1981 United States Grand Prix West
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | March 15, 1981 | ||
| Official name | 6th 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 71.1 °F (21.7 °C); wind speeds approaching speeds up to 10.9 miles per hour (17.5 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Arrows-Ford | ||
| Time | 1:19.399 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Alan Jones
|
Williams-Ford | |
| Time | 1:20.901 on lap 31 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Williams-Ford | ||
| Second | Williams-Ford | ||
| Third | Brabham-Ford | ||
The 1981 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on March 15, 1981, at Long Beach, California.
Defending World Champion Alan Jones finished nine seconds ahead of teammate Carlos Reutemann, and won his first Long Beach Grand Prix, as the 1981 season finally began after a winter of controversy and legal battles. It was the third consecutive Grand Prix win for Jones, and his second consecutive in the United States, after seizing the 1980 Driver's title with season-ending wins in Montreal, Canada and Watkins Glen, New York.
The offseason had seen FISA (La Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile) and FOCA (the Formula One Constructors' Association) in conflict, ostensibly over FISA's scheduled ban of aerodynamic skirts on the cars, but also over financial control of the sport. After threatening to institute their own championship, FOCA agreed to the skirt ban on assurance of their continued control of the sport's finances and FISA's commitment to a four-year period of stability in the rules. Just 10 days prior to the season-opening race in Long Beach, the Concorde Agreement was signed in Paris, allowing all of the teams to appear.
In the meantime, the South African race, run in February under FOCA's pre-agreement version of the rules, had been deprived of its World Championship status by the dispute, and the Argentinian race, originally scheduled in January, was moved to April.
In addition to the new rules, Goodyear announced in December that it intended to withdraw immediately from all involvement in European racing. So, when the teams arrived in Long Beach for the first Championship race of the season, the Friday morning practice sessions were filled with frantic activity. Larger wings, softer springs and revised sidepods were in evidence for nearly everyone, trying to make up for the absence of the banned skirts. With all teams also using Michelin tires as well, many drivers were struggling to come to grips with a totally new set of challenges.
On Saturday, yet another legal issue arose over the new twin-chassis Lotus 88, designed by Colin Chapman and Martin Ogilvie. A protest was lodged by a majority of the teams, although they did not specify what rules it was breaking. The car was initially approved by the FISA technical staff and passed by the scrutineers, allowing it to take part in Friday practice. Ultimately, however, the teams' appeal was allowed, the car was banned from the rest of the weekend and Lotus had to qualify and race the more conventional Lotus 81.
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