1980 United States Grand Prix West
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 14 in the 1980 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | March 30, 1980 | ||
| Official name | 5th United States Grand Prix West | ||
| Location | Long Beach, California | ||
| Course | Temporary street course | ||
| Course length | 3.251 km (2.02 mi) | ||
| Distance | 80 laps, 260.08 km (161.60 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny and warm with temperatures reaching up to 81 °F (27 °C); wind speeds up to 10.9 miles per hour (17.5 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Brabham-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:17.694 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Nelson Piquet
|
Brabham-Ford | |
| Time | 1:19.83 on lap 38 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-Ford | ||
| Second | Arrows-Ford | ||
| Third | Fittipaldi-Ford | ||
The 1980 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on March 30, 1980, at Long Beach, California. It was the fourth round of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was the fifth United States Grand Prix West and the sixth street race to be held at Long Beach. The race was held over 80 laps of the 3.251-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 260 kilometres.
The race was won by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet driving a Brabham BT49. It was Piquet's debut World Championship victory in just his fourth points finish and announced his emergence as a championship contender. Piquet won by 49 seconds over Italian driver Riccardo Patrese driving an Arrows A3. It was the best result for both Arrows and Patrese in two years after Patrese finished second at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix. Third was Brazilian driver, twice-World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi driving a Fittipaldi F7. It was Fittipaldi's best result since finishing second at the 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Nelson Piquet took pole, fastest lap and his first career race win to dominate the weekend in his gleaming blue and white Brabham. The Brazilian's qualifying time was a full second ahead of the rest of the field, and he led all 80 laps of the race to win by 49 seconds and grab a share of the lead in the Driver's Championship. The race would be the last in Formula One for Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni, who suffered spinal damage when he lost the brakes in his Ensign and struck a parked car followed by a concrete barrier at 150 mph (240 km/h).
In Friday qualifying, Frenchman Didier Pironi recorded the fastest time, but getting a good lap on Saturday was a matter of using the soft qualifying tires at the right time and slotting in a good time before the track became too oily. Piquet was easily the fastest man on the circuit, using Goodyear tires, but Championship leader René Arnoux grabbed second place in his Renault with an early run on soft Michelins. The big surprise, however, was Jan Lammers, who put his ATS in fourth position while subbing for the injured Marc Surer. James Hunt nearly made a comeback with McLaren, asking for $1 million for the race. This opportunity came about when French rookie driver Alain Prost broke his wrist during practice for the South African Grand Prix, and was not fully fit to drive at Long Beach. The team's main sponsor, Marlboro, offered half the figure but negotiations ended after Hunt broke his leg while skiing. Stephen South substituted but South failed to qualify. Pironi slipped to ninth by the end of the session, while the Ferraris of Gilles Villeneuve and Jody Scheckter, so dominant here the year before, struggled to 10th and 16th, and Emerson Fittipaldi just managed to scramble onto the grid in the 24th and final spot. Americans Mario Andretti (Lotus) and Eddie Cheever (Osella), in his first full F1 season, were 15th and 19th.
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