Formula 1 Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The 1980 Italian Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 1980 Formula One Season. This race marked the only time the Italian Grand Prix has not been raced at Monza, instead the Autodromo Dino Ferrari was used for the first time in Formula One. The inaugural race was won by Nelson Piquet ahead of Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann.

Background[]

The 1980 Italian Grand Prix marked the first time since 1948 that the Italian Grand Prix was not held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Instead the race marked the first championship event held at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari. The circuit had previously hosted non-championship races in 1963 and 1979 but 1980 marked the first world championship event at the Imola circuit. The unusual change from the Monza circuit came about following the 1978 Italian Grand Prix which saw the death of Ronnie Peterson. The FIA demanded an upgrade in safety standards if Formula One was to continue hosting the Italian race at Monza. Whilst Monza had completed its safety upgrades in time for 1980, the FIA had already contracted Imola to host the event for 1980.

Jochen Mass was still out of action following his neck injury that occured during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Arrows filled his place with sportscar racer Manfred Winkelhock

Following Alan Jones's failure to score any points in the Dutch Grand Prix, his lead had been narrowed down to two points with Dutch winner Nelson Piquet right back into the championship fight. Williams still had a comfortable lead over the constructor's championship. 


Entry List[]

Below is the full entry list for the 1980 Italian Grand Prix:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 South Africa Jody Scheckter Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312T5 Ferrari 015 F12 3.0 M
2 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312T5 Ferrari 015 F12 3.0 M
3 France Jean-Pierre Jarier United Kingdom Candy Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 010 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
4 Ireland Derek Daly United Kingdom Candy Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 010 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Parmalat Racing Team Brabham BT49 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque United Kingdom Parmalat Racing Team Brabham BT49 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom Marlboro Team McLaren McLaren M29C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
8 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Marlboro Team McLaren McLaren M30 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
9 Switzerland Marc Surer West Germany Team ATS ATS D4 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
11 United States Mario Andretti United Kingdom Team Essex Lotus Lotus 81 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
12 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Team Essex Lotus Lotus 81 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
14 Netherlands Jan Lammers United Kingdom Unipart Racing Team Ensign N180 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
15 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE20 Renault EF1 V6t 1.5 M
16 France René Arnoux France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE20 Renault EF1 V6t 1.5 M
20 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Skol Fittipaldi Team Fittipaldi F8 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
21 Finland Keke Rosberg Brazil Skol Fittipaldi Team Fittipaldi F8 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
22 Italy Vittorio Brambilla Italy Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 179 Alfa Romeo 1260 V12 3.0 G
23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Italy Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 179 Alfa Romeo 1260 V12 3.0 G
25 France Didier Pironi France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS11/15 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
26 France Jacques Laffite France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS11/15 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
27 Australia Alan Jones United Kingdom Albilad Williams Racing Team Williams FW07B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
28 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Albilad Williams Racing Team Williams FW07B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
29 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team Arrows A3 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
30 West Germany Manfred Winkelhock United Kingdom Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team Arrows A3 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
31 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Osella Squadra Course Osella FA1B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
41 United Kingdom Geoff Lees United Kingdom Unipart Racing Team Ensign N180 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
43 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Team Essex Lotus Lotus 81B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
50 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan United Kingdom RAM - Penthouse Rizla Racing Williams FW07 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

The Renault's once again dominated qualifying, René Arnoux took a convincing pole position ahead of teammate Jean-Pierre Jabouille. Championship leader Alan Jones was in a lowly sixth place, one behind main rival Nelson Piquet. Gilles Villeneuve tested out the new Ferrari 126 C, the successor to the Ferrari 312T series which having been in use since 1974 was now a heavily outdated package. The requirement for a completely new chassis was evident in Ferrari's dismal 1980 campaign. The new car proved quick but unreliable, Gilles Villeneuve the sole driver testing the new chassis did well enough to put the car on eighth on the grid. The successful qualifying debut boded well for the team's 1981 campaign where the car would make its race debut. 

Meanwhile Jody Scheckter who had been running a terrible title defence in 1980, scoring only once in the season was becoming increasingly disillusioned with Formula One. It was evident he would not remain with Ferrari in 1981 and his Formula One future seemed to be increasingly in question. Confirmation on Scheckter's future was given when he crashed heavily in the run down to Tosa. Scheckter got out of his car and mysteriously disappeared from the circuit. The next day he confirmed his retirement from the sport at the end of the season. 

Arrows driver Manfred Winkelhock who hoped to make his debut in Italy, spun off the circuit and smashed into the third Lotus car of Nigel Mansell. Both cars were wrecked forcing both driver's out of qualifying and therefore out of the race.

Qualifying Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
16 France René Arnoux France Renault 1:33.988
2 15 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille France Renault 1:34.339 + 0.351
3 28 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Williams-Ford 1:34.686 + 0.698
4 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Italy Alfa Romeo 1:34.912 + 0.924
5 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 1:34.960 + 0.972
6 27 Australia Alan Jones United Kingdom Williams-Ford 1:35.109 + 1.121
7 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Arrows-Ford 1:35.618 + 1.630
8 2 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Italy Ferrari 1:35.751 + 1.763
9 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 1:35.872 + 1.884
10 11 United States Mario Andretti United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 1:36.084 + 2.096
11 21 Finland Keke Rosberg Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford 1:36.091 + 2.103
12 3 France Jean-Pierre Jarier United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 1:36.181 + 2.193
13 25 France Didier Pironi France Ligier-Ford 1:36.422 + 2.434
14 7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 1:36.450 + 2.462
15 20 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford 1:36.758 + 2.770
16 1 South Africa Jody Scheckter Italy Ferrari 1:36.827 + 2.839
17 31 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Osella-Ford 1:36.884 + 2.896
18 12 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 1:36.282 + 2,931
19 22 Italy Vittorio Brambilla Italy Alfa Romeo 1:36.292 + 2.941
20 26 France Jacques Laffite France Ligier-Ford 1:36.972 + 2.984
21 50 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan United Kingdom Williams-Ford (RAM) 1:37.169 + 3.181
22 4 Ireland Derek Daly United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 1:37.215 + 3.227
23 9 Switzerland Marc Surer Germany ATS-Ford 1:37.270 + 3.282
24 8 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 1:37.284 + 3.296
DNQ 43 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 1:37.661 + 3.673
DNQ 30 Germany Manfred Winkelhock United Kingdom Arrows-Ford 1:38.212 + 4.224
DNQ 14 Netherlands Jan Lammers United Kingdom Ensign-Ford 1:38.215 + 4.227
DNQ 41 United Kingdom Geoff Lees United Kingdom Ensign-Ford 1:38.451 + 4.463

Race[]

Report[]

Carlos Reutemann got a flyer of a start to take the lead, however seconds later his clutched seized and he dropped right down the order. Reutemann's sudden drop of pace caused the mid-field to get all out of shape, Vittorio Brambilla nearly spinning off the circuit. With Reutemann's problems, René Arnoux therefore kept his lead ahead of Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Nelson Piquet, Bruno Giacomelli, Gilles VilleneuveHéctor Rebaque and Alan Jones

On the third lap, Jabouille and Piquet moved ahead of Arnoux who dropped from first to third. A lap later, Villeneuve moved ahead of Giacomelli to take fourth position. The same lap, Piquet took the lead from Jabouille going into the second last corner and immediately began to pull away.

Brambilla in his final F1 race, spun off the circuit on lap four to end his Formula One career. Lap six saw Villeneuve suffer a tire failure going straight on in the corner before Tosa, Villeneuve's Ferrari was destroyed in a big way, Giacomelli's Alfa Romeo collected some of the debris and spun off the circuit causing both cars to retire. This accident allowed Alan Jones to move into fourth position with Jean-Pierre Jarier and John Watson going into fifth and sixth. Watson would go on to retire with brake problems on lap 20. 

Arnoux who appeared to be struggling saw Jones take third from the Renault driver. Jones who had found his pace then began to chase down Jabouille and then on lap 29 he had taken second position. Arnoux had then dropped behind Jarier's Tyrrell with Reutemann climbing his way back up to sixth position. Arnoux who continued to struggle and soon waved Reutemann through into fifth position. Arnoux who was suffering engine problems dropped well out of the points and well out of the running.

Jarier then spun off the circuit with brake failure ending a strong day for Tyrrell. With seven laps to go, Jabouille pulled into the pits with another predictable mechanical problem. At the front Jones continued to lap well, however Piquet continued to hold an edge over the Williams driver, the Brabham running that little bit better than the Williams. Piquet took a convincing win, 28 seconds ahead of Jones. Reutemann made a good comeback drive to finish third. Elio de Angelis took fourth on home turf with Keke Rosberg finishing fifth ahead of Didier Pironi

Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 60 1:38.07.52 5 9
2 27 Australia Alan Jones United Kingdom Williams-Ford 60 +28.93s 1 6
3 28 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Williams-Ford 60 +1:13.67s 6 4
4 12 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 59 +1 lap 18 3
5 21 Finland Keke Rosberg Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford 59 +1 lap 11 2
6 25 France Didier Pironi France Ligier-Ford 59 +1 lap 13 1
7 8 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 59 +1 lap 24
8 1 South Africa Jody Scheckter Italy Ferrari 59 +1 lap 16
9 26 France Jacques Laffite France Ligier-Ford 59 +1 lap 20
10 16 France René Arnoux France Renault 58 +2 laps 1
11 50 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan United Kingdom Williams-Ford (RAM) 58 +2 laps 21
12 31 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Osella-Ford 57 +3 laps 17
13 3 France Jean-Pierre Jarier United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 54 Brakes 12
Ret 15 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille France Renault 53 Gearbox 2
Ret 9 Switzerland Marc Surer Germany ATS-Ford 45 Engine 23
Ret 11 United States Mario Andretti United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 40 Engine 10
Ret 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Arrows-Ford 38 Engine 7
Ret 4 Ireland Derek Daly United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 33 Accident 22
Ret 7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 20 Wheel bearing 14
Ret 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 18 Suspension 9
Ret 20 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford 17 Accident 15
Ret 2 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Italy Ferrari 5 Tire / Accident 8
Ret 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Italy Alfa Romeo 5 Accident 4
Ret 22 Italy Vittorio Brambilla Italy Alfa Romeo 4 Spun off 19
DNQ 43 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Lotus-Ford
DNQ 30 Germany Manfred Winkelhock United Kingdom Arrows-Ford
DNQ 14 Netherlands Jan Lammers United Kingdom Ensign-Ford
DNQ 41 United Kingdom Geoff Lees United Kingdom Ensign-Ford

Milestones[]

Standings after race[]

      
Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts +/-
1 Brazil Nelson Piquet 54 ▲1
2 Australia Alan Jones 53 ▼1
3 Argentina Carlos Reutemann 37
4 France Jacques Laffite 32
5 France René Arnoux 29
6 France Didier Pironi 24
7 Italy Elio de Angelis 10 ▲2
8 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille 9 ▼1
9 Italy Riccardo Patrese 7 ▼1
10 Ireland Derek Daly 6
11 France Jean-Pierre Jarier 6
12 Finland Keke Rosberg 6 ▲2
13 Finland Emerson Fittipaldi 5 ▼1
14 France Alain Prost 5 ▼1
15 Germany Jochen Mass 4
16 Canada Gilles Villeneuve 4
17 Italy Bruno Giacomelli 4
18 United Kingdom John Watson 3
19 South Africa Jody Scheckter 2
Constructors' World Championship
Pos. Team Pts +/-
1 United Kingdom Williams-Ford 90
2 France Ligier-Ford 56
3 United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 54
4 France Renault 38
5 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 12
6 United Kingdom Arrows-Ford 11
7 Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford 11
8 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 10 ▲1
9 United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 8 ▼1
10 Italy Ferrari 6
11 Italy Alfa Romeo 4

External Links[]

V T E Italy Italian Grand Prix
Circuits Monza (1950 - 1979, 1981 - Present), Imola (1980)
Monza2000
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
European Championship Races 193119321935193619371938
Non-Championship Races 1921192219231924192519261927192819331934194719481949
V T E 1980 Formula One Season
Teams Alfa Romeo • Arrows • ATS • Brabham • Ensign • Ferrari • Fittipaldi • Ligier • Lotus • McLaren • Osella • Renault • Shadow • Tyrrell • Williams
Engines Alfa Romeo • Ferrari • Ford Cosworth • Renault
Drivers Andretti • de Angelis • Arnoux • Brambilla • de Cesaris • Cheever • Cogan • Daly • Depailler • Ertl • Fittipaldi • Giacomelli • Johansson •Jabouille • Jarier • Jones • Keegan • Kennedy • Laffite • Lammers • Lees • Mansell • Mass • Needell • Patrese • Piquet • Pironi • Prost • Rebaque • Regazzoni • Reutemann • Rosberg • Scheckter • South • Surer • Thackwell • Villeneuve • Watson • Wilson • Winkelhock • Zunino
Cars Alfa Romeo 179 • Arrows A3 • ATS D3 • ATS D4 • Brabham BT49 • Ensign N180 • Ferrari 312T5 • Fittipaldi F7 • Fittipaldi F8 • Ligier JS11/15 • Lotus 81 • Lotus 81B • McLaren M29B • McLaren M29C • McLaren M30 • Osella FA1 • Osella FA1B • Renault RE20 • Shadow DN11 • Shadow DN12 • Tyrrell 009 • Tyrrell 010 • Williams FW07 • Williams FW07B
Tyres Goodyear • Michelin
Races Argentina • Brazil • South Africa • United States West • Belgium • Monaco • France • Britain • Germany • Austria • Netherlands • Italy • Canada • United States
Non-championship Races Spain
See also 1979 Formula One Season • 1981 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
v·d·e Nominate this page for Featured Article
Advertisement