1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix

Championship standings

Three drivers arrive in Las Vegas able to win the title. Reutemann leads with 49 points from two wins; Piquet has 48 points from three wins; Laffite has an outside chance on 43 from two wins, including the previous race in Canada. Reigning champion Jones is mathematically eliminated after failing to finish in Montreal.

Previous race

At Montreal, Laffite won in the wet from Watson and Villeneuve. Piquet finished fifth; Reutemann could only manage tenth. Despite both Williams drivers failing to score, Williams clinched the Constructors’ Championship.

Between-race developments

Niki Lauda has confirmed he will return to Formula One with McLaren in 1982. Many in the paddock are unhappy about racing on the parking lot of a Las Vegas casino.

Championship permutations

Reutemann would become the first Argentine World Champion since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957. Laffite would be the first French Drivers’ Champion. Piquet would become the second Brazilian World Champion after Emerson Fittipaldi, who took his second title in 1974.

Jones, starting alongside Reutemann on the front row, is retiring from Formula One after this race and has been explicit that he will not assist Reutemann in the championship. Jones said, “I don’t see how I can help him; I would not go holding up people as I am a member of the British Commonwealth and I would consider that unsporting.”

Weather

Conditions are dry, 24 °C.

Circuit notes

The Caesars Palace circuit runs counter-clockwise — unusual for Formula One — which places exceptional strain on the drivers’ necks, accustomed to the more common clockwise direction. Combined with the desert heat, endurance is expected to be a significant factor all weekend. In practice, Piquet is visibly suffering; he received a 90-minute massage from Sugar Ray Leonard’s masseur to address his back and what he calls “Las Vegas neck.”