1981 F1 Season
15 races · Brabham BT49C
Nelson Piquet won his first title by a single point, 50 to 49, over Carlos Reutemann, and he won it at the final race, on a circuit laid out in a Las Vegas hotel car park. Reutemann arrived there leading and started from pole. He finished eighth, a lap down and without points. Piquet came home fifth, scored two and took the championship.
The most complete car of the year, however, was Reutemann's. Williams won the constructors' championship with 95 points to Brabham's 61, and between them Reutemann and Alan Jones, the reigning champion, scored 95 to their rival's 50. The trouble is that they split them between two drivers, and Piquet had everything to himself.
It was also a very open season: seven different winners, with Alain Prost scoring his first three victories for Renault and Gilles Villeneuve winning at Monaco and Jarama with Ferrari's first turbo. Jacques Laffite won in Montreal from tenth on the grid, and Alan Jones won the last race of the year.
Drivers’ Champion
Nelson Piquet
Brabham BT49C
Constructors’ Champion
Williams
15 races
Ver en españolKey moment
«Reutemann arrived at the last race as leader, started on pole and finished eighth without points: he lost the title by one.»
How 1981 actually ended
The official final standings, from the United States Grand Prix West to the Caesars Palace Grand Prix. This is the real result.
| Driver | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Nelson PiquetBrabham | 50 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 2Carlos ReutemannWilliams | 49 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| 3Alan JonesWilliams | 46 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 4Jacques LaffiteLigier | 44 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 5Alain ProstRenault | 43 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 6John WatsonMcLaren | 27 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 7Gilles VilleneuveFerrari | 25 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 8Elio de AngelisTeam Lotus | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
It came down to 1 point: Piquet and Reutemann finished closer than a fourth place is worth. 7 different drivers won that year, and the final Grand Prix went to Alan Jones.
Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).
1981, race by race
All 15 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.
7different drivers won: Piquet 3 · Prost 3 · Villeneuve 2 · Jones 2 · Laffite 2 · Reutemann 2 · Watson 1.
6different teams won: Williams 4 · Brabham 3 · Renault 3 · Ferrari 2 · Ligier 2 · McLaren 1.
7different drivers took pole: Arnoux 4 · Piquet 4 · Prost 2 · Reutemann 2 · Villeneuve 1 · Laffite 1 · Patrese 1.
11different drivers stood on the podium.
2one-twos for a single team: Williams 2.
3 of 15races were won from pole position.
1first-ever win: Alain Prost (French Grand Prix).
From 10ththe win from furthest back: Jacques Laffite, Canadian Grand Prix.
26 years, 131 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Alain Prost, French Grand Prix.
48%of starts reached the flag (171 of 355).
8 of 24cars finished the United States Grand Prix West, the race with fewest survivors.
| # | Grand Prix | Winner | Started |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Grand Prix West | Alan JonesWilliams | 2nd |
| 2 | Brazilian Grand Prix | Carlos ReutemannWilliams | 2nd |
| 3 | Argentine Grand Prix | Nelson PiquetBrabham | 1st |
| 4 | San Marino Grand Prix | Nelson PiquetBrabham | 5th |
| 5 | Belgian Grand Prix | Carlos ReutemannWilliams | 1st |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | Gilles VilleneuveFerrari | 2nd |
| 7 | Spanish Grand Prix | Gilles VilleneuveFerrari | 7th |
| 8 | French Grand Prix | Alain ProstRenault | 3rd |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | John WatsonMcLaren | 5th |
| 10 | German Grand Prix | Nelson PiquetBrabham | 6th |
| 11 | Austrian Grand Prix | Jacques LaffiteLigier | 4th |
| 12 | Dutch Grand Prix | Alain ProstRenault | 1st |
| 13 | Italian Grand Prix | Alain ProstRenault | 3rd |
| 14 | Canadian Grand Prix | Jacques LaffiteLigier | 10th |
| 15 | Caesars Palace Grand Prix | Alan JonesWilliams | 2nd |
Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Our source has no fastest laps before 2004.
1981 predates 1988, the year our simulator starts, so this page tells what happened and has no simulation. From 1988 on, every season can be run again a hundred times with its drivers and cars.
See 1988, the first simulated season →Drivers of 1981
Keep reading
What we have measured about 1981 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.
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