1980 British Grand Prix
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The 1980 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXIII Marlboro British 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 Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
held at
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
on 13 July 1980. It was the eighth round 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 ...
. The race was held over 76 laps of the 4.207-km (2.614-mile) circuit for a total race distance of 319.73 km (198.67 miles). The race was won by Australian driver, Alan Jones driving a
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 ...
. The win was Jones' eighth Formula One Grand Prix victory and his fourth of the year. Including the non-championship
Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
it was Jones' third victory in a row as he built his charge towards becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion. Jones won by eleven seconds over the man becoming his arch-rival, Brazilian driver
Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...
driving a
Brabham BT49 The Brabham BT49 is a Formula One racing car designed by South African Gordon Murray for the British Brabham team. The BT49 competed in the to Formula One World Championships and was used by Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet to win his first Wo ...
. Third, and the only other car to finish on the lead lap, was Jones'
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Hea ...
teammate, Argentine driver
Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor o ...
.


Report


Background

In the two weeks between the French and British Grands Prix, Brabham decided to replace
Ricardo Zunino Ricardo Héctor Zunino (born 13 April 1949 in San Juan) is a former racing driver from Argentina who participated in Formula One from to . He competed in 11 World Championship races and two non-Championship Formula One races, the 1980 Spanish G ...
with Mexican driver
Héctor Rebaque Héctor Alonso Rebaque (born 5 February 1956) is a Mexican former racing driver who raced in Formula One and CART IndyCar in the 1970s and 1980s. He also ran for his own Formula One team called Rebaque in 1978 and 1979. Racing career Rebaque par ...
, while the
Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...
team closed down. There were still 27 cars on the entry list, as
RAM Racing RAM Racing was a Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers' chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March's team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their ow ...
entered year-old
Williams FW07 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 ...
s for
Rupert Keegan Rupert Keegan (born 26 February 1955) is a former racing driver from England. He participated in 37 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 8 May 1977. He scored no championship points. Keegan won the 1976 British Formula 3 Cha ...
and South African female racer
Desiré Wilson Desiré Randall Wilson (born 26 November 1953) is a former racing driver from South Africa and one of only five women to have competed in Formula One. Born in Brakpan, she entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non ...
.


Qualifying

For the third consecutive race, a
Ligier Ligier (() is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Champ ...
driver took pole position, Didier Pironi setting a time some 5.8 seconds faster than the pole time set by
Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing caree ...
at the previous Grand Prix at Brands Hatch two years before. Pironi's teammate Jacques Laffite was alongside on the front row, while the works Williams filled the second row with championship leader Alan Jones ahead of
Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor o ...
. On the third row were
Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...
in the Brabham and
Bruno Giacomelli Bruno Giacomelli (; born 10 September 1952) is a retired racing driver from Italy. He won one of the two 1976 British Formula 3 Championships and the Formula Two championship. He participated in 82 Formula One Grands Prix, competing for the fi ...
in the
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." "A ...
, and on the fourth were
Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...
in the McLaren and
Patrick Depailler Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (; 9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-champi ...
in the second Alfa Romeo.
Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...
in the Lotus and
Derek Daly Derek Patrick Daly (born 11 March 1953) is an Irish former racing driver. He won the 1977 British Formula 3 Championship, and competed as a professional racing driver for 17 years participating in 64 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix ...
in the Tyrrell completed the top ten. The
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
s and Ferraris had issues with their Michelin tyres, and
Jean-Pierre Jabouille Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (born 1 October 1942) is a French former racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabou ...
and
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 ...
could only manage 13th and 16th respectively for the French team, while
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 ...
and reigning champion
Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afri ...
struggled to 19th and 23rd respectively for the Italian outfit, and were both out-qualified by Keegan's private Williams. Wilson failed to qualify in the other private Williams.


Race

At the start, Pironi led with Laffite holding off Jones and Piquet passing Reutemann for fourth. Pironi held a comfortable lead until lap 19, when he suffered a deflating front tyre followed by a long pit stop to replace it. Laffite led until he too suffered a deflating tyre, causing him to spin off into catch fencing at Hawthorn Bend on lap 31. Thereafter, Jones retained a comfortable advantage over Piquet and Reutemann, while Pironi made a charge from the back of the field, reaching fifth before suffering another tyre failure on lap 64. It was later established that the Ligiers' problems were caused by their wheel rims cracking. Jones eventually took the chequered flag 11 seconds ahead of Piquet, for his fourth victory of the season and his third in succession (including the
Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
, which was subsequently stripped of its World Championship status). Reutemann, the last man on the lead lap, finished 2.2 seconds behind Piquet, with the minor points going to Daly, his Tyrrell teammate
Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (born 10 July 1946) is a French former Grand Prix racing driver. He drove for Formula One teams including Shadow, Team Lotus, Ligier, Osella and Tyrrell Racing. His best finish was third (three times) and he also to ...
, and Prost. In the Drivers' Championship, Jones doubled his lead over Piquet to six points, while in the Constructors' Championship Williams moved 18 points clear of Ligier. This race turned out to be the last for Depailler, who died three weeks later while testing at
Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...
ahead of the
German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...
.


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
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
British 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 ...
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...