Nelson Piquet delivered a commanding first Grand Prix victory at Long Beach, taking pole, fastest lap and every lap in the lead. Riccardo Patrese and Emerson Fittipaldi completed the podium. Clay Regazzoni suffered life-changing injuries in a serious accident during the race.
Race Guide
Season: 1980 F1 World Championship
Race date: 30 March 1980
Race start time: 14:00 local time (UTC-08:00)
Circuit: Long Beach Street Circuit
Laps: 80 laps
Circuit length: 3.251 km
1979 winner: Gilles Villeneuve
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| Pole time | 1:17.694 | |
| Fastest lap | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:19.830 on lap 38 | |
| First | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| Second | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows |
| Third | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 28 March 1980 | Practice 1 | 10:00–11:30 |
| 28 March 1980 | Qualifying 1 | Start time unconfirmed |
| 29 March 1980 | Practice 2 | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 29 March 1980 | Qualifying 2 | Start time unconfirmed |
| 30 March 1980 | Warm-up | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 30 March 1980 | Race | 14:00 |
All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.
Championship background
René Arnoux arrived at round 4 leading the 1980 F1 World Championship on 18 points, with Alan Jones on 13. Renault headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 18 points.
Race entries
Stephen South deputised for the injured Alain Prost at McLaren, while Jan Lammers continued in place of Marc Surer at ATS. Brabham’s proposed additional entry for Rick Mears was not accepted. Goodyear brought back qualifying tyres for this event, adding another variable to the battle for grid positions.
Friday Free Practice
Friday morning produced a busy repair list. Keke Rosberg damaged a Emerson Fittipaldi against the wall, Carlos Reutemann bent his Williams and Jochen Mass suffered an engine failure, sending all three towards spare cars. Renault also evaluated power-assisted braking for Rene Arnoux, an important experiment on the stop-start street circuit.
Friday Qualifying
Didier Pironi headed Friday’s qualifying, but Nelson Piquet found a decisive improvement on Saturday and took pole by a full second. Rene Arnoux qualified second, demonstrating that the Renault could also be competitive on a tight street circuit.
Saturday Free Practice
Saturday was more orderly after overnight repairs. Carlos Reutemann and Jochen Mass returned to their regular cars, while Keke Rosberg remained in the spare. Renault moved the experimental brake system away from Rene Arnoux’s race car as he concentrated on a more familiar arrangement for final qualifying.
Saturday Qualifying
Patrick Depailler secured third and Jan Lammers produced an exceptional fourth place for ATS. Alan Jones was fifth. South failed to qualify on his only Formula 1 appearance, while Emerson Fittipaldi narrowly made the grid in 24th before delivering a very different performance on race day.
Combined Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.
Sunday warm-up
Nelson Piquet’s otherwise outstanding weekend nearly unravelled in Sunday’s warm-up when he collided with Derek Daly. The Brabham was thrown into the air and landed heavily, while the Tyrrell went into the escape road. Careful checks persuaded the team that Nelson Piquet could race his original car.
What happened in the 1980 United States West Grand Prix?
Nelson Piquet led from the start as incidents disrupted the chasing field. Bruno Giacomelli’s spin caused a multi-car blockage, and Alan Jones later retired after contact while trying to lap the Alfa Romeo. Nelson Piquet remained clear of the trouble and built a substantial advantage.
Clay Regazzoni’s Ensign suffered brake failure approaching the Queen’s Hairpin. The resulting crash caused spinal injuries that ended his Formula 1 career. Rene Arnoux also lost a podium opportunity to a puncture, promoting Emerson Fittipaldi into third behind Riccardo Patrese.
Nelson Piquet won by almost fifty seconds, with Riccardo Patrese second and Emerson Fittipaldi taking his final Grand Prix podium. John Watson finished fourth, Jody Scheckter fifth and Didier Pironi sixth. The victory brought Nelson Piquet level with Rene Arnoux on championship points and established him as a serious title contender.
After the race, René Arnoux headed the drivers’ standings with 18 points, followed by Nelson Piquet on 18. Renault led the constructors’ table on 18, with Brabham – Ford on 18.
1980 United States West Grand Prix race results
The 1980 United States West Grand Prix was held on 30 March 1980, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.
1980 United States West Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 38 | 1:19.830 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.
1980 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1980 United States West Grand Prix.
1980 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
| POS | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | René Arnoux | French | Renault | 18 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | Brazilian | Brabham | 18 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | Australian | Williams | 13 |
| 4 | Didier Pironi | French | Ligier | 8 |
| 5 | Riccardo Patrese | Italian | Arrows | 7 |
| 6 | Jacques Laffite | French | Ligier | 6 |
| 7 | Elio de Angelis | Italian | Lotus | 6 |
| 8 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Brazilian | Fittipaldi | 4 |
| 9 | Keke Rosberg | Finnish | Fittipaldi | 4 |
| 10 | Derek Daly | Irish | Tyrrell | 3 |
| 11 | John Watson | British | McLaren | 3 |
| 12 | Alain Prost | French | McLaren | 3 |
| 13 | Bruno Giacomelli | Italian | Alfa Romeo | 2 |
| 14 | Jody Scheckter | South African | Ferrari | 2 |
| 15 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentine | Williams | 2 |
| 16 | Jochen Mass | German | Arrows | 1 |
| – | Ricardo Zunino | Argentine | Brabham | 0 |
| – | Jean-Pierre Jarier | French | Tyrrell | 0 |
| – | Marc Surer | Swiss | ATS | 0 |
| – | Clay Regazzoni | Swiss | Ensign | 0 |
| – | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | French | Renault | 0 |
| – | Mario Andretti | American | Lotus | 0 |
| – | Geoff Lees | British | Shadow | 0 |
| – | Gilles Villeneuve | Canadian | Ferrari | 0 |
| – | Patrick Depailler | French | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
| – | Eddie Cheever | American | Osella | 0 |
| – | Jan Lammers | Dutch | ATS | 0 |
1980 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault | 18 |
| 2 | Brabham – Ford | 18 |
| 3 | Williams – Ford | 15 |
| 4 | Ligier – Ford | 14 |
| 5 | Arrows – Ford | 8 |
| 6 | Fittipaldi – Ford | 8 |
| 7 | Lotus – Ford | 6 |
| 8 | McLaren – Ford | 6 |
| 9 | Tyrrell – Ford | 3 |
| 10 | Alfa Romeo | 2 |
| 11 | Ferrari | 2 |
| — | ATS – Ford | 0 |
| — | Ensign – Ford | 0 |
| — | Shadow – Ford | 0 |
| — | Osella – Ford | 0 |
Drivers counted their best five results from rounds 1–7 and their best five from rounds 8–14. Constructors counted every round. The standings show retained championship points.
1980 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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