1981 Formula One World Championship: Piquet's First Title and the Concorde Agreement

The 1981 season was the first run under the FIA Formula One World Championship name, and it was fought against a backdrop of rule disputes and a new commercial agreement. Fifteen rounds took the field from Long Beach to Las Vegas, and Nelson Piquet claimed his first drivers' title for Brabham.

What was the 1981 Formula One World Championship?

The 1981 championship ran for fifteen rounds between 15 March and 17 October and was the 35th season of FIA Formula One racing. It replaced the old World Championship of Drivers and International Cup for Constructors with a single championship name. Piquet won the Drivers' Championship, and Williams took the Constructors' title for the second consecutive year.

The South African Grand Prix at Kyalami was held as a non-championship race because of the continuing FISA-FOCA dispute. It was open to Formula One entrants but did not count towards the title, so the championship itself began at Long Beach.

Piquet's title came after a season of close fights between the Williams drivers, Carlos Reutemann and Alan Jones, and a strong Renault team led by Alain Prost. Piquet's three wins were enough to give him the crown, and it was the first of his three world titles.

A season of rule disputes and car park racing, ending with the first world title for Nelson Piquet.

What was the Concorde Agreement and why did it matter?

Bernie Ecclestone, the Brabham owner who spoke for the FOCA group, pressed the teams to sign the first Concorde Agreement. It required teams to lodge entries for the whole championship rather than for individual races, and it set out how the FIA would handle prize money.

The agreement was intended to set Formula One on course to become a profitable business. A standardised set of rules applied at every race, and from 1982 the entrants had to own the intellectual rights to the chassis they entered. That change blurred the distinction between the terms entrant and constructor.

The agreement also sat at the heart of the wider dispute. The governing body FISA, led by Jean-Marie Balestre, had its own view of the sport, and the fight over its terms shaped the calendar and the entry lists throughout the year.

Which teams and drivers changed for 1981?

There was a great deal of change over the winter. Ligier lost Didier Pironi to Ferrari, Renault signed Alain Prost despite his contract with McLaren, and McLaren signed Andrea de Cesaris from Alfa Romeo. Nigel Mansell was promoted to a full-season drive with Lotus.

Several teams changed their structure. Shadow was absorbed into Theodore Racing halfway through 1980, and Theodore entered 1981 with its own chassis. March returned to Formula One using a Williams chassis that RAM Racing had raced the year before, and Toleman arrived after finishing first and second in the 1980 European Formula Two Championship.

Ligier had substantial sponsorship from Talbot and other French companies, and Talbot supplied Matra V12 engines. Tyrrell lost both its 1980 drivers and hired Eddie Cheever from Osella along with the inexperienced Kevin Cogan.

Mid-season changes were frequent. Cogan failed to qualify for the opening race and was sacked, and Ricardo Zunino made way for Michele Alboreto after two races. Eliseo Salazar moved from March to Ensign before Spain, and Jacques Villeneuve Sr., brother of Gilles, made his Formula One debut with Arrows in the last two races.

What regulation changes came in 1981?

The 1981 rules brought several changes to the cars and the race weekend. The survival cell was treated as an integral part of the car for the first time, and it had to extend in front of the driver's feet and be fully reinforced. The minimum weight rose from 575 kg (1,268 lb) to 585 kg (1,290 lb).

Sliding skirts were banned, and cars had to run with a 6 cm ground clearance to reduce downforce. Tyre barriers were installed at certain tracks for the first time, and every pit lane had to be at least 10 m (33 ft) wide.

The grid was also changed. Drivers were placed in a 1x1x1 pattern rather than the staggered 2x2 arrangement used before, and the Lotus 88 was banned for the season. The controversy over Brabham's hydro-pneumatic suspension, which Brabham had developed to meet the ground clearance rule, dominated much of the early discussion.

Why was the South African race not part of the championship?

Kyalami had originally been due to host the first round, on 7 February. The FISA-FOCA dispute led FISA to insist on a change of date that the organisers could not accept, and the race was run as a Formula Libre event on its original date instead.

The race was supported by the FOCA teams, while Ferrari, Ligier, Osella, Renault and Alfa Romeo stayed away. Cars ran in 1980 specification with sliding skirts, and the race was held in wet conditions. Reutemann won, 20 seconds ahead of Piquet.

Reutemann's weekend had an alarming moment in qualifying. His Williams spun into the catch fencing, which wrapped around his windpipe, and marshals had to free him. Reutemann recovered to win the wet race after choosing slicks, a gamble that paid off when most of the field ran wet-weather tyres.

How did the opening races unfold?

Long Beach was the first championship round, and Jones won it. Patrese took pole for Arrows, but Villeneuve's Ferrari suffered a driveshaft failure, and Reutemann passed Jones for second before Jones moved ahead on the circuit. Jones led a Williams one-two, with Piquet third.

At Jacarepagua in Brazil, Reutemann won after disobeying team orders. The team showed pitboards reading JONES-REUT to tell him to let Jones through, but he did not budge, and Jones was furious. Jones did not take part in the podium ceremony, and Patrese finished third.

The opening rounds continued with Argentina, where Piquet won by more than 25 seconds. Reutemann was second and Prost third. The race was held in cooler April weather, and Colin Chapman left the Lotus pit before practice began after a dispute over the Lotus 88 ban.

How did San Marino and Belgium unfold?

The San Marino Grand Prix at Imola was a new fixture on the calendar. Villeneuve took pole in the turbocharged Ferrari, and the race began in wet conditions. Pironi led for much of the race, but Piquet passed him late in the race and went on to win.

At the back of the field, Miguel Angel Guerra was hit by Eliseo Salazar's March and cut from his wreck with serious leg injuries. Patrese finished second and Reutemann third, while Pironi dropped to fifth.

Belgium at Zolder was a difficult weekend. Reutemann ran over an Osella mechanic, Giovanni Amadeo, who later died from a skull fracture. At the start, an Arrows mechanic, Dave Luckett, was run over and seriously injured, and the drivers complained about the pit congestion and the handling of the start.

Piquet took the lead from Pironi, but on lap 20 the Williams of Jones jumped out of gear and hit the barriers. The race was called off at 75 per cent distance because of rain, and Reutemann took his last Grand Prix win.

Who won Monaco and the Spanish Grand Prix?

Villeneuve won Monaco after Piquet slid off at Tabac on lap 53 and Jones's car had a fuel vaporisation problem. Villeneuve took the lead from Jones at Ste Devote on lap 72, and Jones finished second with Laffite third. Jones had led for much of the afternoon before his problem.

Spain at Jarama produced one of the closest finishes of the period. Villeneuve won in intense heat, with Laffite second and Watson third. The leading group crossed the line within a little over one second, and the race is still remembered as a close finish.

The Spanish race was the last Spanish Grand Prix until 1986, when it moved to the new Jerez circuit near Seville. Its small crowd and the time of year were given as reasons for its withdrawal.

How did France and Britain go?

At Dijon-Prenois, Prost won his home race ahead of Watson and Piquet. Watson started from second on the grid, and Arnoux had qualified on pole for Renault. Torrential rain stopped the race on lap 58, and the second part was run in the order of the first.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone was won by Watson, after Arnoux had led for much of the race. Arnoux's engine began to sound odd, and Watson closed in to win from Reutemann and Laffite. Piquet crashed at Becketts and was taken away with leg injuries, and Villeneuve crashed at Woodcote, taking out Jones and de Cesaris.

How did Germany and the Netherlands affect the title race?

At Hockenheim, Piquet won with Prost second and Laffite third. Prost was nearly half a second quicker than Arnoux in qualifying, but Piquet took second from Prost in the rain as the Renault became harder to control. It was Piquet's third win of the season, after Argentina and San Marino.

In the Netherlands Prost won at Zandvoort, with Piquet taking second from Jones in the closing laps. Laffite and Reutemann collided on lap 18, which damaged their chances in the points.

What happened in Austria and Italy?

Austria was won by Laffite, who made a brave pass at the first Panorama curve and passed Arnoux on lap 39. Villeneuve crashed heavily at the Bosch Kurve, and Prost suffered a suspension failure that handed the lead to Arnoux.

At Monza, Prost won from Jones, with Piquet third behind them. Watson crashed at the Lesmo, and his engine was ripped from the car. Piquet's engine blew on the last lap, and Reutemann, de Angelis and Pironi passed him.

Italy also marked the first start for the Toleman team. Brian Henton qualified one of the Toleman-Hart cars 23rd, after a season of disappointment for the team.

How did the title finish in Canada and Las Vegas?

Laffite won in Montreal, with Watson second and Villeneuve third. Jones spun and Piquet dropped back, and at the same race Jones announced his retirement from Formula One. Piquet finished fifth and was still in contention for the title. Reutemann and Piquet were the two leading contenders going into the final round.

The season closed with the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in a car park in Las Vegas. Jones won, with Prost second and Giacomelli third. Reutemann finished out of the points, and Piquet's fifth place was enough to win his first title.

What were the race winners in 1981?

Prost, Piquet, Jones, Reutemann, Villeneuve and Laffite were the principal winners of the season, with Watson winning once. Prost and Piquet each won three rounds, while Jones and Reutemann each took two. Villeneuve and Laffite also took two wins apiece, and the season produced seven different winners in total.

How were points scored in 1981?

Points went to the top six classified finishers in each race. For the Drivers' Championship, the best ten results were counted, although no driver scored in more than ten rounds, so no drop-rounds applied. The Constructors' Championship counted every round.

Published standings separated championship points, shown without brackets, from total points scored, shown in brackets. That is why the two figures in the standings can look different for the same driver.

What was the legacy of the 1981 season?

The season ended with Watkins Glen removed from the calendar after its operator went bankrupt. Lauda announced during the gap after Montreal that he would return to Formula One with McLaren in 1982, a decision that brought one of the sport's most famous names back to the grid.

The Concorde Agreement was meant to set Formula One on a profitable course, and the chassis ownership rule changed what it meant to enter the championship. Piquet's first title and Williams's second consecutive Constructors' crown marked the end of a season shaped by rules, disputes and some frightening accidents.