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1981 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 5 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	17 May 1981
Location	Circuit Zolder, Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Course length	4.262 km (2.648 miles)
Distance	54 laps, 230.148 km (143.007 miles)
Scheduled distance	70 laps, 298.340 km (185.380 miles)
Weather	Dry, then wet at the end
Pole position
Driver	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford
Time	1:22.28
Fastest lap
Driver	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford
Time	1:23.30 on lap 37
Podium
First	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford
Second	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra
Third	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1981 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on 17 May 1981. It was the fifth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship. It was the last of 12 victories for Carlos Reutemann and the last win for an Argentine driver as of 2024. It was also the first of 59 podiums for 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell.

Mechanic safety and chaotic first race

The race was marred by two serious incidents involving mechanics, one fatal. In Friday practice a mechanic from the Osella team, Giovanni Amadeo, stumbled off the pitwall into the path of the Williams of Carlos Reutemann. Reutemann was unable to avoid the mechanic, who suffered a fractured skull. He died from his injuries on the Monday after the race. Before the start of the race the mechanics of all the teams staged a protest over the safety measures protecting them, which was soon joined by several drivers (Villeneuve, Prost, Laffite, Pironi and Scheckter) who left their cars. According to 1976 World Champion James Hunt who was commentating live for BBC in Sunday Grandstand, the protest was largely over the narrow pits at Zolder and that the pits were overcrowded, especially with people who were nothing more than 'hangers on' who were there to be seen and not for the actual racing.

The race organisers nevertheless flagged the warm-up lap at the normal time, leaving several cars delayed on the grid, either stalled or with their cockpits vacant. The resulting chaos when the grid formed up again at the end of this lap was exacerbated when Nelson Piquet missed his starting position and was sent round on another lap, with the other cars being held in position. As the cars began to overheat, several drivers turned off their engines, among them Arrows driver Riccardo Patrese, expecting another formation lap due to Piquet's error. However, the organisers began the start sequence as usual once Piquet had regained his position. Patrese was unable to restart his car and waved his arms to signal that he could not take the start. His mechanic, Dave Luckett, came onto the track to restart the car from behind. As he did so, the Clerk of the Course had already started the lighting sequence to start the race, and the race went ahead despite his presence and Patrese's gesticulations. The other Arrows driver, Siegfried Stohr, ploughed into the back of his teammate's car, hitting Luckett. Luckett suffered a broken leg and lacerations but survived the incident. The race continued, and as the field was about to start the second lap, Stohr's disabled car was still on the circuit, and some of the furious marshals, who did not have the official authority to stop the race jumped onto the track and frantically waved at the drivers to stop while the cars passed by with very little space on the narrow track. The confused drivers waved back at the marshals, and on the next lap the drivers did stop at their own accord.

As a result of these events, a new rule was introduced forbidding mechanics from being on the grid within fifteen seconds of the formation lap, and the race starter would use greater caution.

Race report

In the race, Reutemann was passed by Didier Pironi going into the first corner. Then Alan Jones nudged off Nelson Piquet at the early stages of the race and Piquet crashed into some catch fencing at the chicane. A few laps later, Jones's gearbox failed, and he ploughed into the barriers and badly burned his left thigh after the gearbox oil leaked into his cockpit. Following Jones's retirement, Piquet, still furious after their previous incident, stormed to the Williams garage and had an altercation with Jones and the Williams personnel. Pironi had fallen back and after Jones's accident, Reutemann took the lead, keeping it until the race was called off early because of rain starting to fall on the track. It was his second victory of the season and the 12th and ultimately final victory of his career.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Gap
1	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	1:22.28	1:36.27	—
2	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	1:23.13	no time	+0.85
3	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	1:23.47	1:36.76	+1.19
4	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:23.67	1:38.28	+1.39
5	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:23.73	1:30.92	+1.45
6	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:23.82	1:27.43	+1.54
7	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:23.94	1:27.33	+1.66
8	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	1:24.38	1:31.00	+2.10
9	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	1:24.41	1:44.07	+2.13
10	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	1:24.44	no time	+2.16
11	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:24.46	no time	+2.18
12	15	Alain Prost	Renault	1:24.63	1:43.35	+2.35
13	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	1:24.66	no time	+2.38
14	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	1:24.96	no time	+2.68
15	14	Marc Surer	Ensign-Ford	1:25.19	no time	+2.91
16	25	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Ligier-Matra	1:25.28	1:38.87	+3.00
17	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:25.31	1:37.77	+3.03
18	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	1:25.56	1:32.17	+3.28
19	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	1:25.91	1:32.21	+3.63
20	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:25.93	no time	+3.65
21	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	1:26.52	2:49.14	+4.24
22	32	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	1:26.69	no time	+4.41
23	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	1:26.95	1:30.99	+4.67
24	31	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Ford	1:27.48	no time	+5.20
25	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:27.93	1:30.71	+5.65
26	18	Eliseo Salazar	March-Ford	1:28.38	1:35.66	+6.10
27	9	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	1:28.98	1:35.79	+6.70
28	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore-Ford	no time	1:32.47	+10.19
29	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	1:35.97	no time	+13.69
30	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	1:36.37	1:42.95	+14.09
31†	17	Derek Daly	March-Ford	—	—	—
Source:

• † — time disallowed.

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	M	54	1:16:31.61	1	9
2	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	M	54	+ 36.06	9	6
3	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	M	54	+ 43.69	10	4
4	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	54	+ 47.64	7	3
5	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	M	54	+ 49.20	14	2
6	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	M	54	+ 52.51	8	1
7	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	M	54	+ 1:01.66	5
8	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	M	54	+ 1:32.04	3
9	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	M	54	+ 1:35.58	17
10	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	M	53	+ 1 Lap	18
11	14	Marc Surer	Ensign-Ford	M	52	+ 2 Laps	15
12	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	M	52	+ 2 Laps	19
13	31	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Ford	M	50	+ 4 Laps	24
Ret	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	M	39	Accident	21
Ret	25	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Ligier-Matra	M	35	Transmission	16
Ret	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	M	29	Engine	20
Ret	32	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	M	22	Engine	22
Ret	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	M	19	Accident	6
Ret	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	M	11	Gearbox	23
Ret	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	M	10	Accident	2
Ret	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	A	10	Gearbox	11
Ret	15	Alain Prost	Renault	M	2	Clutch	12
Ret	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	M	0	Collision	4
Ret	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	M	0	Collision	13
DNQ	18	Derek Daly	March-Ford	M
DNQ	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M
DNQ	17	Eliseo Salazar	March-Ford	M
DNQ	9	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	M
DNQ	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore-Ford	M
DNQ	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	P
DNQ	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	P
Source:

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Italian driver Piercarlo Ghinzani.
• This was the 10th Grand Slam for an Argentinian driver.
• This was the 50th Grand Prix start for Williams.
• This was the 100th Grand Prix start for a Matra-powered car. In those 100 races, Matra-powered cars had won 1 Grand Prix, achieved 14 podium finishes, 3 pole positions and 5 fastest laps.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Carlos Reutemann 34 2 Nelson Piquet 22 3 Alan Jones 18 4 Riccardo Patrese 10 5 Jacques Laffite 7 Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Ford 52 2 Brabham-Ford 25 3 Arrows-Ford 10 4 Lotus-Ford 9 5 Ligier-Matra 7 Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

1. "1981 Belgian Grand Prix Entry list".
2. Sopeña, German. "Reutemann se llevó todo". F1-Web. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
3. "Blighted by restart chaos". forix.com. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
4. Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
5. "1981 Belgian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
6. "1981 Belgian Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 17 May 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
7. ^ "Belgium 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.

• 1981 Formula One races
• Belgian Grand Prix
• 1981 in Belgian motorsport
• Circuit Zolder
• May 1981 sports events in Europe