1983 San Marino Grand Prix

The 1983 San Marino Grand Prix, held at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, was the fourth race of the 1983 Formula One Season. The paddock arrived two weeks after the French Grand Prix, with in a reflective mood after the events of the previous visit the year before.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_San_Marino_Grand_Prix As it was, the tifosi left on a high note, with René Arnoux claiming pole, and Patrick Tambay taking victory, dedicating his win to his predecessor in the number 27 Ferrari: Gilles Villeneuve.
==Background==
After the near perfect display by in France, Alain Prost was finally in a position that represented his (and the car's) inherent pace, now third in the standings. Yet, the Frenchman still trailed Nelson Piquet, whose tally of fifteen was five more than Niki Lauda's, with the Austrian sitting one point ahead of Prost going into the San Marino weekend. John Watson was level with Prost on points, with leading the teams' championship through his and Lauda's combined scores. started the weekend in second, four points behind, with Renault the only other team in double figures (all of which were scored in France).
There was just one casualty among the entry list, with the second RAM dropped meaning Eliseo Salazar was given the full attention of the RAM Racing team.http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr377.html , meanwhile, had negotiated a surprising engine deal with , shoehorning in one of Alfa's V12 creations into the back of Piercarlo Ghinzani's car in time for the race weekend.
==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 	 	BT52 	 	M12/13 L4t 1.5	
6 	Riccardo Patrese 	Fila Sport 	 	BT52 	 	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 	 	93T 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
12 	Nigel Mansell 	John Player Team Lotus 	 	92 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
15 	Alain Prost 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE40 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
16 	Eddie Cheever 	Equipe Renault Elf 	 	RE40 	 	EF1 V6t 1.5 	
17 	Eliseo Salazar 	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 	 	126C2B 	 	021 V6t 1.5 	
28 	René Arnoux 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	126C2B 	 	021 V6t 1.5 	
29 	Marc Surer 	Arrows Racing Team 	 	A6 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
30 	Chico Serra 	Arrows Racing Team 	 	A6 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
31 	Corrado Fabi 	Osella Squadra Corse 	 	FA1D 	 	DFV V8 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 	
==Practice Overview==
Ferrari were determined to have a good weekend at Imola, the last track at which they had taken a one-two (courtesy of Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve the year before). Rene Arnoux was the fastest, beating his team mate by a second, with Prost and PIquet the only drivers splitting the Ferraris. Osella ran the Alfa engine for the first time, although Ghinzani was almost two seconds slower than the older, Ford engined car of Corrado Fabi, the extra weight the most likely cause.
With 28 entries, the practice session did not see any cars eliminated, although, as with the rest of the 1983 season, times in practice could count towards a driver's ultimate qualifying position.
==Qualifying==
It would be an emotional day for the tifosi on the saturday before the race, as René Arnoux claimed his first pole position for the Italian marque, three quarters of a second ahead of team mate Patrick Tambay. Nelson Piquet also impressed, sneaking between the two Ferraris to take second on the grid, with Alain Prost the only other man within a second of his former Renault team mate. Manfred Winkelhock was another highlight of the day, taking the BMW powered ATS to seventh on the grid, only falling behind Riccardo Patrese and Eddie Cheever by a few hundreths of a second. Keke Rosberg was the fastest of the non-turbo cars, although his eleventh place, almost four seconds down on Arnoux, showed that the turbos had a significant advantage in Imola.
John Watson had a poor day, qualifying down in twenty-fourth place, while Osella's Alfa experiment failed as Piercarlo Ghinzani failed to qualify. He joined Eliseo Salazar on the sidelines for the race, with the Chilean lacking the speed to beat Ghinzani's team mate Corrado Fabi in the normal Osella.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_San_Marino_Grand_Prix
===Qualifying Results===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Time
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Q1 	Q2
1 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	1:33.419 	1:31.238
2 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:33.542 	1:31.964
3 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	1:34.221 	1:31.967
4 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	1:33.653 	1:32.138
5 	6 	Riccardo Patrese 	 	1:36.243 	1:32.969
6 	16 	Eddie Cheever 	 	1:33.888 	1:33.450
7 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock 	 	1:35.010 	1:33.470
8 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	1:34.345 	1:33.528
9 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:35.091 	1:34.332
10 	23 	Mauro Baldi 	 	1:35.000 	1:36.620
11 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	1:36.145 	1:35.086
12 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	1:35.723 	1:35.411
13 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	1:35.988 	1:35.525
14 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	1:35.676 	No Time
15 	12 	Nigel Mansell 	 	1:36.391 	1:35.703
16 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	1:36.630 	1:35.707
17 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	1:35.969 	No Time
18 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:38.089 	1:36.099
19 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier 	 	1:37.544 	1:36.116
20 	30 	Chico Serra 	 	1:37.337 	1:36.258
21 	33 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	1:36.792 	1:36.324
22 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	1:37.320 	1:36.359
23 	34 	Johnny Cecotto 	 	1:37.554 	1:36.638
24 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:37.847 	1:36.652
25 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	1:39.435 	1:37.332
26 	31 	Corrado Fabi 	 	1:37.952 	1:37.711
DNQ 	17 	Eliseo Salazar 	 	1:38.691 	1:38.091
DNQ 	32 	Piercarlo Ghinzani 	 	1:39.248 	1:38.873
Bold indicates a driver's fastest time	Bold indicates a driver's fastest time	Bold indicates a driver's fastest time	Bold indicates a driver's fastest time	Bold indicates a driver's fastest time	Bold indicates a driver's fastest time
==Race==
With a strong backing from the tifosi, it was clear that the fans around Imola wanted nothing more than a Ferrari win, and with Arnoux on pole and Tambay third, it seemed as if their wish would be granted. Piquet, Prost and Patrese were still in contention, however, and with Rosberg leading the non-turbo charge, Ferrari would have to be at their best to appease the crowd. One further note was to be made of McLaren, and particularly John Watson, as the last time he had failed to qualify in the top twenty (two races earlier at the United States Grand Prix West) the Ulsterman had won, showing a battling nature that he would need in San Marino.
===Report===
A stall off the line for Piquet gave Arnoux a dream start, as he pulled smartly away from the grid as the pack filtered past the stationary Brabham. It would not be too long, however, before Tambay caught the back of his team mate, dragging Patrese, Prost and Andrea de Cesaris with him. Piquet, meanwhile, got the Brabham back to life, and set about catching the back of the field, while Eddie Cheever became the first to fall with a turbo failure on the second lap. 
Piquet's day would be improved by the fact that the Brabham was the dominant car that day, as Patrese demonstrated by taking Tambay and Arnoux on the fifth and sixth laps respectively to take the lead. He quickly established a lead as Piquet began his slow climb, while Watson was gradually making progress, benefitting from several accidents, including the collision between his team mate Niki Lauda and Johnny Cecotto.
By half distance, the Brabhams were beginning to get low on fuel, with Patrese pitting on lap 34. Unfortunately for the Italian, he overshot his pitbox, meaning he emerged behind Tambay after the delay. Tyre degredation had seen Arnoux stop earlier than planned, meaning he had fallen behind his team mate and rival Prost, leaving Tambay and Patrese to duel for the victory. Piquet, meanwhile, emerged from his stop in sixth, although his performance would count for little as an engine failure on the 42nd lap ended his race.
Tambay and Patrese continued to battle away, until Patrese snatched the lead with six laps to go, building a small lead over the Frenchman. Yet, the Italian was pushing far too hard for the state of his tyres, sliding wide at Acque Minerale and into the barriers. The tifosi, in a typical show of loyalty to Ferrari, cheered as the Italian driver slid off as it meant that Tambay would take victory, as well as promote Arnoux into third. Patrese's accident also put Watson into the points.
Six laps later and the No. 27 Ferrari swept across the line to take an emotional victory at Imola, the first for Tambay in 1983. Arnoux could do little to catch his former team mate Prost in the Renault, who split the Ferraris by taking second. Keke Rosberg had a relatively quiet day to take fourth, with the charging McLaren of Watson beating Marc Surer to fifth. Prost's six points for finishing second meant that he took the lead in the championship, with Tambay a point behind in third (Piquet was second, level on points with Prost), while Watson overtook Lauda for fourth.
===Results===
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1 	27 	Patrick Tambay 	 	60 	1:37:52.460 	3 	9
2 	15 	Alain Prost 	 	60 	+ 48.781 	4 	6
3 	28 	René Arnoux 	 	59 	+ 1 Lap 	1 	4
4 	1 	Keke Rosberg 	 	59 	+ 1 Lap 	11 	3
5 	7 	John Watson 	 	59 	+ 1 Lap 	24 	2
6 	29 	Marc Surer 	 	59 	+ 1 Lap 	12 	1
7 	2 	Jacques Laffite 	 	59 	+ 1 Lap 	16 	
8 	30 	Chico Serra 	 	58 	+ 2 Laps 	20 	
9 	26 	Raul Boesel 	 	58 	+ 2 Laps 	25 	
10 	23 	Mauro Baldi* 	 	57 	Engine 	10 	
11 	9 	Manfred Winkelhock	 	57 	+ 3 Laps 	7 	
12 	12 	Nigel Mansell* 	 	56 	Accident 	15 	
13 	6 	RIccardo Patrese* 	 	54 	Accident 	5 	
Ret 	22 	Andrea de Cesaris 	 	45 	Distributor 	8 	
Ret 	11 	Elio de Angelis 	 	43 	Handling 	9 	
Ret 	5 	Nelson Piquet 	 	41 	Engine 	2 	
Ret 	25 	Jean-Pierre Jarier	 	39 	Radiator 	19 	
Ret 	4 	Danny Sullivan 	 	37 	Accident 	22 	
Ret 	35 	Derek Warwick 	 	27 	Accident 	14 	
Ret 	31 	Corrado Fabi 	 	20 	Accident 	26 	
Ret 	36 	Bruno Giacomelli 	 	20 	Suspension 	17 	
Ret 	8 	Niki Lauda 	 	11 	Accident 	18 	
Ret 	34 	Johnny Cecotto 	 	11 	Accident 	23 	
Ret 	3 	Michele Alboreto 	 	10 	Suspension 	13 	
Ret 	33 	Roberto Guerrero 	 	3 	Accident 	21 	
Ret 	16 	Eddie Cheever 	 	2 	Turbo 	6 	
* Baldi, Mansell and Patrese were still classified, despite retiring, as they had all completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
*Second and final victory for Patrick Tambay.
*Last win for Ferrari at the San Marino Grand Prix until 1999.
*Last time the podium would be filled with three drivers of the same nationality.
==Standings after race==
1983 Drivers' World Championship	1983 Drivers' World Championship	1983 Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts
1 	Alain Prost 	15
2 	Nelson Piquet 	15
3 	Patrick Tambay 	14
4 	John Watson 	11
5 	Niki Lauda 	10
Only the top 5 drivers are displayed.
1983 Constructors' World Championship	1983 Constructors' World Championship	1983 Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts
1 	 	22
2 	 	21
3 	 	19
4 	 	15
5 	 	12
Only the top 5 constructors are displayed.
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1983 Grands Prix
Category:San Marino Grand Prix
Category:Formula One races in Italy