1980 Brazilian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 17 in the 1980 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | January 27, 1980 | ||
| Official name | IX Grande Prêmio do Brasil | ||
| Location | Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 7.873 km (4.920 mi) | ||
| Distance | 40 laps, 314.920 km (196.825 mi) | ||
| Weather | Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 2:21.40 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 René Arnoux
|
Renault | |
| Time | 2:27.31 on lap 22 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Renault | ||
| Second | Lotus-Ford | ||
| Third | Williams-Ford | ||
The 1980 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 January 1980 at the Interlagos circuit in the Interlagos neighborhood of São Paulo. It was the second round of the 1980 Formula One season, and it was also the ninth Brazilian Grand Prix. It was the eighth to be held at Interlagos and would be the last until the circuit was substantially redeveloped for the 1990 Brazilian Grand Prix. The race was held over 40 laps of the 7.87-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 315 kilometres. This race was originally supposed to be held at the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro, but was transferred to Interlagos because parts of the Rio circuit's tarmac were actually sinking into the soft swampland the circuit was built on. This last-minute switch to Interlagos- which was to be resurfaced and heavily rebuilt with new pit facilities and safety measures for the 1981 season caused a lot of controversy- Interlagos had returned a bit too soon for some of the drivers.
Months before the race, a number of drivers including world champion Jody Scheckter, wanted to boycott the event due to safety concerns with the nearly 5-mile Interlagos circuit. The improvements made to the circuit made in 1978 and 1979 were not good enough for the drivers, as the circuit was still extremely bumpy (which the circuit was well known for) and the catch-fencing and barriers surrounding the circuit were not perceived to be adequate to protect the drivers from the embankments and ditches around the circuit. The side skirted-ground effect wing cars at the time were not stiffly sprung yet, and had a tendency to bounce up and down over bumps, making them rather intolerant and of such a rough surface as Interlagos's was, and this made the cars very unpleasant to drive there. The drivers even claimed the surface was so bad that it was actually dangerous to drive those cars at the Sāo Paulo city-located circuit, and although Scheckter and the other concerned drivers nearly succeeded in stopping the race, it went ahead.
The race was won by French driver René Arnoux driving a Renault RE20. It was Arnoux's first World Championship victory and Equipe Renault's second and the second for a turbocharged car. Arnoux won by 21 seconds over Italian driver Elio de Angelis driving a Lotus 81. Championship points leader, Australian driver Alan Jones finished third in his Williams FW07B.
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