1983 South African Grand Prix

The 1983 South African Grand Prix was the final round of the 1983 Formula One World Championship, held at Kyalami in Gauteng, South Africa.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_South_African_Grand_Prix The race saw the championship decided in favour of Nelson Piquet, after a three way duel between himself, Alain Prost and René Arnoux.http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr388.html Piquet actually finished the race in third, although the points awarded to him were enough to get him ahead of Prost in the final standings, after the driver retired with a turbo failure.
The seventeenth running of the South African Grand Prix saw Riccardo Patrese take his second career victory, although he was under pressure from 's Andrea de Cesaris in the closing stages. De Cesaris claimed second in the race, with taking the Constructor's title despite failing to take a point in the race.
==Background==
Theodore Racing pulled out of Formula One following the European Grand Prix three weeks earlier. Otherwise, the field was unchanged, although dropped (as planned) the third car they ran for Jonathan Palmer at Brands Hatch, while also debuting the FW09 for Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite. The partnership now meant that nine of the entrants in South Africa were using turbo charged engines. Spirit Racing were also absent, after Honda began questioning the feasibility of supplying two teams in the Championship in 1984.
The Championship battle was the centre of attention, however, as the F1 circus entered Kyalami, with the title battle down to three drivers. Alain Prost brought a two point lead with him in the fast, but unreliable Renault RE40, with Nelson Piquet in second in the powered Brabham BT52B. The third man in the battle was René Arnoux, whom was in possession of the reliable Ferrari 126C3, although the gap of eight points to Prost meant Arnoux had to win, with his former team mate failing to score, and Piquet no higher than fifth.
Ferrari's reliability meant that they led the Constructor's Championship by eleven points, with only fifteen still available. Renault sat in second, really requiring the Scuderia to fail to score, with Prost and Eddie Cheever both on the podium (including either of them winning the race). Furtherdown, Brabham had already secured third, with a battle between, arguably, the two biggest British teams Williams and McLaren for fourth. Williams held a two point advantage, although their gamble on largely unproven Honda engines in the final round could cost them their two point advantage.
==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 	 	FW09 	 	RA163-E V6t 1.5	
2 	Jacques Laffite 	TAG Williams Racing Team 	 	FW09 	 	RA163-E V6t 1.5	
3 	Michele Alboreto 	Benetton Tyrrell Team 	 	012 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
4 	Danny Sullivan 	Benetton Tyrrell Team 	 	012 	 	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	 	MP4/1E 	 	TTE PO1 V6t 1.5	
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 	
35 	Derek Warwick 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG183B 	 	415T L4t 1.5 	
36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	Candy Toleman Motorsport 	 	TG183B 	 	415T L4t 1.5 	
==Practice Overview==
Ferrari were the team to beat in practice, with Patrick Tambay (in his last race for the tifosi) fastest from Arnoux, although it was not a trouble free session for the championship outsider. After breaking down during the session, Arnoux was run over by his own car as the marshalls removed it from the track, meaning he would have to hobble his way around the circuit.
==Qualifying==
It would be advantage Piquet after qualifying, with the Brabham backed Brazilian taking second on his time from practice. Arnoux improved, but his injured foot meant he couldn't push as hard as he could, slipping to fourth behind Piquet's team mate Riccardo Patrese. Prost, meanwhile, would have to start from fifth, having been unable to improve on his practice time, meaning he would have to battle his way to Piquet to take the title.
Keke Rosberg was in a visibly happier position in the new in sixth, with team mate Jacques Laffite ending his recent poor qualifying run in tenth. WIth the departure of Theodore reducing the entry list to twenty six cars, all of the drivers would start the race, with the Osellas of Carrado Fabi and Piercarlo Ghinzani sharing the thirteenth and final row.
===Qualifying Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time 	Time
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Q1 	Q2
1 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:06.554 	1:07.029
2 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:06.792 	1:06.821
3 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:08.181 	1:07.001
4 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	1:07.222 	1:07.105
5 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:07.186 	1:08.136
6 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:07.256 	1:07.344
7 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:09.443 	1:07.643
8 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock	 	1:07.726 	1:07.682
9 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:08.970 	1:07.759
10 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:07.931 	1:08.652
11 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:07.937 	1:07.980
12 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:07.974 	1:08.587
13 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:08.061 	1:08.301
14 	16 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:08.069 	1:08.360
15 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:08.328 	1:10.635
16 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:08.350 	1:08.439
17 	23 	Mauro Baldi 	 	1:09..364	1:08.628
18 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:11.096 	1:11.284
19 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	1:11.750 	1:11.382
20 	30 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	1:11.988 	1:11.658
21 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	1:12.017 	1:12.538
22 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	1:12.309 	1:12.049
23 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	1:12.745 	1:13.330
24 	17 	Kenny Acheson 	 	1:13.352 	No Time
25 	31 	Corrado Fabi 	 	1:14.483 	1:13.656
26 	32 	Piercarlo Ghinzani	 	1:14.903 	1:15.503
==Race==
With no changes to the grid order before the race, the entire focus of the grid was on the title battle, with Nelson Piquet best placed on the grid. Alain Prost had to stay within a position of Piquet or get in front to win the Championship, while René Arnoux had to win outright, and see Prost and Piquet (idealy) fail to score at all. Ferrari, meanwhile, were almost guaranteed the Constructor's title, with Renault needing both of their cars on the podium, and the tifosi to fail to score.
===Report===
A poor start for Patrick Tambay on pole allowed Piquet and rear gunner Riccardo Patrese into first and second off the line, with Piquet immediately building a lead. Tambay ran in third, with a remarkable start for Andrea de Cesaris putting the Alfa Romeo up to fourth. Prost beat Arnoux off the line to hold on to fifth, with the s taking on the s further down.
Over the first few laps, Piquet built a significant lead, as Tambay came under pressure from both de Cesaris and Prost, ultimately falling to both of them in the space of a couple of laps. De Cesaris then fended off Prost, while Niki Lauda climbed through the field to take Tambay and sit on the back of Prost. Furtherdown, Arnoux's championship hopes were ended on lap ten after an engine failure, leaving the title fight between Piquet and Prost. back at the front, Prost and Lauda both forced their way past de Cesaris, before, on lap 18, the Austrian slipped into third, beating Prost along the main straight.
The pitstop window opened on lap 28, when Piquet stopped and rejoined without losing the lead, a low fuel start amost certainly the reason why he had built that lead as much as he had. A few laps later, however, there was a potentially decisive development in the title battle, when Prost stopped on lap 35 in the pits. The Frenchman climbed out of his car after a turbo failure, meaning Piquet had only to finish fifth in order to claim the title. Ferrari, meanwhile, were now Constructor's Champions for the second year in a row, meaning that they could relax for the rest of the race.
The second half of the race saw Piquet adopt a conservative style after Prost's failure, meaning that he was gradually caught by the rest of the field. Patrese was the first to come across him, and was allowed to pass rather unchallenged to take the lead on lap 60. Lauda was next, having established himself in third, taking second on lap 69, although his day was then ruined by an electrical failure five laps from the end. De Cesaris was next to come across the champion-elect, taking second on lap 75.
Patrese won the race from de Cesaris, while Piquet remained unchallenged for third over the final two laps, meaning he took the World Championship by two points from Prost. Derek Warwick had a trouble free run to take three final points for Toleman in fourth, while Keke Rosberg took his first points since the Canadian Grand Prix in fifth. A disappointed Eddie Cheever completed the points paying positions, as Ferrari and Piquet emerged as the Champions of 1983.
Nelson Piquet became the first Formula 1 titleist to win using a turbo engine.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	77 	1:33:25.708 	3 	9
2 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	77 	+9.319 	9 	6
3 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	77 	+21.969 	2 	4
4 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	76 	+1 lap 	13 	3
5 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	76 	+1 lap 	6 	2
6 	16 	Eddie Cheever 	 	76 	+1 lap 	14 	1
7 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	75 	+2 laps 	19 	
8 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	75 	+2 laps 	22 	
9 	30 	Thierry Boutsen 	 	74 	+3 laps 	20 	
10 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	73 	+4 laps 	21 	
11* 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	71 	Electrical 	12 	
12 	17 	Kenny Acheson 	 	71 	+6 laps 	24 	
NC 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	68 	+9 laps 	7 	
NC 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	66 	+11 laps 	23 	
Ret 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	60 	Engine 	18 	
Ret 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	56 	Turbo 	1 	
Ret 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	56 	Turbo 	16 	
Ret 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	35 	Turbo 	5 	
Ret 	31 	Corrado Fabi 	 	28 	Engine 	25 	
Ret 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	20 	Engine 	11 	
DSQ†	7 	John Watson 	 	18 	Disqualified	15 	
Ret 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	9 	Engine 	4 	
Ret 	23 	Mauro Baldi 	 	5 	Engine 	17 	
Ret 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock	 	1 	Engine 	8 	
Ret 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1 	Spin 	10 	
Ret 	32 	Piercarlo Ghinzani	 	1 	Engine 	26 	
** Lauda was still classified as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
*† Watson was disqualified on lap 19 after being found to have overtaken on the parade lap.
==Milestones==
*1st start for Kenny Acheson.
*2nd win for Riccardo Patrese.
**5th win for a BMW engine.
*25th podium for Alfa Romeo.
*2nd title for Nelson Piquet.
*Last start for Jean-Pierre Jarier, Bruno Giacomelli, Danny Sullivan and Raul Boesel.
==Standings after race==
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1983 Grands Prix
Category:South African Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in South Africa