| 1981 British Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 15 in the1981 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 18 July 1981 | ||
| Official name | XXXIV Marlboro British Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, Great Britain | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.718[1] km (2.932 miles) | ||
| Distance | 68 laps, 320.824[1] km (199.351 miles) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:11.000 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  René Arnoux | Renault | |
| Time | 1:15.067 on lap 50 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Second | Williams-Ford | ||
| Third | Ligier-Matra | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1981 British Grand Prix was aFormula Onemotor race held atSilverstone on 18 July 1981. It was the ninth race of the1981 Formula One World Championship.John Watson won his first race for five years, andMcLaren's first sinceJames Hunt's victory at the1977 Japanese Grand Prix. The race also marked the first victory for a graphite composite monocoque F1 car, theMcLaren MP4/1.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:12.158 | 1:11.000 | — |
| 2 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:12.237 | 1:11.046 | +0.046 |
| 3 | 5 |  Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:12.328 | 1:11.952 | +0.952 |
| 4 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:14.070 | 1:12.644 | +1.644 |
| 5 | 7 |  John Watson | McLaren-Ford | 1:13.370 | 1:12.712 | +1.712 |
| 6 | 8 |  Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren-Ford | 1:13.976 | 1:12.728 | +1.728 |
| 7 | 1 |  Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:12.998 | 1:13.250 | +1.998 |
| 8 | 27 |  Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:14.182 | 1:13.311 | +2.311 |
| 9 | 2 |  Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:13.467 | 1:13.371 | +2.371 |
| 10 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:15.217 | 1:13.762 | +2.762 |
| 11 | 22 |  Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:14.440 | 1:13.928 | +2.928 |
| 12 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:14.119 | 1:14.442 | +3.119 |
| 13 | 6 |  Héctor Rebaque | Brabham-Ford | 1:14.594 | 1:14.542 | +3.542 |
| 14 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier-Matra | 1:15.313 | 1:14.798 | +3.798 |
| 15 | 25 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier-Matra | 1:15.656 | 1:14.976 | +3.976 |
| 16 | 20 |  Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:16.695 | 1:15.165 | +4.165 |
| 17 | 17 |  Derek Daly | March-Ford | 1:15.189 | 1:15.303 | +4.189 |
| 18 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows-Ford | 1:17.229 | 1:15.304 | +4.304 |
| 19 | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.446 | 1:15.850 | +4.850 |
| 20 | 32 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford | 1:15.943 | 1:15.898 | +4.898 |
| 21 | 9 |  Slim Borgudd | ATS-Ford | 1:16.758 | 1:15.959 | +4.959 |
| 22 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Ford | 1:16.029† | 1:15.971 | +4.971 |
| 23 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:16.381 | 1:16.099 | +5.099 |
| 24 | 33 |  Marc Surer | Theodore-Ford | 1:17.124 | 1:16.155 | +5.155 |
| 25 | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 1:18.173 | 1:16.360 | +5.360 |
| 26 | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman-Hart | 1:16.388 | 1:19.602 | +5.388 |
| 27 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:15.992† | 1:16.432 | +5.432 |
| 28 | 14 |  Eliseo Salazar | Ensign-Ford | 1:17.053 | 1:16.694 | +5.694 |
| 29 | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:17.998 | 1:16.891 | +5.891 |
| 30 | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella-Ford | 1:20.377 | 1:17.784 | +6.784 |
| Source:[2] | ||||||
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| Previous race: 1981 French Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1981 season | Next race: 1981 German Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1980 British Grand Prix | British Grand Prix | Next race: 1982 British Grand Prix |
