1981 Austrian Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Championship standings
Piquet’s third win of the season at Hockenheim moves him to within eight points of championship leader Reutemann, who retired with an engine failure.
Previous race
At Hockenheim, Piquet inherited victory when Jones, who had fought past Prost for the lead, suffered a misfiring engine and pitted in the closing laps as rain fell. Prost finished second, Laffite third. Reutemann retired on lap 28 with an engine failure; Arnoux was also delayed by a puncture caused by contact with Piquet in the opening moments.
Between-race developments
The Fittipaldi team is absent, unable to secure enough engines. Tyrrell has switched back from Avon to Goodyear. Eddie Cheever fails to qualify in the new Tyrrell 011.
Circuit notes
The Österreichring’s extra altitude gives a natural advantage to turbocharged cars. The Renaults of Prost and Arnoux and Villeneuve’s Ferrari are expected to benefit from the thin air.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1981 Austrian Grand Prix” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 5 Races
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 31 May | 🇲🇨 Monaco Grand Prix | Piquet | Villeneuve | Jones | Laffite |
| 7 | 21 Jun | 🇪🇸 Spanish Grand Prix | Laffite | Villeneuve | Laffite | Watson |
| 8 | 5 Jul | 🇫🇷 French Grand Prix | Arnoux | Prost | Watson | Piquet |
| 9 | 18 Jul | 🇬🇧 British Grand Prix | Arnoux | Watson | Reutemann | Laffite |
| 10 | 2 Aug | 🇩🇪 German Grand Prix | Prost | Piquet | Prost | Laffite |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams | 43 | 2 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 35 | 3 |
| 3 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 25 | 0 |
| 4 | Alan Jones | Williams | 24 | 1 |
| 5 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 21 | 2 |
| 6 | John Watson | McLaren | 20 | 1 |
| 7 | Alain Prost | Renault | 19 | 1 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 10 | 0 |
| 9 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell | 10 | 0 |
| 10 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham | 8 | 0 |