Summary
Defending World Champion Alan Jones finished nine seconds ahead of teammate Carlos Reutemann , and won his first Long Beach Grand Prix, as the 1981 season finally began after a winter of controversy and legal battles. It was the third consecutive Grand Prix win for Jones, and his second consecutive in the United States, after seizing the 1980 Drivers' title with season-ending wins in Montreal, Canada and Watkins Glen, New York . The off-season had seen FISA (La Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile) and FOCA (the Formula One Constructors' Association ) in conflict, ostensibly over FISA's scheduled ban of aerodynamic skirts on the cars, but also over financial control of the sport. After threatening to institute their own championship, FOCA agreed to the skirt ban on assurance of their continued control of the sport's finances and FISA's commitment to a four-year period of stability in the rules. Just 10 days pri...
Race
In addition to the new rules, Goodyear announced in December that it intended to withdraw immediately from all involvement in European racing. So, when the teams arrived in Long Beach for the first Championship race of the season, the Friday morning practice sessions were filled with frantic activity. Larger wings, softer springs and revised sidepods were in evidence for nearly everyone, trying to make up for the absence of the banned skirts. With all teams also using Michelin tires as well, man... When the teams arrived in the Los Angeles area town of Long Beach, the demanding and tight street circuit had been slightly modified from the year before- the second left-hander on Pine Avenue had been made a single-apex corner instead of a double-apex. On Saturday, yet another legal issue arose over the new twin-chassis Lotus 88 , designed by Colin Chapman and Martin Ogilvie. A protest was lodged by a majority of the teams, although they did not specify what rules it was breaking. The car was initially approved by the FISA technical staff and passed by the scrutineers, allowing it to take part in Friday practice. Ultimately, however, the teams' appeal was allowed, the car was banned from the rest of the weekend and Lotus had to qualify and rac... Lap 17 was a bad one for Ferrari as Piquet finally passed Pironi for fourth, and Villeneuve retired with a broken driveshaft. On lap 25, Reutemann took the lead from Patrese just a lap before Patrese pitted with a misfiring engine. He rejoined the race with a new spark box, but after two more stops for the same problem, finally retired with a broken fuel pickup. Patrese's retirement left Reutemann with a three-second lead over teammate Jones, who immediately began closing the gap by half a second per lap. Any questions about team orders letting the number one driver through were soon answered. On lap 32, while lapping Marc Surer 's Ensign , Reutemann slid wide in the esses on Pine Avenue, and Jones went through for the lead. Within 12 laps, the defending World Champion had stretched out a lead of ten seconds. At the same time, Reutemann was extending hi... On lap 41, Jacques Laffite tried to go by Cheever as they entered the right-hander after the pits. Instead, he ran into the back of the Tyrrell, bending the nose of his Ligier and damaging Cheever's gearbox. Laffite had to limp around the entire course, and as he was finally about to enter the pits, Bruno Giacomelli approached, with Jan Lammers between the two of them. Giacomelli started to pass both cars on the inside, but realized he couldn't when Laffite turned to enter the pit lane. Giacomel... Laffite's retirement interrupted an extended battle with Pironi, Cheever and Andretti for fourth place. Andretti passed Cheever for fifth on lap 43, then traded fourth several times with Pironi, before finally taking the position for good on lap 54. Pironi's Ferrari had developed a fuel feed problem and Cheever was also able to go by to take fifth. In making the pass, however, he lost his damaged second gear, by far the one most used on the tight street circuit.
Qualifying
Sunday's weather, typical of Long Beach was perfect, but the first lap was not. Villeneuve made a wild charge down the outside off the grid and briefly took the lead, but he left his braking for the Queens Hairpin far too late. As he went wide, Patrese and the Williams pair of Reutemann and Jones all went through. Villeneuve was able to gather it in and rejoin in fourth, but Andrea de Cesaris did not, as he ran his McLaren into the back of both Alain Prost and Héctor Rebaque approaching the hair...
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 80 | 1:50:41.33 |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 80 | + 9.19 |
| 3 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 80 | + 34.92 |
| 4 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 80 | + 49.31 |
| 5 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 80 | + 1:06.70 |
| 6 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore-Ford | 79 | + 1 Lap |
| 7 | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi-Ford | 78 | + 2 Laps |
| 8 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 77 | + 3 Laps |
| Ret | 14 | Marc Surer | Ensign-Ford | 70 | Fuel System |
| Ret | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 67 | Fuel System |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows-Ford | 1:21.983 | 1:19.399 |
| 2 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams-Ford | 1:20.911 | 1:19.408 |
| 3 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:21.739 | 1:20.149 |
| 4 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:22.675 | 1:20.289 |
| 5 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:21.723 | 1:20.462 |
| 6 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:22.020 | 1:20.476 |
| 7 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus-Ford | 1:22.461 | 1:20.573 |
| 8 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell-Ford | 1:22.992 | 1:20.643 |
| 9 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:22.592 | 1:20.664 |
| 10 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Ligier-Matra | 1:21.722 | 1:20.787 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air hung thick with the scent of salt and something far more potent – the raw, untamed fury of sixteen-cylinder engines. Jones, piloting his Brabham BT51, a beast breathing 2. 0 liters of Ford's DFX power, was carving a path through the Californian sun. That engine, a titan of its time, delivered a staggering 235 horsepower, yet the Tyrrells, sporting Ford's 3. 5-liter V8, were nipping at his heels, demonstrating a relentless pursuit of torque. A curious detail: the Alfa Romeo team, utilizing a slightly smaller 2. 0-liter engine, ironically achieved competitive lap times, a testament to their meticulous attention to tire management – a strategy vital given the Bridgestone compound's sensitivity to heat.
The salt air of Long Beach tasted of anticipation, didn't it? A palpable tension hung over the track – the culmination of a winter sculpted by boardroom battles and the shadow of FISA's increasingly insistent hand. Jones, a titan forged in the crucible of Watkins Glen, secured his victory by a scant nine seconds, a margin that, considering the raw power unleashed beneath those Brabham-Ford chassis, felt almost… delicate.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The asphalt shimmered, a fractured mirror reflecting the California sun – and the sheer, unadulterated fury of Alan Jones. A fraction of a second. That's all it took. Reutemann, a steel grey blur alongside him, desperate to deny the momentum, the *feeling* of dominance. The roar of the Cosworth engines, a primal scream against the backdrop of the Pacific, seemed to amplify the tension. Jones, a solitary figure against the vast blue, wrestled the Tyrrell into the corner, a testament to precision and unwavering will. Victory, a tangible thing, tasted of oil and adrenaline. A new era, forged in the heat of Long Beach.
The rain, a persistent, insistent grey, mirrored the mood in the Ferrari garage. Reutemann, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, stared at the telemetry – a fractured rhythm of power delivery, a desperate plea from the engine. He recalled the whispers in Modena, the doubts seeded by FISA's tightening grip, the unspoken anxieties about the new regulations. A younger Reutemann, brimming with a fiery ambition, would have raged against such constraints. But time, like the relentless California sun, had tempered the steel. This Long Beach victory, earned against the odds, was not merely a triumph of speed, but a quiet assertion of will. A testament to a champion refusing to be defined by the shadows.