1981 German Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One season | |||
Hockenheim in 1981
|
|||
| Date | August 2, 1981 | ||
| Official name | XLII Großer Preis von Deutschland | ||
| Location | Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, West Germany | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 6.789 km (4.218 mi) | ||
| Distance | 45 laps, 305.505 km (189.81 mi) | ||
| Weather | Wet/ Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:47.50 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford | |
| Time | 1:52.42 on lap 4 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Brabham-Ford | ||
| Second | Renault | ||
| Third | Ligier-Matra | ||
The 1981 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheimring on August 2, 1981. The race was notable for a memorable battle between Alain Prost and Alan Jones.
The two Renault turbo cars were on the front row with Alain Prost almost half a second quicker than teammate Rene Arnoux. Williams locked out the second row with World Championship leader Carlos Reutemann third and team mate Alan Jones fourth. Didier Pironi was fifth in his Ferrari and Nelson Piquet was sixth in his Brabham. The top 10 was completed by Jacques Laffite (Ligier), Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) and the two McLarens of John Watson and Andrea de Cesaris.
The two Williams on the second row enjoyed a better start than the Renaults of Prost and Arnoux. Arnoux was overtaken both by Reutemann and Pironi before the first corner, and by Piquet tried a move in the Ostkurve but the two cars collided, deflating Arnoux's right rear tire and causing him to pit at the end of the lap. Piquet lost a place to Jones in the process, whilst Arnoux dropped through the field. On the second lap, Pironi's engine failed, making him retire from fourth. Consequently, Prost led from Reutemann, Jones, Piquet and Laffite, and the top 5 pulled away from the rest of the pack, led by Villeneuve in sixth. Reutemann was quickly overtaken by both Jones and Piquet, beginning a 3-way fight from the lead until Piquet's tires fell off the pace and he dropped to fourth behind Reutemann.
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