1983 European Grand Prix

Championship standings

Prost leads with 51 points. Arnoux is second on 49, Piquet third on 46, and Tambay fourth on 40. Eighteen points are available. Ferrari leads the Constructors’ Championship by 17 points from Renault.

Previous race

Piquet won Monza for his first victory since the season opener in Brazil. Arnoux was second and Cheever third. Prost retired with turbo failure on lap 27, allowing Piquet and Arnoux to close sharply in the championship. An unusual incident mid-race saw Lauda’s McLaren stall in front of the Brabham garage; Bernie Ecclestone and the Brabham crew pushed him clear, but Lauda retired shortly after with an electrical failure.

Background

A third United States Grand Prix, planned for a temporary circuit at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, was cancelled at short notice due to local protests. Brands Hatch organised a replacement race under the European Grand Prix title — the first time that designation has been used as a standalone championship event title rather than as an honorary designation for an existing national Grand Prix.

Eight of the entered drivers are making their second visit of the year to Brands Hatch, which hosted the non-championship Race of Champions on 10 April.

Entrants

Theodore has been unable to fund a second entry; Roberto Guerrero drives the sole remaining car. The team will not appear at the final race. Spirit Racing is also not travelling to Brands Hatch, focusing resources on preparation for its 1984 full season.

Williams had planned to debut the Honda turbo-powered FW09 at this race but has decided to wait until the South African finale. The team does enter a third car for Jonathan Palmer — Formula Two champion and Williams test driver — making his Formula One debut at his home race.