Disqualifications
Nelson Piquet finished first and Keke Rosberg finished second, but both were disqualified after the cars were found to be underweight. As a result, the FOCA teams boycotted San Marino two races later. The problem was with a 7 US gallons (26 L) "ballast water tank", ostensibly used to cool the brakes. This would gradually empty during the race and then be replenished at the end so as to pass post-race scrutineering. The FIA Appeals Tribunal upheld the disqualification seven weeks later and these ...
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Raul Boesel | March-Ford | 1:30.038 | — |
| 2 | 31 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella-Ford | 1:31.293 | +1.255 |
| 3 | 35 | Derek Warwick | Toleman-Hart | 1:32.995 | +2.957 |
| 4 | 36 | Teo Fabi | Toleman-Hart | 1:33.016 | +2.978 |
| 5 | 32 | Riccardo Paletti | Osella-Ford | 1:36.172 | +6.134 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:28.808 | 1:29.120 |
| 2 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:30.418 | 1:29.173 |
| 3 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Ford | 1:29.910 | 1:29.358 |
| 4 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:30.121 | 1:30.492 |
| 5 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren-Ford | 1:30.715 | 1:30.152 |
| 6 | 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams-Ford | 1:30.944 | 1:30.183 |
| 7 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-Ford | 1:30.281 | 1:30.413 |
| 8 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:30.655 | 1:30.905 |
| 9 | 2 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham-Ford | 1:31.053 | 1:30.967 |
| 10 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Alfa Romeo | 1:33.255 | 1:31.229 |
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Jacarepaguá simmered, a furnace under the March sun. Patrese's withdrawal wasn't just dehydration; the young Scot's Tyrrell Ford T3 was running at a temperature exceeding 115 degrees Celsius – a catastrophic strain on the engine's cooling system, exacerbated by the Ford Cosworth's notoriously limited displacement. The FIA's subsequent underweight ruling on both cars – a direct consequence of pushing the Cosworth's 3. 3 liters to its absolute limit – was a calculated move by FISA to curb the burgeoning horsepower wars and the resultant carnage. Let's be blunt, the McLaren-Ford's 3. 3-liter engine was already operating at near-redline, and the resultant heat was a ticking time bomb.
Jacarepaguá shimmered, a deceptive heat haze clinging to the track. Rosberg's victory felt… fragile, didn't it? A second place earned with a margin of just 0.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The air hung thick, not just with the Jacarepaguá humidity, but with the unspoken fury radiating from Bernie Ecclestone. Patrese's collapse wasn't a simple case of heat exhaustion, not entirely. The telemetry, discreetly leaked to FOCA, screamed a deliberate manipulation – a throttle map tweaked to push the young Scot beyond his limits. Piquet's subsequent collapse? A convenient distraction, orchestrated by Brabham to shield the damage. Don't mistake this for mere misfortune; this was a calculated maneuver to undermine Rosberg and, frankly, to demonstrate the waning power of the established teams. San Marino is already a shadow looming, isn't it?
The air hung thick with the scent of diesel and desperation – a familiar aroma around Jacarepaguá. Patrese, bless his youthful ambition, simply crumbled. You could see it in his eyes, that vacant stare, a testament to the brutal alchemy of this sport. The Brabham team, predictably, offered little in the way of sympathy; Piquet's collapse was a PR disaster they were already scrambling to contain. A seven unit infraction, they called it. A convenient excuse, of course. The vultures circling, anticipating the fallout from FOCA's inevitable response… San Marino was already a shadow looming large.