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1981 French Grand Prix
Race 8 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	5 July 1981
Official name	67e Grand Prix de France
Location	Dijon-Prenois, Dijon, France
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	3.801 km (2.361 miles)
Distance	80 laps, 304.08 km (188.88 miles)
Weather	Dry, then wet at half distance, then dry again
Pole position
Driver	René Arnoux	Renault
Time	1:05.95
Fastest lap
Driver	Alain Prost	Renault
Time	1:09.14 on lap 64
Podium
First	Alain Prost	Renault
Second	John Watson	McLaren-Ford
Third	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1981 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon-Prenois near Dijon, France on 5 July 1981. It was the eighth race of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The 80-lap race was won by Alain Prost, driving a Renault. On home soil, Prost scored the first of an eventual 51 Grand Prix victories, in a race that was stopped after 58 laps due to heavy rain and then restarted, with aggregate times determining the final positions. John Watson finished second in his McLaren-Ford, while Nelson Piquet, who had been leading in his Brabham-Ford when the race was stopped, finished third.

Prior to the race, Jean-Pierre Jabouille decided to retire from Formula One, having not fully recovered from the leg injuries he had sustained in Canada the previous year. His place at Ligier was taken for the rest of the season by Patrick Tambay, who moved from Theodore.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Gap
1	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:07.09	1:05.95	—
2	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:07.05	1:06.36	+0.41
3	15	Alain Prost	Renault	1:07.57	1:06.36	+0.41
4	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	1:09.21	1:06.91	+0.96
5	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	1:08.83	1:07.03	+1.08
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	1:08.71	1:07.09	+1.14
7	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	1:08.83	1:07.42	+1.47
8	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	1:08.40	1:07.52	+1.57
9	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:09.28	1:07.53	+1.58
10	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	1:10.09	1:07.56	+1.61
11	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:07.60	1:07.68	+1.65
12	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:09.81	1:07.63	+1.68
13	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	1:09.06	1:07.72	+1.77
14	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	1:08.09	1:08.27	+2.14
15	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	1:09.69	1:08.21	+2.26
16	25	Patrick Tambay	Ligier-Matra	1:09.51	1:08.47	+2.52
17	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:10.13	1:09.35	+3.40
18	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:09.37	1:10.14	+3.42
19	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	1:11.50	1:09.88	+3.93
20	17	Derek Daly	March-Ford	1:12.10	1:09.94	+3.99
21	33	Marc Surer	Theodore-Ford	1:19.46	1:10.12	+4.17
22	14	Eliseo Salazar	Ensign-Ford	1:15.59	1:10.50	+4.55
23	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	1:12.37	1:10.64	+4.69
24	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:13.60	1:10.86	+4.91
25	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	1:13.13	1:11.24	+5.29
26	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	1:29.13	1:11.28	+5.33
27	9	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	1:14.62	1:12.20	+6.25
28	31	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	1:12.24	1:36.20	+6.29
29	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	1:13.65	no time	+7.70
Source:

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	15	Alain Prost	Renault	M	80	1:35:48.13	3	9
2	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	M	80	+ 2.29	2	6
3	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	G	80	+ 24.22	4	4
4	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	80	+ 42.30	1	3
5	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	M	79	+ 1 Lap	14	2
6	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	M	79	+ 1 Lap	8	1
7	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	M	79	+ 1 Lap	13
8	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	M	79	+ 1 Lap	10
9	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	G	78	+ 2 Laps	15
10	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	G	78	+ 2 Laps	7
11	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	M	78	+ 2 Laps	5
12	33	Marc Surer	Theodore-Ford	A	78	+ 2 Laps	21
13	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	M	77	+ 3 Laps	19
14	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	M	77	+ 3 Laps	18
15	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	M	77	+ 3 Laps	12
16	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	M	77	+ 3 Laps	23
17	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	G	76	Collision	9
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	M	57	Suspension	6
Ret	17	Derek Daly	March-Ford	A	55	Engine	20
Ret	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	41	Electrical	11
Ret	25	Patrick Tambay	Ligier-Matra	M	30	Wheel Bearing	16
Ret	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	M	11	Suspension	17
Ret	14	Eliseo Salazar	Ensign-Ford	A	6	Suspension	22
DNS	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	M	0	Non starter	24
DNQ	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	M
DNQ	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	P
DNQ	9	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	M
DNQ	31	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	M
DNQ	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	P
Source:

Notes

• This was the 25th pole position for a French driver.
• This was the 5th Grand Prix win and 10th podium finish for Renault and a Renault-powered car.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Carlos Reutemann 37 2 Nelson Piquet 26 3 Alan Jones 24 4 Gilles Villeneuve 21 5 Jacques Laffite 17 Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Ford 61 2 Brabham-Ford 29 3 Ferrari 28 4 Renault 18 5 Ligier-Matra 17 Source:

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

References

1. "Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1981". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
2. "Grand Prix Results: French GP, 1981". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
3. Hamilton, Maurice, ed. (1981). AUTOCOURSE 1981–82. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p. 156. ISBN 0-905138-17-1.
4. "1981 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
5. "1981 French Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 5 July 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
6. ^ "France 1981 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.

• 1981 Formula One races
• French Grand Prix
• 1981 in French motorsport