Niki Lauda’s comeback gathered spectacular momentum at Long Beach, where he won for McLaren in only his third race back. Keke Rosberg finished second, while Riccardo Patrese inherited third after Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari was disqualified over its unusual rear wing.
Race Guide
Season: 1982 F1 World Championship
Race date: 4 April 1982
Race start time: 13:05 local time (UTC-08:00)
Circuit: Long Beach Street Circuit
Laps: 75.5 laps
Circuit length: 3.428 km
1981 winner: Alan Jones
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Andrea de Cesaris | Alfa Romeo |
| Pole time | 1:27.316 | |
| Fastest lap | Niki Lauda | McLaren |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:30.831 on lap 12 | |
| First | Niki Lauda | McLaren |
| Second | Keke Rosberg | Williams |
| Third | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 2 April 1982 | Free practice and pre-qualifying | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 2 April 1982 | Qualifying 1 | Start time unconfirmed |
| 3 April 1982 | Practice 2 | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 3 April 1982 | Qualifying 2 | 13:00–14:00 |
| 4 April 1982 | Warm-up | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 4 April 1982 | Race | 13:05 |
All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.
Championship background
Alain Prost arrived at round 3 leading the 1982 F1 World Championship on 18 points, with John Watson on 7. Renault headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 22 points.
Race entries
Mario Andretti joined Williams for a one-off appearance after Carlos Reutemann announced his retirement. Keke Rosberg continued in the other Williams. The revised circuit added a new sequence of corners and altered the approach to Shoreline Drive, giving both returning drivers and newcomers plenty to learn.
Pre-qualifying
Derek Warwick’s misfiring Hart engine left him last in the preliminary running and eliminated the Toleman before main qualifying. The other four drivers progressed. His problem was cured too late to produce the lap needed to remain in the meeting; some surviving pre-qualifying times are not recorded in the available result.
Pre-qualifying Classification
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Raul Boesel | March | unknown | — | |
| 31 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella | unknown | — | |
| 32 | Riccardo Paletti | Osella | unknown | — | |
| 36 | Teo Fabi | Toleman | unknown | — | |
| 5 | 35 | Derek Warwick | Toleman | 1:37.264 | — |
Friday Free Practice
Friday’s running began with the drivers learning the revised street layout, including changes in surface and the blind approach to the new chicane. Riccardo Patrese hit a wall and badly damaged the front suspension mountings of his Brabham, forcing him into the older spare for the remainder of the weekend. That also left Nelson Piquet with little spare-car protection.
Friday Qualifying
Keke Rosberg and Niki Lauda headed Friday’s times, with Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost and Gilles Villeneuve in pursuit. John Watson lost running to a fuel-pump problem, while a correction to Renault’s tyre allocation allowed Alain Prost to improve late in the hour. Rene Arnoux’s session ended with an oil fire around a turbocharger.
Saturday Free Practice
Niki Lauda looked increasingly comfortable on Saturday morning, balancing speed with precision around the walls. Ferrari tried its staggered double rear wing on Didier Pironi’s car before fitting the same arrangement to Gilles Villeneuve’s. The design would become the weekend’s central technical controversy, while Jacques Laffite’s engine failure left Ligier facing a hurried change before qualifying.
Saturday Qualifying
De Andrea de Cesaris recovered from contact with a wall to take his only Formula 1 pole, setting 1:27.316 near the end of Saturday’s session. Niki Lauda was just 0.120 seconds behind, with both Renaults on the second row. Michelin runners held the advantage, while Nelson Piquet was the best Goodyear qualifier in sixth. Teo Fabi, Riccardo Paletti, Chico Serra and Mauro Baldi missed the grid.
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 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.095 | 1:27.316 | 1:27.316 | — |
| 2 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren | 1:28.791 | 1:27.436 | — | — |
| 3 | 16 | René Arnoux | Renault | 1:31.159 | 1:27.763 | — | — |
| 4 | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 1:29.935 | 1:27.979 | — | — |
| 5 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 1:30.669 | 1:28.087 | — | — |
| 6 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 1:29.934 | 1:28.276 | — | — |
| 7 | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1:29.949 | 1:28.476 | — | — |
| 8 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams | 1:28.576 | 1:29.042 | — | — |
| 9 | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 1:30.125 | 1:28.680 | — | — |
| 10 | 31 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella | 1:31.383 | 1:28.708 | — | — |
| 11 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren | 1:32.900 | 1:28.885 | — | — |
| 12 | 3 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell | 1:31.084 | 1:29.027 | — | — |
| 13 | 25 | Eddie Cheever | Ligier | 1:31.802 | 1:29.336 | — | — |
| 14 | 5 | Mario Andretti | Williams | 1:31.190 | 1:29.468 | — | — |
| 15 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 1:31.432 | 1:29.587 | — | — |
| 16 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus | 1:30.565 | 1:29.694 | — | — |
| 17 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus | 1:30.117 | 1:29.758 | — | — |
| 18 | 2 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham | 1:30.281 | 1:29.984 | — | — |
| 19 | 14 | Roberto Guerrero | Ensign | 1:31.806 | 1:30.186 | — | — |
| 20 | 29 | Brian Henton | Arrows | 1:32.607 | 1:30.474 | — | — |
| 21 | 17 | Jochen Mass | March | 1:31.808 | 1:30.476 | — | — |
| 22 | 33 | Derek Daly | Theodore | 1:32.502 | 1:30.919 | — | — |
| 23 | 18 | Raul Boesel | March | 1:32.277 | 1:30.977 | — | — |
| 24 | 4 | Slim Borgudd | Tyrrell | 1:31.768 | 1:31.033 | — | — |
| 25 | 9 | Manfred Winkelhock | ATS | 1:31.593 | 1:31.602 | — | — |
| 26 | 10 | Eliseo Salazar | ATS | 1:33.663 | 1:31.825 | — | — |
| 27 | 36 | Teo Fabi | Toleman | 1:34.024 | 1:31.988 | — | — |
| 28 | 32 | Riccardo Paletti | Osella | 1:33.289 | 1:32.146 | — | — |
| 29 | 20 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi | 1:32.496 | 1:32.510 | — | — |
| 30 | 30 | Mauro Baldi | Arrows | 1:33.701 | 1:34.320 | — | — |
Sunday warm-up
The Sunday warm-up passed without a major incident among the starters. McLaren split its approach, choosing harder Michelin tyres for Niki Lauda and softer rubber for John Watson. That made Niki Lauda’s opening laps especially important against pole-sitter de Andrea de Cesaris, while the team also had a second strategy in play further back.
What happened in the 1982 United States West Grand Prix?
De Andrea de Cesaris led the opening laps, but Niki Lauda closed and passed when the Alfa Romeo encountered traffic. Rene Arnoux and Bruno Giacomelli had already collided, and Alain Prost also retired after hitting a wall. Keke Rosberg worked forward through a lively battle involving Gilles Villeneuve and John Watson.
The track began breaking up in places, catching out several drivers. De Andrea de Cesaris later crashed after developing brake trouble, leaving Niki Lauda comfortably ahead. Keke Rosberg emerged as the nearest challenger, while Riccardo Patrese recovered from his disrupted weekend to pass Michele Alboreto late in the race.
Niki Lauda won from Keke Rosberg, proving that his return was about far more than participation. Gilles Villeneuve finished third on the road but was disqualified after the Ferrari rear-wing protest was upheld, promoting Riccardo Patrese to the podium. Michele Alboreto, de Elio de Angelis and John Watson took the remaining points.
After the race, Alain Prost headed the drivers’ standings with 18 points, followed by Niki Lauda on 12. Renault led the constructors’ table on 22, with McLaren – Ford on 20.
1982 United States West Grand Prix race results
The 1982 United States West Grand Prix was held on 4 April 1982, with a scheduled start of 13:05 local time.
1982 United States West Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren | 12 | 1:30.831 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.
1982 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1982 United States West Grand Prix.
1982 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
| POS | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alain Prost | French | Renault | 18 |
| 2 | Niki Lauda | Austrian | McLaren | 12 |
| 3 | Keke Rosberg | Finnish | Williams | 8 |
| 4 | John Watson | British | McLaren | 8 |
| 5 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentine | Williams | 6 |
| 6 | Michele Alboreto | Italian | Tyrrell | 6 |
| 7 | Nigel Mansell | British | Lotus | 4 |
| 8 | Riccardo Patrese | Italian | Brabham | 4 |
| 9 | René Arnoux | French | Renault | 4 |
| 10 | Elio de Angelis | Italian | Lotus | 2 |
| 11 | Manfred Winkelhock | German | ATS | 2 |
| 12 | Didier Pironi | French | Ferrari | 1 |
| – | Slim Borgudd | Swedish | Tyrrell | 0 |
| – | Jochen Mass | German | March | 0 |
| – | Raul Boesel | Brazilian | March | 0 |
| – | Eliseo Salazar | Chilean | ATS | 0 |
| – | Jean-Pierre Jarier | French | Osella | 0 |
| – | Mauro Baldi | Italian | Arrows | 0 |
| – | Bruno Giacomelli | Italian | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
| – | Andrea de Cesaris | Italian | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
| – | Derek Daly | Irish | Theodore | 0 |
| – | Chico Serra | Brazilian | Fittipaldi | 0 |
| – | Gilles Villeneuve | Canadian | Ferrari | 0 |
| – | Nelson Piquet | Brazilian | Brabham | 0 |
| – | Eddie Cheever | American | Ligier | 0 |
| – | Brian Henton | British | Arrows | 0 |
| – | Roberto Guerrero | Colombian | Ensign | 0 |
| – | Jacques Laffite | French | Ligier | 0 |
| – | Derek Warwick | British | Toleman | 0 |
| – | Mario Andretti | American | Williams | 0 |
1982 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault | 22 |
| 2 | McLaren – Ford | 20 |
| 3 | Williams – Ford | 14 |
| 4 | Lotus – Ford | 6 |
| 5 | Tyrrell – Ford | 6 |
| 6 | Brabham – Ford | 4 |
| 7 | ATS – Ford | 2 |
| 8 | Ferrari | 1 |
| — | March – Ford | 0 |
| — | Osella – Ford | 0 |
| — | Arrows – Ford | 0 |
| — | Alfa Romeo | 0 |
| — | Theodore – Ford | 0 |
| — | Fittipaldi – Ford | 0 |
| — | Ligier – Matra | 0 |
| — | Toleman – Hart | 0 |
| — | Brabham – BMW | 0 |
| — | Ensign – Ford | 0 |
Drivers counted their best eleven results; constructors counted every round. The standings here show the position after this race.
1982 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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