Jacques Laffite mastered a wet Canadian Grand Prix to win ahead of John Watson and Gilles Villeneuve. Gilles Villeneuve’s determined drive included several laps with a damaged front wing obstructing his view. Nelson Piquet’s fifth place reduced Carlos Reutemann’s championship lead to a single point.
Race Guide
Season: 1981 F1 World Championship
Race date: 27 September 1981
Race start time: 15:35, delayed from 14:15 local time (UTC-04:00)
Circuit: Circuit Île Notre-Dame
Laps: 63 laps (70 laps scheduled)
Circuit length: 4.410 km
1980 winner: Alan Jones
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| Pole time | 1:29.211 | |
| Fastest lap | John Watson | McLaren |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:49.475 on lap 43 | |
| First | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| Second | John Watson | McLaren |
| Third | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 25 September 1981 | Practice 1 | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 25 September 1981 | Qualifying 1 | Start time unconfirmed |
| 26 September 1981 | Practice 2 | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 26 September 1981 | Qualifying 2 | Start time unconfirmed |
| 27 September 1981 | Warm-up | After 14:30; fifteen minutes (delayed) |
| 27 September 1981 | Wet-weather acclimatisation | 15:00–15:10 |
| 27 September 1981 | Race | 15:35, delayed from 14:15 |
All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.
Championship background
Carlos Reutemann arrived at round 14 leading the 1981 F1 World Championship on 49 points, with Nelson Piquet on 46. Williams – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 86 points.
Race entries
Jacques Gilles Villeneuve, Gilles’s younger brother, replaced Siegfried Stohr at Arrows. Alan Jones had announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, while several teams brought fresh chassis for the North American rounds. Montreal’s bumps and heavy braking placed particular demands on the cars.
Friday Free Practice
Friday was unexpectedly sunny after several wet days. Brian Henton’s stranded Toleman caused a stoppage, while the stiffly sprung cars made the circuit’s bumps especially punishing. Didier Pironi slid into a soggy run-off area, and the teams worked on brake cooling for the repeated heavy stops.
Friday Qualifying
Nelson Piquet set the decisive time on Friday, with Carlos Reutemann and Alan Jones his closest rivals. Ferrari and Renault suffered mechanical problems, while the drivers made the most of dry conditions that many expected would disappear before Saturday.
Saturday Free Practice
Saturday remained dry. Renault compared injector positions and components to improve its engines’ response, while Didier Pironi suffered fuel-pressure trouble and Eliseo Salazar’s Ensign lost running with a fuel-pump problem. Jacques Gilles Villeneuve spun and damaged the Arrows’s nose as he tried to prepare for his first qualification attempt.
Saturday Qualifying
Carlos Reutemann was fastest on Saturday but could not beat Nelson Piquet’s Friday lap. Nelson Piquet lost times after using a tyre marked for Hector Rebaque, although his earlier pole lap stood. Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell completed the top five, while Jacques Gilles Villeneuve and both Toleman drivers failed to qualify.
Combined Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Friday Time | Saturday Time | Best Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 1:29.211 | 1:29.537 | 1:29.211 | — |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams | 1:29.601 | 1:29.359 | — | — |
| 3 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams | 1:29.728 | 1:29.781 | — | — |
| 4 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:31.629 | 1:29.908 | — | — |
| 5 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus | 1:32.233 | 1:29.997 | — | — |
| 6 | 6 | Héctor Rebaque | Brabham | 1:31.545 | 1:30.182 | — | — |
| 7 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus | 1:31.212 | 1:30.231 | — | — |
| 8 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:34.151 | 1:30.232 | — | — |
| 9 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | 1:31.617 | 1:30.566 | — | — |
| 10 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:31.593 | 1:30.705 | — | — |
| 11 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:32.077 | 1:31.115 | — | — |
| 12 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:31.976 | 1:31.350 | — | — |
| 13 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren | 1:32.281 | 1:31.507 | — | — |
| 14 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell | 1:32.652 | 1:31.547 | — | — |
| 15 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:34.995 | 1:31.600 | — | — |
| 16 | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 1:32.648 | 1:31.740 | — | — |
| 17 | 25 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier | 1:31.747 | 1:31.817 | — | — |
| 18 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 1:31.969 | 1:32.277 | — | — |
| 19 | 33 | Marc Surer | Theodore | 1:34.424 | 1:32.253 | — | — |
| 20 | 17 | Derek Daly | March | 1:35.552 | 1:32.305 | — | — |
| 21 | 9 | Slim Borgudd | ATS | 1:34.002 | 1:32.652 | — | — |
| 22 | 4 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell | 1:34.245 | 1:32.709 | — | — |
| 23 | 32 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella | 1:33.432 | 1:33.643 | — | — |
| 24 | 14 | Eliseo Salazar | Ensign | 1:36.016 | 1:33.848 | — | — |
| DNQ | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi | 1:34.634 | 1:34.310 | — | — |
| DNQ | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi | 1:36.937 | 1:36.546 | — | — |
| DNQ | 35 | Brian Henton | Toleman | 1:40.505 | 1:36.648 | — | — |
| DNQ | 30 | Jacques Villeneuve | Arrows | 1:36.720 | 1:38.308 | — | — |
| DNQ | 36 | Derek Warwick | Toleman | 1:36.999 | 1:37.256 | — | — |
| DNQ | 31 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella | 1:37.493 | 1:55.307 | — | — |
Sunday warm-up
An insurance dispute delayed Sunday’s running well beyond the scheduled warm-up. Once agreement was reached, the teams received only fifteen minutes after 14:30. Rain returned almost immediately, forcing a rush from slicks to wet tyres and hurried changes to the cars’ settings.
Wet-weather acclimatisation
A further ten-minute wet-weather session ran from 15:00 to 15:10, allowing the teams to prepare properly for the soaked circuit. The start was moved to 15:35, with the race limited to seventy laps or two hours.
What happened in the 1981 Canadian Grand Prix?
Alan Jones led initially before spinning, delaying Nelson Piquet as well. Alain Prost took over, but Jacques Laffite moved past and established control in the rain. John Watson and Gilles Villeneuve worked forward as the difficult conditions broke up the field.
Gilles Villeneuve continued despite a damaged front wing lifting into his line of sight before eventually coming off. Alain Prost’s race ended in a collision with Nigel Mansell, whose gamble on slick tyres had failed. John Watson passed Gilles Villeneuve to secure second behind Jacques Laffite.
The two-hour limit ended the race after 63 laps. Jacques Laffite won ahead of John Watson, Gilles Villeneuve and Bruno Giacomelli, with Nelson Piquet fifth and de Elio de Angelis sixth. Carlos Reutemann scored nothing, leaving him one point ahead of Nelson Piquet and six ahead of Jacques Laffite. Williams nevertheless secured the constructors’ championship.
After the race, Carlos Reutemann headed the drivers’ standings with 49 points, followed by Nelson Piquet on 48. Williams – Ford led the constructors’ table on 86, with Brabham – Ford on 59.
1981 Canadian Grand Prix race results
The 1981 Canadian Grand Prix was held on 27 September 1981, with a scheduled start of 15:35, delayed from 14:15 local time.
1981 Canadian Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | 43 | 1:49.475 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.
1981 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1981 Canadian Grand Prix.
1981 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
1981 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams – Ford | 86 |
| 2 | Brabham – Ford | 59 |
| 3 | Renault | 48 |
| 4 | Ligier – Matra | 43 |
| 5 | Ferrari | 34 |
| 6 | McLaren – Ford | 28 |
| 7 | Lotus – Ford | 19 |
| 8 | Arrows – Ford | 10 |
| 9 | Tyrrell – Ford | 10 |
| 10 | Alfa Romeo | 6 |
| 11 | Ensign – Ford | 5 |
| 12 | Theodore – Ford | 1 |
| 13 | ATS – Ford | 1 |
| — | March – Ford | 0 |
| — | Fittipaldi – Ford | 0 |
| — | Osella – Ford | 0 |
| — | Toleman – Hart | 0 |
No driver needed to discard a points-scoring result this season. Constructors counted every round.
1981 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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