1981 Belgian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Piquet leads the championship after back-to-back wins at Argentina and San Marino. Reutemann remains close after his early-season wins.

Previous race

At Imola, Villeneuve took pole in the Ferrari and led early before an ill-fated stop for slick tyres brought him back into contention mid-race. Piquet won from Patrese and Reutemann, with Pironi a distant fifth after leading and damaging a skirt early on.

Between-race developments

With 32 entries for Zolder, pressure is applied to ATS and Theodore to withdraw cars. ATS responds by withdrawing Jan Lammers and entering Slim Borgudd — the drummer for ABBA — whose world-famous band’s logo on the sidepods is a bid to attract sponsors. Patrick Tambay loses his Theodore seat and has no drive this weekend. Piercarlo Ghinzani replaces the injured Miguel Ángel Guerra at Osella; Guerra fractured his wrist and ankle in the San Marino Grand Prix accident.

Mechanics’ safety concerns

During Friday practice, Osella mechanic Giovanni Amadeo steps off the pitwall into the path of Reutemann’s Williams. Reutemann cannot avoid him; Amadeo suffers a fractured skull and dies on the Monday after the race. The incident triggers a formal protest from mechanics and several drivers — Villeneuve, Prost, Laffite, Pironi and others — over the congested pit conditions at Zolder, which is expected to delay the race start.