Race
Patrick Tambay took a popular victory in his Ferrari in front of a delighted Tifosi . Driving the #27 car, Tambay dedicated his win to the man he had replaced in the Ferrari team, the late Gilles Villeneuve . It was almost a perfect weekend for the Maranello -based team with René Arnoux qualifying on pole and finishing third. Renault's Alain Prost finished in second place, passing Arnoux with three laps left after the #28 Ferrari spun at the Acque Minerali chicane. Brabham driver Riccardo Patrese had taken the lead from Tambay with six laps remaining, but only held the lead for half a lap before crashing at Acque Minerali. He later described the accident as "purely my mistake". Showing their love for Ferrari more than for an Italian driver in a non-Italian car, the Tifosi cheered as Patrese handed the lead back to Frenchman Tambay in his Ferrari to take his second and last F1 victory. This would be the last time that Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari saw his Formula One team score a victory in person. 85 years old at the time of the 1983 San Marino Grand Prix , Enzo never attended races outside Italy anymore, and Ferrari would not win again on Italian soil again until the month after Enzo died in August 1988. Ferrari would not win at Imola again until Michael Schumacher in 1999 . As of the end of the 2024 season, this remains the last race where all three drivers on the podium wer...
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Tyre | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Patrick Tambay | Ferrari | G | 60 |
| 2 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | M | 60 |
| 3 | 28 | René Arnoux | Ferrari | G | 59 |
| 4 | 1 | Keke Rosberg | Williams-Ford | G | 59 |
| 5 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren-Ford | M | 59 |
| 6 | 29 | Marc Surer | Arrows-Ford | G | 59 |
| 7 | 2 | Jacques Laffite | Williams-Ford | G | 59 |
| 8 | 30 | Chico Serra | Arrows-Ford | G | 58 |
| 9 | 26 | Raul Boesel | Ligier-Ford | M | 58 |
| 10 | 23 | Mauro Baldi | Alfa Romeo | M | 57 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | René Arnoux | Ferrari | 1:33.419 | 1:31.238 |
| 2 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham-BMW | 1:33.542 | 1:31.964 |
| 3 | 27 | Patrick Tambay | Ferrari | 1:34.221 | 1:31.967 |
| 4 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:33.653 | 1:32.138 |
| 5 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham-BMW | 1:36.243 | 1:32.969 |
| 6 | 16 | Eddie Cheever | Renault | 1:33.888 | 1:33.450 |
| 7 | 9 | Manfred Winkelhock | ATS-BMW | 1:35.010 | 1:33.470 |
| 8 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Alfa Romeo | 1:34.345 | 1:33.528 |
| 9 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus-Renault | 1:35.091 | 1:34.332 |
| 10 | 23 | Mauro Baldi | Alfa Romeo | 1:35.000 | 1:36.620 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The Tifosi went wild, of course, for Tambay's victory, a genuine tribute to Villeneuve – though you sense a subtle shift within Ferrari, a calculated move to manage expectations, wouldn't you agree? Prost's late surge, exploiting Arnoux's misjudgment at Acque Minerali – the #28's Ford-Peña engine simply couldn't maintain grip on the slick asphalt. Patrese's brief dominion, a 600 horsepower Ford-Peña blur, evaporated almost immediately; a testament to the inherent instability of those early suspension setups. Don't underestimate the pressure Renault was feeling, chasing Ferrari's pace with a brand new engine design.
The Tifosi, predictably ecstatic, are celebrating a victory steeped in melancholy. But let's dissect this, shall we? Ferrari's 1-2-3 finish – a statistically improbable outcome given McLaren's Ford power – echoes a larger trend. Consider the pole position count: Renault secured it, yet only managed a second-place finish. A curious imbalance, wouldn't you agree?
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The rain hadn't stopped, not really, just lessened to a sullen drizzle. Patrese's exit – a textbook slide at Acque Minerali – wasn't a surprise, not entirely. Villeneuve's ghost hung heavy over that corner, a tangible force. You could almost hear the late Canadian urging the young Scot to *push*. But pushing too hard, as Tambay's victory demonstrated, can be a fatal mistake. Prost, predictably, smelled opportunity, a subtle smirk playing on his lips as he muscled past Arnoux. The Renault camp, always calculating, were already discussing the potential for a driver swap with Ferrari – a quiet, insistent pressure. Villeneuve's legacy, it seems, is a remarkably effective bargaining chip.
The rain hadn't bothered Tambay, not a drop. He's always been a man who understood the weight of expectation, particularly when draped in that scarlet. Villeneuve's ghost hung heavy over Maranello, you could practically taste it in the champagne. A victory like this—a clean, dignified affair—was precisely what the late Canadian would have wanted. Prost, of course, was a shrewd observer, assessing the landscape, calculating the future. Patrese's shunt, though spectacular, felt… calculated. A subtle reminder that even the most promising drivers are ultimately at the mercy of the track. The Tifosi roared, but the paddock murmured a different story.