1981 Alternate Formula One season: Difference between revisions
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|year = 1981 | |year = 1981 | ||
|series = [[Alternate Formula One|Formula One]] | |series = [[Alternate Formula One|Formula One]] | ||
|series_logo = [[File: | |series_logo = [[File:Regazzoni.png|270px]] | ||
|series_name = | |series_name = [[Clay Regazzoni]] won his first and only drivers title for [[McLaren]], who also won the Constructor's championship. | ||
|era = [[Turbo Era]] | |era = [[Turbo Era]] | ||
|colour = ffff80 | |colour = ffff80 | ||
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|rowspan=2| 1 | |rowspan=2| 1 | ||
| {{AU}} [[Alan Jones]] | | {{AU}} [[Alan Jones]] | ||
| 1-13, 15- | | 1-13, 15-17 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{GB}} [[Jonathan Palmer]] | | {{GB}} [[Jonathan Palmer]] | ||
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| 2 | | 2 | ||
| {{GB}} [[Nigel Mansell]] | | {{GB}} [[Nigel Mansell]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[Tyrrell|Penthouse BMW Team Tyrrell]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Dom.}} | |rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[Tyrrell|Penthouse BMW Team Tyrrell]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Dom.}} | ||
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| 3 | | 3 | ||
| {{GB}} [[Robert Kagan]] | | {{GB}} [[Robert Kagan]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 4 | | 4 | ||
| {{GB}} [[Harvey Jones]] | | {{GB}} [[Harvey Jones]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[Williams Racing|Saudia Williams Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by pi314159.}} | |rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[Williams Racing|Saudia Williams Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by pi314159.}} | ||
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| 5 | | 5 | ||
| {{CAN}} [[Gilles Villeneuve]] | | {{CAN}} [[Gilles Villeneuve]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 6 | | 6 | ||
| {{FIN}} [[Keke Rosberg]] | | {{FIN}} [[Keke Rosberg]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=5| {{GB}} [[Brabham|Parmalat Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Frentzen127.}} | |rowspan=5| {{GB}} [[Brabham|Parmalat Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Frentzen127.}} | ||
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| 1-12 | | 1-12 | ||
|- | |- | ||
!rowspan=3| [[Brabham]]-[[TAG]] | !rowspan=3| [[Brabham]]-[[TAG-Porsche|TAG]] | ||
|rowspan=3| [[ | |rowspan=3| [[TAG-Porsche]] TTE PO1 1.5 V6t | ||
| 7 | | 7 | ||
| {{BRA}} [[Nelson Piquet]] | | {{BRA}} [[Nelson Piquet]] | ||
| 13- | | 13-17 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| 8 | |rowspan=2| 8 | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{ITA}} [[Riccardo Patrese]] | | {{ITA}} [[Riccardo Patrese]] | ||
| 14- | | 14-17 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[March Engineering]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Miguel98.}} | |rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[March Engineering]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Miguel98.}} | ||
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| 9 | | 9 | ||
| {{FR}} [[Guillaume Gauthier]] | | {{FR}} [[Guillaume Gauthier]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 10 | | 10 | ||
| {{IRL}} [[Derek Daly]] | | {{IRL}} [[Derek Daly]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren International]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Mr_Klon.}} | |rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren International]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Mr_Klon.}} | ||
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| 11 | | 11 | ||
| {{CH}} [[Clay Regazzoni]] | | {{CH}} [[Clay Regazzoni]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 12 | | 12 | ||
| {{FR}} [[Jean-Pierre Jarier]] | | {{FR}} [[Jean-Pierre Jarier]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=6| {{FR}} [[Renault|Équipe Renault Elf]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Frogfoot.}} | |rowspan=6| {{FR}} [[Renault|Équipe Renault Elf]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Frogfoot.}} | ||
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| 13 | | 13 | ||
| {{FR}} [[Jacques Godard]] | | {{FR}} [[Jacques Godard]] | ||
| 15- | | 15-17 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=4| 14 | |rowspan=4| 14 | ||
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| 1-6 | | 1-6 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{ | | {{FR}} [[Luciano Sighinolfi]] | ||
| 7 | | 7 | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| 15 | | 15 | ||
| {{FR}} [[Alain Prost]] | | {{FR}} [[Alain Prost]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{GER}} [[ATS|ATS Kauhsen Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Nuppiz.}} | |rowspan=2| {{GER}} [[ATS|ATS Kauhsen Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Nuppiz.}} | ||
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| 16 | | 16 | ||
| {{CH}} [[Marc Surer]] | | {{CH}} [[Marc Surer]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 17 | | 17 | ||
| {{FIN}} [[Rikky Leiviskä]] | | {{FIN}} [[Rikky Leiviskä]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=5| {{GB}} [[Arrows Racing Team|Ragno Arrows North Star Beta Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by pinkd56.}} | |rowspan=5| {{GB}} [[Arrows Racing Team|Ragno Arrows North Star Beta Racing Team]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by pinkd56.}} | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{NZL}} [[Mike Thackwell]] | | {{NZL}} [[Mike Thackwell]] | ||
| 12- | | 12-17 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 19 | | 19 | ||
| {{FR}} [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]] | | {{FR}} [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=3| {{GB}} [[Toleman|Skoal Bandit Toleman Motorsport]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by This Could Be You.}} | |rowspan=3| {{GB}} [[Toleman|Skoal Bandit Toleman Motorsport]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by This Could Be You.}} | ||
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| 21 | | 21 | ||
| {{VAT}} [[Valentino Nicchi]] | | {{VAT}} [[Valentino Nicchi]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| 22 | |rowspan=2| 22 | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{FR}} [[Gabriel Château]] | | {{FR}} [[Gabriel Château]] | ||
| 15- | | 15-17 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{ITA}} [[Alfa Romeo|Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by GertrandBachot.}} | |rowspan=2| {{ITA}} [[Alfa Romeo|Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by GertrandBachot.}} | ||
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| 23 | | 23 | ||
| {{ITA}} [[Andrea de Cesaris]] | | {{ITA}} [[Andrea de Cesaris]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 24 | | 24 | ||
| {{ITA}} [[Michele Alboreto]] | | {{ITA}} [[Michele Alboreto]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=8| {{FR}} [[Ligier|Ligier Talbot Gitanes]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Nessafox.}} | |rowspan=8| {{FR}} [[Ligier|Ligier Talbot Gitanes]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Nessafox.}} | ||
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|rowspan=8| [[Matra]] MS80 3.0 V12 | |rowspan=8| [[Matra]] MS80 3.0 V12 | ||
|rowspan=8| {{Michelin2}} | |rowspan=8| {{Michelin2}} | ||
|rowspan=7| 25 | |||
|rowspan=7| | |||
| {{FR}} [[Gabriel Château]] | | {{FR}} [[Gabriel Château]] | ||
| 1-4 | | 1-4 | ||
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|{{FR}} [[Alain Ferté]] | |{{FR}} [[Alain Ferté]] | ||
|15-16 | |15-16 | ||
|- | |||
| 26 | |||
| {{FR}} [[Patrick Tambay]] | |||
| All | |||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{ITA}} [[Scuderia Ferrari|Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Hermann95.}} | |rowspan=2| {{ITA}} [[Scuderia Ferrari|Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Hermann95.}} | ||
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| 27 | | 27 | ||
| {{ITA}} [[Elio de Angelis]] | | {{ITA}} [[Elio de Angelis]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 28 | | 28 | ||
| {{GB}} [[John Watson]] | | {{GB}} [[John Watson]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=5| {{GB}} [[B&S Fabrications]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Aislabie.}} | |rowspan=5| {{GB}} [[B&S Fabrications]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Aislabie.}} | ||
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|- | |- | ||
| {{GB}} [[Derek Warwick]] | | {{GB}} [[Derek Warwick]] | ||
| 6- | | 6-17 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 30 | | 30 | ||
| {{GB}} [[Stephen South]] | | {{GB}} [[Stephen South]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=2| {{ITA}} [[Osella|Osella Squadra Corse]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Getz.}} | |rowspan=2| {{ITA}} [[Osella|Osella Squadra Corse]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Managed by Getz.}} | ||
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| 31 | | 31 | ||
| {{ITA}} [[Bruno Giacomelli]] | | {{ITA}} [[Bruno Giacomelli]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
| 32 | | 32 | ||
| {{FR}} [[Patrick Gaillard]] | | {{FR}} [[Patrick Gaillard]] | ||
| | | All | ||
|- | |- | ||
|rowspan=7| {{ESP-1977}} [[Emilio de Villota|Equipo Banco Occidental]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Entered by pinkd56.}} | |rowspan=7| {{ESP-1977}} [[Emilio de Villota|Equipo Banco Occidental]] {{Tooltip|<small>[?]</small>|Entered by pinkd56.}} | ||
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|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
===Team Changes=== | |||
====Pre-season==== | |||
* After failing to qualify for a single race in 1980, [[Theodore]] pulled out of Formula One. | |||
* The mysterious [[Riviera]] team would fall victim to their assortment of financial issues and disappear from the grid. | |||
* After several reasons of poor results and failing to score points, [[Hesketh]] elected to wind up at the end of 1980. | |||
* As a result of pressure from title sponsor Philip Morris, [[McLaren]] team boss Teddy Mayer was forced to merge the outfit with Ron Dennis' Project Four Formula Two team and was ultimately replaced by him as head of the team. As a result of this merger, McLaren cars began carrying the MP4 (McLaren Project 4) designation. McLaren also began a customer relationship with Renault, using their turbocharged V6 engines. | |||
* New team [[Toleman]] would make their debut in Formula One, purchasing [[Alfa Romeo]]'s experimental flat-12 turbocharged engines and rebadging them as Bandits after their titular sponsor. | |||
* Perennial privateer [[Emilio de Villota]] would return to the sport with another part-time team outing, this time under the Equipo Banco Occidental banner. | |||
* [[Tyrrell]] would also start fielding turbocharged engines, having forged a works partnership with newcomer manufacturer [[BMW]]. | |||
====Mid-season==== | |||
* After using a customer [[Williams]] chassis for the [[Argentine Grand Prix|first race]], Equipo Banco Occidental would begin fielding their own chassis design from the [[South African Grand Prix]] onwards. | |||
* Having been accused of violating the technical regulations by FISA, Equipo Banco Occidental were excluded from the [[Spanish Grand Prix]] and would ultimately not race in F1 again. As a result of this, FOCA President Bernie Ecclestone arranged a boycott by all teams affiliated with his organisation from the race, initially leading to only the FISA-affiliated teams participating ([[Ferrari]], [[McLaren]], [[Ligier]], [[Alfa Romeo]] and [[Renault]]). However, several backmarker FOCA teams ([[Spartec]], [[Osella]] and [[Toleman]]) would elect to break ranks and join in the race. | |||
* [[Brabham]] would change engine supply after the [[German Grand Prix]], swapping their naturally aspirated [[Ford]] Cosworth engines with new turbocharged [[TAG-Porsche]] units. | |||
===Driver Changes=== | |||
====Pre-season==== | |||
* Reigning world champion [[Alan Jones]] would elect to make a shock move from [[Williams]] to [[Lotus]], with Williams signing [[Keke Rosberg]] from [[Ferrari]] in his place. Existing Lotus driver [[Bruno Giacomelli]] would be reluctantly forced to sign with the back-of-the-grid [[Osella]] outfit. | |||
* Ferrari would poach [[Elio de Angelis]] from their compatriots at [[Alfa Romeo]], with the latter team opting to give [[Michele Alboreto]] his full-time debut in de Angelis' place. The team would also see [[Mario Andretti]] choose to retire from Formula One after a poor 1980 campaign, and in his place they signed [[Arrows]] driver [[John Watson]]. | |||
* [[Brabham]] would sign [[Riccardo Patrese]] in place of [[Héctor Rebaque]] from Arrows. | |||
* After the merry-go-round caused by [[Chico Serra]]'s season-ending collision in 1980, [[March]] opted to keep none of the drivers they used in his seat and instead recruited [[Derek Daly]] for his first full-time drive. | |||
* [[Masahiro Hasemi]] left [[McLaren]] following the termination of their partnership with [[Nissan]] and was replaced by [[Jean-Pierre Jarier]]. | |||
* [[ATS]] would give rookie [[Rikky Leiviskä]] his debut. | |||
* Arrows, having lost both of their 1980 drivers, decided to run a new lineup. They took on displaced Hesketh driver [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]] for his first full season, and also negotiated a deal with [[Ligier]] that would see the former employ [[Patrick Depailler]] for the season in exchange for the latter covering the cost of his salary. | |||
* New team [[Toleman]] signed former Hesketh driver [[Valentino Nicchi]] and Chilean paydriver [[Eliseo Salazar]]. | |||
* Ligier would retain [[Patrick Tambay]] and after sending his fellow Patrick, Depailler to Arrows signed [[Gabriel Château]] as their second driver. | |||
* Osella, having already signed Bruno Giacomelli, would also sign [[Patrick Gaillard]] to partner him. | |||
====Mid-season==== | |||
* [[Rupert Keegan]] was immediately injured in the season opener and was substituted by [[Ricardo Zunino]] for the [[South African Grand Prix]]. | |||
* [[Emilio de Villota|Equipo Banco Occidental]] would, in a bid to keep themselves afloat, switch their second driver around. After [[Desiré Wilson]] completed the first two races, she was switched out with Colombians [[Ricardo Londoño-Bridge]] and [[Roberto Guerrero]] for the next two races, with the team signing [[Luciano Sighinolfi]] to drive for them at the [[Spanish Grand Prix]] before they were excluded from the race and the championship. | |||
* Seemingly still being affected by his injuries, [[Spartec]] opted to bench Rupert Keegan from the Spanish Grand Prix in favour of [[Patrick Depailler]], a free agent for the race as a result of Arrows joining the FOCA boycott. Keegan would then quit the team after the race in protest of his benching and was replaced for the rest of the season by rookie [[Derek Warwick]]. | |||
* After his own outfit was excluded from F1, [[Emilio de Villota]] joined the [[Ligier]] team on a temporary basis in place of [[Gabriel Château]]. | |||
* [[Didier Pironi]] was killed in an accident during qualifying for the [[Belgian Grand Prix]]. [[Renault]] would run Luciano Sighinolfi, having freshly acquired a French racing licence, in his place at short notice at the [[Monaco Grand Prix]] before switching him out with [[René Arnoux]] from the [[San Marino Grand Prix]] onwards. | |||
* Patrick Depailler would suffer a fatal crash at the start of the [[Mexican Grand Prix]]. Ligier would cancel their planned running of Gabriel Château at the [[French Grand Prix]] and instead allowed Arrows to run him. The French team then elected to run a revolving door of drivers; [[Richard Dallest]], [[Jean-Louis Schlesser]], [[Jean-Pierre Jaussaud]], [[Thierry Boutsen]] and [[Alain Ferté]] would all pilot the second Ligier at various points during the season. | |||
* Arrows elected to run [[Eddie Cheever]] from the [[British Grand Prix]] onwards; however he would immediately suffer a season-ending crash and would be replaced for the duration of his absence by [[Mike Thackwell]]. | |||
* René Arnoux was sacked by Renault after the British Grand Prix and was replaced by [[Jean-Pierre Jabouille]]. | |||
* Believing that [[Riccardo Patrese]] had been awarded a race ban, [[Brabham]] replaced him with [[Javier Scarpetta]] for the [[Austrian Grand Prix]]. | |||
* [[Alan Jones]] was banned from the [[Swiss Grand Prix]] and replaced with debutant [[Jonathan Palmer]]. | |||
* A collision at the Swiss Grand Prix between [[Eliseo Salazar]] and Jean-Pierre Jabouille saw the former put out of action for the rest of the season and the latter elect to stand down from driving duties. Toleman would replace Salazar with Gabriel Château and Renault would replace Jabouille with rookie [[Jacques Godard]]. | |||
==Calendar== | ==Calendar== | ||
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| {{ESP-1977}} [[Spanish Grand Prix|Talbot Spanish Grand Prix]] | | {{ESP-1977}} [[Spanish Grand Prix|Talbot Spanish Grand Prix]] | ||
| Circuito del Jarama | | Circuito del Jarama | ||
| | | 3 May | ||
| {{CH}} [[Clay Regazzoni]] | | {{CH}} [[Clay Regazzoni]] | ||
| {{FR}} [[Alain Prost]] | | {{FR}} [[Alain Prost]] | ||
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|- | |- | ||
!18 | !18 | ||
|| {{FR}} [[ | || {{FR}} [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]] | ||
| bgcolor=#DFFFDF align=center| 5 | | bgcolor=#DFFFDF align=center| 5 | ||
| bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 9 | | bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 9 | ||
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|- | |- | ||
!- | !- | ||
|| {{FIN}} [[Rikky | || {{FIN}} [[Rikky Leiviskä]] | ||
| bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 9 | | bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 9 | ||
| bgcolor=#FFCFCF align=center| DNPQ | | bgcolor=#FFCFCF align=center| DNPQ | ||
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|- | |- | ||
!- | !- | ||
|| {{FR}} [[ | || {{FR}} [[René Arnoux]] | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
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|- | |- | ||
!- | !- | ||
|| {{FR}} [[Alain | || {{FR}} [[Alain Ferté]] | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
Line 1,531: | Line 1,599: | ||
|- | |- | ||
!- | !- | ||
|| {{RZA}} [[ | || {{RZA}} [[Desiré Wilson]] | ||
| bgcolor=#FFCFCF align=center| DNQ | | bgcolor=#FFCFCF align=center| DNQ | ||
| bgcolor=#FFCFCF align=center| DNPQ | | bgcolor=#FFCFCF align=center| DNPQ | ||
Line 1,573: | Line 1,641: | ||
|- | |- | ||
!- | !- | ||
|| {{COL}} [[Ricardo | || {{COL}} [[Ricardo Londoño-Bridge]] | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
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|- | |- | ||
!- | !- | ||
|| {{COL}} [[ | || {{COL}} [[Roberto Guerrero]] | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
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|- | |- | ||
!rowspan=2| 8 | !rowspan=2| 8 | ||
|rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[Brabham]]-[[TAG]] | |rowspan=2| {{GB}} [[Brabham]]-[[TAG-Porsche|TAG]] | ||
|align=center|8 | |align=center|8 | ||
| bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | | bgcolor=#F9F9F9 align=center| | ||
Line 2,031: | Line 2,099: | ||
!rowspan=2| 9 | !rowspan=2| 9 | ||
|rowspan=2| {{FR}} [[Ligier]]-[[Matra]] | |rowspan=2| {{FR}} [[Ligier]]-[[Matra]] | ||
|align=center| | |align=center|26 | ||
| bgcolor=#DFFFDF align=center| 6 | | bgcolor=#DFFFDF align=center| 6 | ||
| bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 12 | | bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 12 | ||
Line 2,051: | Line 2,119: | ||
!rowspan=2| 10 | !rowspan=2| 10 | ||
|- | |- | ||
|align=center| | |align=center|25 | ||
| bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 8 | | bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 8 | ||
| bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 11 | | bgcolor=#CFCFFF align=center| 11 |
Latest revision as of 16:09, 17 July 2025
1981 Formula One season | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Clay Regazzoni won his first and only drivers title for McLaren, who also won the Constructor's championship. | |
Turbo Era | |
Season | |
Races | 17 |
Start date | 1 March 1981 |
Start Event | ![]() |
End date | 4 October 1981 |
End Event | ![]() |
Awards | |
Driver's Champion | ![]() |
Driver's Champion Entrant | ![]() |
Constructor's Champion | ![]() |
Seasons | |
Previous season | Next season |
1980 | 1982 |
The 1981 Formula One season was the 32nd season of Formula One. Alan Jones and Williams entered the season as reigning World Champions for a second successive year, but for the first time since 1976 Jones would not be racing for Williams, instead switching to Lotus.
However, the McLaren-Renault combination proved to be the package to beat for much of the season, truly ushering in the era of turbocharged engines in Formula One. Despite Keke Rosberg - Jones' replacement at Williams - taking the championship battle to the penultimate race at the Canadian Grand Prix, Clay Regazzoni would clinch the driver's title with a round to spare, becoming the first driver to win a title for McLaren in over five years.
The season saw many entertaining races and despite the large pace advantage of the McLaren duo of Clay Regazzoni and Jean-Pierre Jarier in the first part of the season has been judged favourably by motorsports journalists. Somewhat ironically, the title deciding 16th round of the season is regarded as one of the worst Formula One title deciders in history, coming in 3rd place during an online fan voting contest held in late 2004.
Teams and drivers
Team Changes
Pre-season
- After failing to qualify for a single race in 1980, Theodore pulled out of Formula One.
- The mysterious Riviera team would fall victim to their assortment of financial issues and disappear from the grid.
- After several reasons of poor results and failing to score points, Hesketh elected to wind up at the end of 1980.
- As a result of pressure from title sponsor Philip Morris, McLaren team boss Teddy Mayer was forced to merge the outfit with Ron Dennis' Project Four Formula Two team and was ultimately replaced by him as head of the team. As a result of this merger, McLaren cars began carrying the MP4 (McLaren Project 4) designation. McLaren also began a customer relationship with Renault, using their turbocharged V6 engines.
- New team Toleman would make their debut in Formula One, purchasing Alfa Romeo's experimental flat-12 turbocharged engines and rebadging them as Bandits after their titular sponsor.
- Perennial privateer Emilio de Villota would return to the sport with another part-time team outing, this time under the Equipo Banco Occidental banner.
- Tyrrell would also start fielding turbocharged engines, having forged a works partnership with newcomer manufacturer BMW.
Mid-season
- After using a customer Williams chassis for the first race, Equipo Banco Occidental would begin fielding their own chassis design from the South African Grand Prix onwards.
- Having been accused of violating the technical regulations by FISA, Equipo Banco Occidental were excluded from the Spanish Grand Prix and would ultimately not race in F1 again. As a result of this, FOCA President Bernie Ecclestone arranged a boycott by all teams affiliated with his organisation from the race, initially leading to only the FISA-affiliated teams participating (Ferrari, McLaren, Ligier, Alfa Romeo and Renault). However, several backmarker FOCA teams (Spartec, Osella and Toleman) would elect to break ranks and join in the race.
- Brabham would change engine supply after the German Grand Prix, swapping their naturally aspirated Ford Cosworth engines with new turbocharged TAG-Porsche units.
Driver Changes
Pre-season
- Reigning world champion Alan Jones would elect to make a shock move from Williams to Lotus, with Williams signing Keke Rosberg from Ferrari in his place. Existing Lotus driver Bruno Giacomelli would be reluctantly forced to sign with the back-of-the-grid Osella outfit.
- Ferrari would poach Elio de Angelis from their compatriots at Alfa Romeo, with the latter team opting to give Michele Alboreto his full-time debut in de Angelis' place. The team would also see Mario Andretti choose to retire from Formula One after a poor 1980 campaign, and in his place they signed Arrows driver John Watson.
- Brabham would sign Riccardo Patrese in place of Héctor Rebaque from Arrows.
- After the merry-go-round caused by Chico Serra's season-ending collision in 1980, March opted to keep none of the drivers they used in his seat and instead recruited Derek Daly for his first full-time drive.
- Masahiro Hasemi left McLaren following the termination of their partnership with Nissan and was replaced by Jean-Pierre Jarier.
- ATS would give rookie Rikky Leiviskä his debut.
- Arrows, having lost both of their 1980 drivers, decided to run a new lineup. They took on displaced Hesketh driver Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler for his first full season, and also negotiated a deal with Ligier that would see the former employ Patrick Depailler for the season in exchange for the latter covering the cost of his salary.
- New team Toleman signed former Hesketh driver Valentino Nicchi and Chilean paydriver Eliseo Salazar.
- Ligier would retain Patrick Tambay and after sending his fellow Patrick, Depailler to Arrows signed Gabriel Château as their second driver.
- Osella, having already signed Bruno Giacomelli, would also sign Patrick Gaillard to partner him.
Mid-season
- Rupert Keegan was immediately injured in the season opener and was substituted by Ricardo Zunino for the South African Grand Prix.
- Equipo Banco Occidental would, in a bid to keep themselves afloat, switch their second driver around. After Desiré Wilson completed the first two races, she was switched out with Colombians Ricardo Londoño-Bridge and Roberto Guerrero for the next two races, with the team signing Luciano Sighinolfi to drive for them at the Spanish Grand Prix before they were excluded from the race and the championship.
- Seemingly still being affected by his injuries, Spartec opted to bench Rupert Keegan from the Spanish Grand Prix in favour of Patrick Depailler, a free agent for the race as a result of Arrows joining the FOCA boycott. Keegan would then quit the team after the race in protest of his benching and was replaced for the rest of the season by rookie Derek Warwick.
- After his own outfit was excluded from F1, Emilio de Villota joined the Ligier team on a temporary basis in place of Gabriel Château.
- Didier Pironi was killed in an accident during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Renault would run Luciano Sighinolfi, having freshly acquired a French racing licence, in his place at short notice at the Monaco Grand Prix before switching him out with René Arnoux from the San Marino Grand Prix onwards.
- Patrick Depailler would suffer a fatal crash at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix. Ligier would cancel their planned running of Gabriel Château at the French Grand Prix and instead allowed Arrows to run him. The French team then elected to run a revolving door of drivers; Richard Dallest, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, Thierry Boutsen and Alain Ferté would all pilot the second Ligier at various points during the season.
- Arrows elected to run Eddie Cheever from the British Grand Prix onwards; however he would immediately suffer a season-ending crash and would be replaced for the duration of his absence by Mike Thackwell.
- René Arnoux was sacked by Renault after the British Grand Prix and was replaced by Jean-Pierre Jabouille.
- Believing that Riccardo Patrese had been awarded a race ban, Brabham replaced him with Javier Scarpetta for the Austrian Grand Prix.
- Alan Jones was banned from the Swiss Grand Prix and replaced with debutant Jonathan Palmer.
- A collision at the Swiss Grand Prix between Eliseo Salazar and Jean-Pierre Jabouille saw the former put out of action for the rest of the season and the latter elect to stand down from driving duties. Toleman would replace Salazar with Gabriel Château and Renault would replace Jabouille with rookie Jacques Godard.
Calendar
Championship Grands Prix
Standings
Points System
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Only a driver's best 12 finishes counted towards the championship
FIA Formula One World Drivers Championship
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FIA Formula One World Constructors Championship
Pos | Constructor | # | ARG![]() |
RZA![]() |
BRA![]() |
USW![]() |
ESP![]() |
BEL![]() |
MON![]() |
SMR![]() |
MEX![]() |
FRA![]() |
GBR![]() |
GER![]() |
AUT![]() |
SUI![]() |
ITA![]() |
CAN![]() |
CPL![]() |
Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
11 | Ret | 2 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | 1 | Ret | 3 | 6 | 1 | Ret | Ret | 104 |
12 | 1 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | 1 | 2 | 6† | Ret | 3 | Ret | 2 | Ret | |||
2 | ![]() |
6 | DSQ | 5 | 4 | 4 | WD | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | Ret | Ret | 2 | 3 | Ret | 100 |
5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 2 | WD | Ret | 1 | 2 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 1 | |||
33 | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||
34 | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | ![]() |
4 | 2† | Ret | Ret | 5 | WD | Ret | 13† | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 1 | 1 | Ret | 5 | Ret | 49 |
3 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 8 | WD | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11† | Ret | 1 | 4 | 17† | Ret | 6 | 4 | |||
4 | ![]() |
14 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Ret | 7† | WD | Ret | Ret | 2 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 2 | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | 44 |
15 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | 8† | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | 11 | 8† | |||||||
13 | Ret | 10 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | ![]() |
27 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 1 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | 5 | 16† | 5 | 9 | Ret | 9 | 7 | 33 |
28 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 2 | Ret | 5 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 3 | 7 | 8 | Ret | 8 | 6 | |||
6 | ![]() |
7 | Ret | 3 | 2 | Ret | WD | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 27 | |||||
8 | Ret | 8 | 5 | 7 | WD | 3 | Ret | 6 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 4 | EX | |||||||
7 | ![]() |
24 | Ret | 6 | 7 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | 5 | Ret | 7 | 2 | 17 |
23 | Ret | Ret | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 14† | 5 | 10 | 10 | 13 | Ret | 4 | 12 | Ret | |||
8 | ![]() |
8 | Ret | 4 | 3 | Ret | 3 | 11 | ||||||||||||
7 | 18† | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||||
9 | ![]() |
26 | 6 | 12 | 11 | Ret | 2 | Ret | 5 | Ret | 7 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 10 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 10 |
25 | 8 | 11 | Ret | 12 | 9† | 12 | 7 | 13† | 11 | 9 | 14 | DNQ | 16 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 9 | |||
10 | ![]() |
1 | 4 | 7 | Ret | 11 | 6 | Ret | 11 | 6 | Ret | 7 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 11 | 11 | 10 | |
2 | 7 | 13 | Ret | 13 | WD | 9 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||
11 | ![]() |
29 | Ret | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | 3 | 11 | Ret | 9 | 13† | 6 | Ret | 8 | Ret | 14 | 10 | 14 | Ret | 5 |
30 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13 | 11 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 13 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 17 | 13 | |||
12 | ![]() |
32 | DNPQ | Ret | DNQ | DNPQ | 4 | DNPQ | 12 | DNPQ | Ret | 12† | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | 19 | Ret | 5 |
31 | DNPQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNPQ | 5 | DNPQ | DNQ | DNPQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 18 | DNQ | |||
13 | ![]() |
19 | 5 | 9 | Ret | 16 | WD | 5 | 8 | DNQ | 8 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 14 | 11 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 4 |
18 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 10 | Ret | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14 | 15 | Ret | 11† | 16 | 12 | ||||
14 | ![]() |
9 | Ret | 10 | 9 | Ret | WD | 7 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 8 | DNPQ | Ret | 12 | 16 | 6 | Ret | Ret | 2 |
10 | 10 | 15† | Ret | 17† | WD | 8† | 10 | Ret | Ret | 7 | DNPQ | 12 | DNQ | 15 | 9 | 15 | 10 | |||
15 | ![]() |
22 | DNPQ | Ret | Ret | 15 | 6 | 15 | DNPQ | Ret | DNPQ | DNPQ | 13 | DNPQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | DNPQ | DNPQ | 1 |
21 | DNPQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 14† | DNPQ | Ret | DNPQ | DNPQ | Ret | DNPQ | 17 | Ret | Ret | DNPQ | DNPQ | |||
16 | ![]() |
17 | 9 | DNPQ | DNPQ | 14 | WD | Ret | 9 | Ret | 12 | 10 | 12 | Ret | DNPQ | DNPQ | DNPQ | DNQ | Ret | 0 |
16 | Ret | DNPQ | DNPQ | DNQ | WD | 10 | DNQ | Ret | DNQ | DNQ | 15 | 15 | DNPQ | DNPQ | DNPQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||
17 | ![]() |
33 | DNPQ | DNPQ | DNPQ | EX | 0 | |||||||||||||
34 | DNPQ | DNPQ | DNPQ | EX |
Related Links
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