1981 German Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Championship standings
Reutemann leads the championship, now referred to as the World Championship leader heading into Hockenheim.
Previous race
At Silverstone, Watson won for McLaren — his first victory since the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix and McLaren’s first since James Hunt’s win at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix. Reutemann finished second and Laffite third. Prost had led until a plug problem forced him to pit and retire; Villeneuve caused a multi-car incident on lap 5 that eliminated Jones and de Cesaris. Piquet crashed at Becketts on lap 12 with leg injuries.
Between-race developments
Team Lotus returns with a pair of Lotus 87s carrying new JPS sponsorship. Tyrrell has switched from Avon to Goodyear tyres for this race; Arrows are on Pirelli; Lotus on Goodyear.
Milestones
Alain Prost takes his first career Formula One pole position, almost half a second ahead of teammate Arnoux.
Track changes
The pit entrance has been modified and moved earlier on the circuit; drivers now enter the pits at a slower speed than before.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1981 German 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 17 May | 🇧🇪 Belgian Grand Prix | Reutemann | Reutemann | Laffite | Mansell |
| 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 |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams | 43 | 2 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 26 | 2 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | Williams | 24 | 1 |
| 4 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 21 | 2 |
| 5 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 21 | 0 |
| 6 | John Watson | McLaren | 19 | 1 |
| 7 | Alain Prost | Renault | 13 | 1 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 10 | 0 |
| 9 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell | 8 | 0 |
| 10 | Elio de Angelis | Team Lotus | 8 | 0 |