1982 French Grand Prix

The 1982 French Grand Prix, hosted at the Circuit Paul Ricard, was the eleventh race in the 1982 Formula One Season.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: FRENCH GP, 1982', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 1999), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr368.html, (Accessed 29/07/2015) The attendance in Paul Ricard was expected to be high, with Didier Pironi leading the Championship, having what was widely regarded as the fastest car, and two French drivers in Ferrari (Pironi and the popular Patrick Tambay).
The race was won, from pole, by René Arnoux, with fellow Frenchmen Alain Prost and Didier Pironi completing the podium. Arnoux and Prost would fall out after the race, with Prost pushing the fact that Arnoux should have allowed him past due to the title battle, a fact that Arnoux denied.
==Background==
The single week between the British and French Grand Prix saw only one change on the driver front, as Nigel Mansell declined his seat in France due to his wrist injury (originally sustained in Canada). Geoff Lees (whom had already driven for that year) took over the #12 John Player Special at France, in what would be the last race of his F1 career.
Championship wise, the tide had turned in favour of Didier Pironi, who now led the title fight by five points, and had the benefit of a reliable car and turbo power. His lead over Alain Prost and Riccardo Patrese (the next turbo powered cars) was almost two race wins, with the calender appearing to favour turbocharged cars for the foreseeable future. John Watson and Niki Lauda were the closest to Pironi in points terms, but their McLaren MP4-1s were equipped with the less powerful engine.
But, remained in the lead of the Constructors Championship, still nine points away from . also found themselves in the top three, ahead of the second major turbo team (). found themselves down in seventh, yet to beat their tally from their campaigning with the Ford Cosworth engine earlier in the season.
==Entry List==
The full entry list for the is displayed 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 	Geoff Lees 	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 	Jochen Mass 	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 	
28 	Didier Pironi 	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 	Jan Lammers 	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==
Practice revealed that the expected dominance of the turbo was to be confirmed, as the Renaults, Ferraris and Brabhams dominated the time sheets. The Tolemans were also going well with their Hart built turbocharged engines, but were hampered by chassis issues which had plagued the car since its debut.
==Qualifying==
This display would be shown in qualifying, as the first six grid slots were filled by turbocharged cars (only the second time this had happened, the first being in South Africa at the start of the season). As expected, the Renault team triumphed, with Arnoux claiming pole ahead of Prost, with Pironi (in the Ferrari) beating Riccardo Patrese (Brabham-BMW) for third. The turbo group was completed by Patrick Tambay and Nelson Piquet, with the V12 engined Alfa Romeos of Andrea de Cesaris and Bruno Giacomelli lining up on the fourth row as best of the rest.
The failures of qualifying included Jan Lammers, Colombian Roberto Guerrero and the two Brazilians Chico Serra and Raul Boesel. They were almost joined by Lees, whom proved that a driver had to be fully fit to drive a Formula One car in 1982, scraping through in 23rd.
===Qualifying Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Time'1982 French Grand Prix: Qualifying', manipef1.com, (Manipe F1, 2004), http://www.manipef1.com/results/1982/france/qualifying/, (Accessed 29/07/2015)	Gap
1 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	1:34.406 	
2 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:34.688 	+0.282s
3 	28 	Didier Pironi 	 	1:35.790 	+1.384s
4 	2 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:35.811 	+1.405s
5 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:35.905 	+1.499s
6 	1 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:36.359 	+1.953s
7 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:37.573 	+3.167s
8 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:37.705 	+3.299s
9 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:37.778 	+3.372s
10 	6 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:37.780 	+3.374s
11 	5 	Derek Daly 	 	1:38.767 	+4.361s
12 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:38.944 	+4.538s
13 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:39.118 	+4.712s
14 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:39.306 	+4.900s
15 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:39.330 	+4.924s
16 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:39.605 	+5.199s
17 	31 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	1:39.909 	+5.503s
18 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock	 	1:39.917 	+5.511s
19 	25 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:40.187 	+5.781s
20 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	1:40.335 	+5.929s
21 	36 	Teo Fabi 	 	1:40.421 	+6.015s
22 	10 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	1:40.673 	+6.267s
23 	4 	Brian Henton 	 	1:40.852 	+6.446s
24 	12 	Geoff Lees 	 	1:40.974 	+6.568s
25 	30 	Mauro Baldi 	 	1:40.997 	+6.591s
26 	17 	Jochen Mass 	 	1:41.579 	+7.173s
DNQ 	33 	Jan Lammers 	 	1:41.714 	+7.308s
DNQ 	14 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	1:42.270 	+7.864s
DNQ 	20 	Chico Serra 	 	1:42.414 	+8.008s
DNQ 	18 	Raul Boesel 	 	1:43.099 	+8.693s
===Grid===
The Grid order for the is shown below:
==Race==
Ahead of the race, rumours arose that Arnoux and Prost had made an agreement, whereby Arnoux, should he be leading Prost in the closing stages for the win, would allow Prost (whom had a better points tally) to overtake, giving him maximum points. This rumour would become a key focus of not only the race, but of the future their Renault careers.
===Report===
The Renault's got off the line in grid order, pulling smartly ahead of the rest of the field over the first lap, Arnoux just keeping ahead of Prost. Brabham, however, had other ideas, their lighter cars (using a pitstop strategy they had wanted to use in Britain) catching the Renaults in the early stages of the race. Riccardo Patrese and Nelson Piquet worked together to pass Prost, with Patrese claiming the lead on the fourth lap (Piquet joining him a lap later). Patrese's lead was short lived, however, as he fell victim to engine failure, leaving Piquet to fight alone.
The Signes corner would, however, became a major talking point in the race, when it witnessed a huge crash on the 11th lap. Jochen Mass and Mauro Baldi came together at the right hander at the end of the back straight, sending Mass into the barrier. The force of his car hitting the armco sent his March over it, with Mass landing upside-down in a spectator area. In a miracle that no one was killed, Mass' car caught fire as he emerged from it, with only minor injuries incurred by both spectators and driver.
The race settled down, running in virtually the same order for the rest of the distance. The only other major incidents to occur involved Piquet and John Watson, whom both retired through mechanical issues). Piquet's demise handed victory on a plate to Renault, as Arnoux and Prost built a lead over the chasing Ferraris.
At the line, Arnoux held a 17 second lead over his younger team mate, although Prost was furious that he had not been allowed past to claim victory, Arnoux was adamant that he had not been ordered to do so (eerily similar to the Ferrari fallout earlier on in the season between Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve), with the two remaining at odds for the rest of the year. Pironi had a quiet drive to third, while Patrick Tambay ensured a French 1-2-3-4 with another promising display in the second 'Fezza'.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1 	16 	René Arnoux 	 	54 	1:33:33.217 	1 	9
2 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	54 	+17.308s 	2 	6
3 	28 	Didier Pironi 	 	54 	+42.128s 	3 	4
4 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	54 	+1:16.241 	5 	3
5 	6 	Keke Rosberg 	 	54 	+1:30.994 	10 	2
6 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	54 	+1:32.339 	15 	1
7 	5 	Derek Daly 	 	53 	+1 lap 	11 	
8 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	53 	+1 lap 	9 	
9 	23 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	53 	+1 lap 	8 	
10 	4 	Brian Henton 	 	53 	+1 lap 	23 	
11 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock	 	52 	+2 laps 	18 	
12 	12 	Geoff Lees 	 	52 	+2 laps 	24 	
13 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	52 	+2 laps 	20 	
14 	26 	Jacques Laffite 	 	51 	+3 laps 	16 	
15 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	50 	+4 laps 	14 	
16 	25 	Eddie Cheever 	 	49 	+5 laps 	19 	
Ret 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	25 	Spin 	7 	
Ret 	1 	Nelson Piquet 	 	23 	Engine 	6 	
Ret 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	17 	Fuel system 	13 	
Ret 	7 	John Watson 	 	13 	Electrical 	12 	
Ret 	17 	Jochen Mass 	 	10 	Accident 	26 	
Ret 	30 	Mauro Baldi 	 	10 	Accident 	25 	
Ret 	2 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	8 	Engine 	4 	
Ret 	10 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	2 	Spin 	22 	
Ret 	31 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	0 	Half shaft 	17 	
Ret 	36 	Teo Fabi 	 	0 	Electrical 	21 	
DNQ 	33 	Jan Lammers 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	14 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	20 	Chico Serra 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	18 	Raul Boesel 	 	 	 	 	
==Milestones==
*Final race for:
**Geoff Lees (5 in total).
**Jochen Mass (105 in total).
**Didier Pironi (qualified for the following German Grand Prix)
*First one-two for Renault.
==Standings==
Didier Pironi now looked to be in command of the Championship after his home race, nine ahead of John Watson and with a handy looking Patrick Tambay looking set to help his title bid. That said, Alain Prost was now back in the fight, fourteen behind, and with René Arnoux demonstrating that Renault had overcome some of their fragility, there was still a potential fight to be had. Niki Lauda and Keke Rosberg would have to rely on the inherent turbocharger frailty (as would Watson) if they were to win the title, with the manufacturers now coming on strong.
McLaren just held onto their lead after the French Grand Prix, now just two points ahead of Ferrari. Renault had finally climbed back into the top three after their one-two, but still had a sixteen point gap to overcome before they could hope to be crowned Constructors Champions. They were also under serious threat from Williams (whom they overtook), as the top four looked to be breaking away from the rest. Tyrrell were the only other team to score in France, although Michele Alboreto's single point did little to adjust the standings.
1982 Drivers' World Championship	1982 Drivers' World Championship	1982 Drivers' World Championship	1982 Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Didier Pironi 	39 	
2 	John Watson 	30 	
3 	Alain Prost 	25 	2
4 	Niki Lauda 	24 	1
5 	Keke Rosberg 	23 	1
6 	Riccardo Patrese 	19 	
7 	Nelson Piquet 	17 	
8 	 René Arnoux 	13 	9
9 	Elio de Angelis 	13 	1
10 	Michele Alboreto 	11 	
11 	Eddie Cheever 	10 	1
12 	Nigel Mansell 	7 	1
13 	Patrick Tambay 	7 	3
14 	Derek Daly 	7 	2
15 	Gilles Villeneuve 	6 	2
16 	Carlos Reutemann 	6 	2
17 	Andrea de Cesaris 	5 	2
18 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	3 	
19 	Marc Surer 	2 	
20 	Eliseo Salazar 	2 	
21 	Manfred Winkelhock 	2 	
22 	Mauro Baldi 	1 	
23 	Jacques Laffite 	1 	
24 	Chico Serra 	1 	
Only point scoring drivers are shown.
1982 Constructors' World Championship	1982 Constructors' World Championship	1982 Constructors' World Championship	1982 Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	54 	
2 	 	52 	
3 	 	38 	1
4 	 	36 	1
5 	 	20 	
6 	 	19 	
7 	 	17 	
8 	 	13 	
9 	 	11 	
10 	 	5 	
11 	 	4 	
12 	 	3 	
13 	 	3 	
14 	 	1 	
Only point scoring constructors are shown.
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:French Grand Prix
Category:1982 Grands Prix
Category:Formula One races in France