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The 1980 United States Grand Prix was the 14th and final round of the 1980 world championship. Alan Jones took the win ahead of Carlos Reutemann and Didier Pironi.


Background[]

With Alan Jones being crowned the world champion in Canada, and his team Williams being crowned constructor's champion some races before, the title chase was closed before the final race at Watkins Glen began. The entry list was much the same, however after Jean-Pierre Jabouille had suffered serious leg injuries in Canada, Renault opted to run only a single car. CART driver Kevin Cogan had signed for the RAM entered Williams for the US, however after his failure to qualify in Canada, Cogan had given up on the team. Instead the team replaced him with out of work F1 driver, Geoff Lees.

The United States Grand Prix would mark the retirement for two F1 world champions. After a dismal final season at Ferrari, Jody Scheckter had announced his retirement at the end of the season. Whilst still unannounced, Emerson Fittipaldi had made the decision to retire from Formula One at the end of the season, moving into the management of his Fittipaldi team alongside his brother Wilson Fittipaldi.   


Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 1980 United States Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 South Africa Jody Scheckter Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312T5 Ferrari 015 3.0 F12 M
2 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312T5 Ferrari 015 3.0 F12 M
3 France Jean-Pierre Jarier United Kingdom Candy Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 010 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
4 Ireland Derek Daly United Kingdom Candy Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 010 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Parmalat Racing Team Brabham BT49 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque United Kingdom Parmalat Racing Team Brabham BT49 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom Marlboro Team McLaren McLaren M29 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
8 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Marlboro Team McLaren McLaren M30 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
9 Switzerland Marc Surer West Germany Team ATS ATS D4 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
11 United States Mario Andretti United Kingdom Team Essex Lotus Lotus 81 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
12 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Team Essex Lotus Lotus 81 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
14 Netherlands Jan Lammers United Kingdom Unipart Racing Team Ensign N180 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
15 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE20 Renault EF1 3.0 V6t M
16 France René Arnoux France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE20 Renault EF1 3.0 V6t M
20 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Skol Fittipaldi Team Fittipaldi F8 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
21 Finland Keke Rosberg Brazil Skol Fittipaldi Team Fittipaldi F8 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 179 Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12 G
23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Italy Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 179 Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12 G
25 France Didier Pironi France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS11/15 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
26 France Jacques Laffite France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS11/15 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
27 Australia Alan Jones United Kingdom Albilad-Williams Racing Team Williams FW07B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
28 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Albilad-Williams Racing Team Williams FW07B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
29 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team Arrows A3 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
30 West Germany Jochen Mass United Kingdom Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team Arrows A3 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
31 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
43 New Zealand Mike Thackwell United Kingdom Candy Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 010 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
50 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan United Kingdom RAM – Penthouse Rizla Racing Williams FW07 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
51 United Kingdom Geoff Lees United Kingdom RAM – Rainbow Jeans Racing Williams FW07 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G
60 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Team Essex Lotus Lotus 81B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 G

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

The big surprise of qualifying was when Bruno Giacomelli dominated both the Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions to take Alfa Romeo's first pole since 1951. Nelson Piquet was second with Carlos Reutemann third whilst Elio de Angelis had done well to claim fourth for Lotus. The new world champion Alan Jones was in fifth position. 

Alain Prost had a nasty accident in qualifying at Turn 12 when his suspension failed for the second week in a row. Prost's face hit the car's steering wheel hard and he suffered a nasty bang on the head and would not start the race. 

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1980 United States Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Italy Alfa Romeo 1:34.551 1:33.291
2 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:35.202 1:34.080T +0.789s
3 28 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 1:34.971 1:34.111 +0.820s
4 12 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:35.385 1:34.185 +0.894s
5 27 Australia Alan Jones United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 1:34.563 1:34.216 +0.925s
6 16 France René Arnoux France Renault 1:34.839 1:35.005 +1.548s
7 25 France Didier Pironi France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 1:36.070 1:34.971T +1.680s
8 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque United Kingdom Brabham-Ford Cosworth 1:36.097 1:35.166 +1.875s
9 7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:35.330 1:35.202 +1.911s
10 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Alfa Romeo 1:35.947 1:35.235 +1.944s
11 11 United States Mario Andretti United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:36.856 1:35.343 +2.052s
12 26 France Jacques Laffite France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 1:35.421 +2.130s
13* 8 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:35.988 +2.697s
14 21 Finland Keke Rosberg Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth 1:37.645 1:36.332 +3.041s
15 50 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 1:39.731 1:36.750 +3.459s
16 31 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Osella-Ford Cosworth 1:36.908 1:38.798 +3.617s
17 9 Switzerland Marc Surer West Germany ATS-Ford Cosworth 1:37.788 1:37.001T +3.710s
18 2 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Italy Ferrari 1:37.572 1:37.040 +3.749s
19 20 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth 1:42.720 1:37.088 +3.797s
20 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:37.405 1:37.421 +4.114s
21 4 Ireland Derek Daly United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:38.073 1:37.923 +4.632s
22 3 France Jean-Pierre Jarier United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:37.966 1:38.460 +4.675s
23 1 South Africa Jody Scheckter Italy Ferrari 1:38.645 1:38.149 +4.858s
24 30 West Germany Jochen Mass United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:38.526 1:38.691 +5.235s
25 14 Netherlands Jan Lammers United Kingdom Ensign-Ford Cosworth 1:38.532T 1:38.828T +5.241s
DNQ 43 New Zealand Mike Thackwell United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:51.102 +17.811s
DNQ 51 United Kingdom Geoff Lees United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth
WD 15 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille France Renault Injury
WD 60 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
  • T Indicates a driver using a spare/test car to set their time in this session.
  • * Prost had failed to start due to his accident.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Bruno Giacomelli
Nelson Piquet ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Carlos Reutemann
Elio de Angelis ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Alan Jones
René Arnoux ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Didier Pironi
Héctor Rebaque ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 John Watson
Andrea de Cesaris ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Mario Andretti
Jacques Laffite ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14
Keke Rosberg ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Rupert Keegan
Eddie Cheever ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Marc Surer
Gilles Villeneuve ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Emerson Fittipaldi
Riccardo Patrese ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Derek Daly
Jean-Pierre Jarier ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Jody Scheckter
Jochen Mass ______________
Row 13 ______________ 25
26 Jan Lammers
______________

Race[]

Report[]

Following his accident in qualifying, Alain Prost elected not to start the race due to head pains. His entry was taken by the fastest of the non-qualifiers, the Ensign of Jan Lammers

Alan Jones got a terrific start, climbing to second from fifth, however he outbraked himself going into the first corner and went wide and off the circuit where he dropped right down to the back of the grid. At the same time Andrea de Cesaris and René Arnoux also went wide and dropped down to the back of the pack as well. Bruno Giacomelli maintained his lead ahead of Nelson Piquet, Carlos Reutemann and Didier Pironi

De Cesaris became the first retirement when he spun out of the race on the second lap. The following lap Derek Daly suffered a suspension failure and was pitched off the circuit, Daly suffering one final accident before the end of the season. Jones who had went off the start was making a terrific comeback, climbing right through the midfield. 

Up the front Giacomelli began to extend his lead whilst behind him, Reutemann began to pressure Piquet. Piquet however blocked Reutemann's every move, the Argentine waving furiously at Piquet after being stuck behind the Brabham for a number of laps. This battle had allowed Pironi and Jones to climb up to the back of squabbling duo of Piquet and Reutemann. Eventually the pressure had become too much for Piquet and he spun off going into the first corner and was caught in the catchfencing. Piquet signalled the marshalls to give him a push-start and whilst he got the car going again, he was a lap down and simply trundled back to the pits and retired.

A couple of laps later, Jones had managed to take third place from Pironi. Jones then managed to catch up to the rear of teammate Reutemann and after a few laps, Jones was past Reutemann and into second. However Reutemann remained on Jones's tail and the two Williams cars continued to dice for second position. 

Giacomelli had control of the race, his Alfa Romeo 11 seconds ahead of Jones, however on lap 32 his car ground to a halt. The electrics on his Alfa had failed, denying Giacomelli a potential first Formula One win. It was then left for Jones to take a comfortable win ahead of Reutemann, Pironi, Elio de Angelis, Jacques Laffite and Mario Andretti, scoring at his home race. 

Aftermath[]

For the second consecutive year, the attendance at the race was disappointing. Unbeknownst to most, the track had been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for some time, and this weekend tipped it over. The circuit management defaulted on the prize monies due for the race, and told the FIA that there was no timetable to raise the money. 20 years of the race in upstate New York were over. After the track was late in paying prize money for the 1981 Six Hours of Watkins Glen sports car race, it filed for bankruptcy in US Federal Court, listing debts of close to $2,000,000. About $800,000 of that was owed to the FIA for the 1980 Grand Prix. The FIA then voted to suspend the track license indefinitely, and remove the track from the calendar. The track was shut down, and preparations were made for an auction of the assets.

In 1983, the track and all assets were purchased by Owens Corning (now known as Corning International), a maker of glass, fiberglass, pyrex and related products. As the largest single employer in the region, they felt that they were giving back to the community by giving the track a new lease on life. The track was refurbished, and the grand re-opening was held in 1984 with Camel Continental I, a non-FIA replacement to the six hours event. But things really turned around with the addition of a NASCAR date in 1986, and for the first time in several years the track was profitable. Sometime later the management very quietly started discussions with the FIA, and over time all monies owed to creditors were paid back, with interest. In response, an FIA delegate inspected the track, and gave the management a lengthy list of improvements needed for something like Formula One. The management decided that Formula One was not in the foreseeable future for the track.

Results[]

The full results for the 1980 United States Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 27 Australia Alan Jones United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 59 1:34:36.05 5 9
2 28 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 59 +4.21s 3 6
3 25 France Didier Pironi France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 59 +12.57s 7 4
4 12 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 59 +29.69s 4 3
5 26 France Jacques Laffite France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 58 +1 lap 12 2
6 11 United States Mario Andretti United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 58 +1 lap 11 1
7 16 France René Arnoux France Renault 58 +1 lap 6
8 9 Switzerland Marc Surer West Germany ATS-Ford Cosworth 57 +2 laps 17
9 50 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 57 +2 laps 15
10 21 Finland Keke Rosberg Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth 57 +2 laps 14
11 1 South Africa Jody Scheckter Italy Ferrari 56 +3 laps 23
NC* 7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 50 +9 laps 9
Ret 2 Canada Gilles Villeneuve Italy Ferrari 49 Accident 18
NC* 3 France Jean-Pierre Jarier United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 40 +19 laps 22
Ret 30 West Germany Jochen Mass United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 36 Driveshaft 24
Ret 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Italy Alfa Romeo 31 Electrial 1
Ret 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-Ford Cosworth 25 Spin 2
Ret 31 United States Eddie Cheever Italy Osella-Ford Cosworth 21 Suspension 16
Ret 6 Mexico Héctor Rebaque United Kingdom Brabham-Ford Cosworth 20 Engine 8
Ret 29 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 16 Accident 20
Ret 14 Netherlands Jan Lammers United Kingdom Ensign-Ford Cosworth 16 Steering 25
Ret 20 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford Cosworth 15 Suspension 19
Ret 4 Ireland Derek Daly United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 3 Accident 21
Ret 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Alfa Romeo 2 Accident 10
DNS 8 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 43 New Zealand Mike Thackwell United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 51 United Kingdom Geoff Lees United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth
WD 15 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille France Renault
WD 60 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth
  • * Watson and Jarier would not be classified as they had failed to complete 90% of the race distance.

Milestones[]

Standings after race[]

        
Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts +/-
1 Australia Alan Jones 67
2 Brazil Nelson Piquet 54
3 Argentina Carlos Reutemann 42
4 France Jacques Laffite 34
5 France Didier Pironi 32 ▲1
6 France René Arnoux 29 ▼1
7 Italy Elio de Angelis 13
8 France Jean-Pierre Jabouille 9
9 Italy Riccardo Patrese 7
10 France Jean-Pierre Jarier 6
11 United Kingdom John Watson 6
12 Canada Gilles Villeneuve 6
13 Finland Keke Rosberg 6
14 Ireland Derek Daly 6
15 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 5
16 France Alain Prost 5
17 Germany Jochen Mass 4
18 Italy Bruno Giacomelli 4
19 South Africa Jody Scheckter 2
20 United States Mario Andretti 2 ▲2
21 Mexico Héctor Rebaque 1 ▼1
Constructors' World Championship
Pos. Team Pts +/-
1 United Kingdom Williams-Ford 120
2 France Ligier-Ford 66
3 United Kingdom Brabham-Ford 55
4 France Renault 38
5 United Kingdom Lotus-Ford 14 ▲4
6 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford 12 ▼1
7 United Kingdom Arrows-Ford 11 ▼1
8 Brazil Fittipaldi-Ford 11 ▼1
9 United Kingdom McLaren-Ford 11 ▼1
10 Italy Ferrari 8
11 Italy Alfa Romeo 4
V T E United States United States Grand Prix
Circuits Sebring (1959), Riverside (1960), Watkins Glen (1961–1980), Phoenix (1989–1991), Indianapolis (2000–2007), Austin (2012–present)
CircuitoftheAmericas2012
Formula One Races 19591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981–19881989199019911992–1999200020012002200320042005200620072008–2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-F1 races 1908190919101911191219131914191519161917–1957 • 1958
See also Miami Grand PrixLas Vegas Grand PrixUnited States Grand Prix WestIndianapolis 500Detroit Grand PrixCaesars Palace Grand PrixDallas Grand PrixQuestor Grand Prix
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
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