cheever 	 	1:51.540 	2:09.752
7 	23 	Mauro Baldi 	 	1:51.867 	2:15.218
8 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:52.105 	No TIme
9 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:54.199 	2:13.461
10 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:54.648 	No TIme
11 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:54.831 	2:14.182
12 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:55.289 	2:13.337
13 	40 	Stefan Johansson 	 	1:55.870 	No TIme
14 	30 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	1:56.015 	No Time
15 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:56.318 	2:15.838
16 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:56.398 	2:15.547
17 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:56.490 	No Time
18 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:56.730 	No Time
19 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	1:57.018 	2:15.326
20 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	1:57.072 	No Time
21 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	1:57.426 	2:18.376
22 	34 	Johnny Cecotto 	 	1:57.744 	2:15.753
23 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:57.776 	No TIme
24 	33 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	1:57.790 	2:17.479
25 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	1:58.413 	No TIme
26 	32 	Piercarlo Ghinzani 	 	1:58.473 	2:19.172
DNQ 	17 	Kenny Acheson 	 	1:59.003 	2:20.758
DNQ 	31 	Corrado Fabi 	 	2:01.113 	2:22.859
DNQ 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock 	 	No TIme 	No TIme
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==
No changes were made to the starting order before the race, with the warm-up suggesting that the race would be a straight fight between the Ferraris.
===Report===
Off the line, all was even between the scarlet cars, with Patrick Tambay holding onto the lead through the first lap. René Arnoux sat in second, but continued to threaten his team mate, while Andrea de Cesaris slotted into third. A bad start for Nelson Piquet (with temperature issues causing problems for the Brabham) saw him drop to fifth behind Alain Prost, while Roberto Guerrero's race ended before the end of the first lap after an engine failure.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP8-lIln9s8
Piquet was quick to recover, however, and was in third before the end of the lap, with de Cesaris now in the sights of Prost at the start of the second lap. A few laps later and the championship leader was past the Italian, before a rather more agressive manoeuver saw his team mate Eddie Cheever get past a lap later. While they were squabbling, Arnoux made a dive for the lead at the first chicane, emerging from the tight combination with the lead, Tambay dropping to second.
Arnoux was quick to build a gap to his team mate, which was helped by a developing problem for the number 27 which ultimately caused him to retire on lap 12. It was an engine failure for Tambay, with similar issues meaning he was joined by Elio de Angelis and the Spirit of Stefan Johansson in retirement on the same lap. Prost opted for an early stop at this point, hoping to close the distance to Piquet, with Arnoux stopping a few laps later.
Niki Lauda, meanwhile, showed a rare misjudgement at his stop, missing the garage by some distance. The Austrian quickly got the McLaren into reverse and into his pitbox, but this move was generally met with disqualification from the race. At the front, meanwhile, Piquet had stayed out, and his late stop meant he was closer to Arnoux than he had been before.
Piquet began to eat into Arnoux's lead, gaining steadily over ten laps. Then, with three laps to go and the Ferrari in sight, flames shot out of the back of the BMW engine, meaning the Brazilian was out of the race. It left Arnoux with a huge lead at the front with little more than 12 miles to go, with de Cesaris promoted to second and Riccardo Patrese, Piquet's team mate, now in third, the latter two having jumped Prost despite the Frenchman's early stop.
Untroubled, Arnoux swept across the line a few minutes later, taking his second victory in three races for Ferrari, with de Cesaris running out of fuel as he crossed the line for second. Patrese claimed third after a quiet afternoon (incredibly scoring points for the first time in 1983) with Prost fourth, Lauda in fifth and John Watson, from 23rd, in sixth. Lauda was, however, duly disqualified for having reversed in the pits, meaning Watson was classified in fifth, and Jacques Laffite, for Williams, was promoted to sixth.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	45 	1:27:10.319 	2 	9
2 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	45 	+1:10.652 	3 	6
3 	6 	RIccardo Patrese 	 	45 	+1:44.093 	8 	4
4 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	45 	+2:00.750 	5 	3
DSQ 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	44 	Disqualified	18 	
5 	7 	John Watson 	 	44 	+1 lap 	23 	2
6 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	44 	+1 lap 	15 	1
7 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	44 	+1 lap 	20 	
8 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	44 	+1 lap 	19 	
9 	30 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	44 	+1 lap 	14 	
10 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	44 	+1 lap 	12 	
11 	34 	Johnny Cecotto 	 	44 	+1 lap 	22 	
12 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	43 	+2 laps 	21 	
13 	5 	Nelson Piquet* 	 	42 	Engine/Fire 	4 	
Ret 	16 	Eddie Cheever 	 	38 	Fuel 	6 	
Ret 	32 	Piercarlo Ghinzani	 	34 	Oil 	26 	
Ret 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	27 	Engine 	25 	
Ret 	23 	Mauro Baldi 	 	24 	Turbo 	7 	
Ret 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	19 	Turbo 	10 	
Ret 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	17 	Engine 	9 	
Ret 	40 	Stefan Johansson 	 	11 	Engine 	13 	
Ret 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	11 	Engine 	1 	
Ret 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	10 	Engine 	11 	
Ret 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	4 	Fuel 	16 	
Ret 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1 	Engine 	17 	
Ret 	33 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	0 	Engine 	24 	
* Piquet was still classifed despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
==Standings after race==
Alain Prost extended his lead to nine points by finishing fourth, with Nelson Piquet failing to score. Patrick Tambay remained in third, although his team mate René Arnoux was the man with momentum behind him, climbing above Keke Rosberg to claim fourth, just three behind Tambay. John Watson closed in on the twenty point barrier for McLaren, but was well out of the title race on current form.
In the Constructor's championship, Ferrari overtook Renault courtesy of Arnoux's victory, now three points ahead of the Frenchmen. Brabham also moved up, with a three point swing in their favour in their battle with Williams thanks to Riccardo Patrese's podium. McLaren remained in a lonely fifth, seven points adrift of their British based rivals, and thirty behind the Italian team.
1983 Drivers' World Championship	1983 Drivers' World Championship	1983 Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts
1 	Alain Prost 	42
2 	Nelson Piquet 	33
3 	Patrick Tambay 	31
4 	 René Arnoux 	28
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 	 	59
2 	 	56
3 	  	37
4 	  	36
5 	 	29
Only the top 5 constructors are displayed.
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:German Grand Prix
Category:1983 Grands Prix
Category:Formula One races in Germany