The 1980 Dutch Grand Prix was a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor race held on 31 August 1980 at the
Circuit Zandvoort
Circuit Zandvoort (), known for sponsorship reasons as CM.com Circuit Zandvoort, and previously known as Circuit Park Zandvoort until 2017, is a motorsport race track located in the dunes north of Zandvoort, the Netherlands, near the North Sea ...
in the Netherlands. It was the eleventh race of the
1980 Formula One season
The 1980 Formula One season was the 34th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 ''World Championship of Drivers'' and the 1980 ''International Cup for F1 Constructors'', which were contested concurrently from 13 January t ...
. The race was the 29th
Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...
. The race was held over 72 laps of the 4.252-kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 306 kilometres.
The race was won by Brazilian driver,
Nelson Piquet driving a
Brabham BT49. The win was Piquet's second Formula One Grand Prix victory having taken his first win earlier the same year at the
1980 United States Grand Prix West
The 1980 United States Grand Prix West (officially the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach) 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 ...
. The win confirmed Piquet as being the major threat to
Alan Jones' charge to the world championship crown. Piquet won by twelve seconds over French driver
René Arnoux
René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver who competed in 12 Formula One seasons (1978 to 1989). He participated in 165 World Championship Grands Prix (149 starts) winning seven of them, achieving 22 podium fi ...
driving a
Renault RE20
The Renault RE20 was a Formula One car raced by the Renault team in the season. The car was designed by Francois Castaing and Michel Tétu and designed using Ground effect aerodynamics. The car was powered by the 1.5L turbocharged Renault Gord ...
. Less than half a second behind in third was another French driver
Jacques Laffite
Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1.
...
(
Ligier JS11/15
The Ligier JS11 was a ground effect Formula One car designed by Gérard Ducarouge. It was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV married to a Ligier in-house built gearbox. It competed in the and World Championships and proved to be very competitive ...
).
The circuit had been altered for the second time in as many years with the back straight chicane tightened significantly. There were several new combinations.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
entered a second car, a replacement after
Patrick Depailler's death a month earlier, for Italian veteran
Vittorio Brambilla
Vittorio Brambilla (11 November 1937 – 26 May 2001) was a Formula One driver from Italy who raced for the March, Surtees and Alfa Romeo teams. Particularly adept at driving in wet conditions, his nickname was "The Monza Gorilla", due to his o ...
.
Geoff Lees was entered in a second
Ensign N180 and
Jochen Mass
Jochen Richard Mass (born 30 September 1946) is a German former racing driver.
Life and career
Born in Dorfen, Bavaria 50 km (31 mi) from Munich, Mass participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 Jul ...
returned from injury in an
Arrows A3
The Arrows A3 was a Formula One car which the Arrows team used to compete in the 1980 and 1981 Formula One seasons.
After the failure of the A2 in the 1979 Formula One season, the A3 was a very conventional design. The A3 featured a short wh ...
. Mass' return proved to be premature and he pulled out of the meeting.
Tyrrell Racing
The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001) which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the e ...
test driver
Mike Thackwell stepped into the car but failed in his attempt to be the youngest ever Formula One race starter.
Jones won the start from the second row of the grid to lead early until he pitted with damaged skirts. Laffite soon took the lead from Arnoux before both were picked-off by Piquet. Late in the race Arnoux regained second place. Behind Laffite, the second
Williams FW07B
The Williams FW07 was a ground effect Formula One racing car designed by Patrick Head, Frank Dernie, and Neil Oatley for the 1979 F1 season.
Design
1979
It was closely based on the Lotus 79, even being developed in the same wind tunnel at ...
of
Carlos Reutemann finished fourth ahead of
Jean-Pierre Jarier (driving his 100th Grand Prix) in the surviving
Tyrrell 010
The Tyrrell 010 was a Formula One racing car that was designed by Maurice Philippe for Tyrrell Racing for the season.
The 010, like all Tyrrells before it was powered by the Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine and made its competition debut in the third ...
after
Derek Daly had crashed earlier after brake failure. Young rookie
Alain Prost claimed the final point debuting the new
McLaren M30, while in seventh
Gilles Villeneuve
Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances.
An enthusiast of ...
had given one of Ferrari's few 1980 highlights, running as high as third before his tyres went off.
Jones was three laps down in eleventh, his championship now in real danger as Piquet had closed to within two points. Reutemann now led the battle for third by a point over Laffite and three over Arnoux. Williams now had one hand firmly on the constructors' trophy, leading Ligier by 25 points and Brabham by 35 with Piquet's teammates providing virtually no support to the constructor's tally.
Classification
Qualifying
Race
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
{{F1GP 80-89
Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...
Dutch Grand Prix
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...