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The 1983 San Marino Grand Prix, held at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, was the fourth race of the 1983 Formula One Season. The paddock arrived two weeks after the French Grand Prix, with Ferrari in a reflective mood after the events of the previous visit the year before.[1] As it was, the tifosi left on a high note, with René Arnoux claiming pole, and Patrick Tambay taking victory, dedicating his win to his predecessor in the number 27 Ferrari: Gilles Villeneuve.[1]

Background[]

After the near perfect display by Renault in France, Alain Prost was finally in a position that represented his (and the car's) inherent pace, now third in the standings. Yet, the Frenchman still trailed Nelson Piquet, whose tally of fifteen was five more than Niki Lauda's, with the Austrian sitting one point ahead of Prost going into the San Marino weekend. John Watson was level with Prost on points, with McLaren leading the teams' championship through his and Lauda's combined scores. Brabham started the weekend in second, four points behind, with Renault the only other team in double figures (all of which were scored in France).

There was just one casualty among the entry list, with the second RAM dropped meaning Eliseo Salazar was given the full attention of the RAM Racing team.[2] Osella, meanwhile, had negotiated a surprising engine deal with Alfa Romeo, shoehorning in one of Alfa's V12 creations into the back of Piercarlo Ghinzani's car in time for the race weekend.[2]


Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 1983 San Marino Grand Prix is shown below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom TAG Williams Racing Team Williams FW08C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
2 France Jacques Laffite United Kingdom TAG Williams Racing Team Williams FW08C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
3 Italy Michele Alboreto United Kingdom Benetton Tyrrell Team Tyrrell 011B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
4 United States Danny Sullivan United Kingdom Benetton Tyrrell Team Tyrrell 011B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Fila Sport Brabham BT52 BMW M12/13 L4t 1.5 M
6 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Fila Sport Brabham BT52 BMW M12/13 L4t 1.5 M
7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/1C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 M
8 Austria Niki Lauda United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/1C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 M
9 Germany Manfred Winkelhock Germany Team ATS ATS D6 BMW M12/13 L4t 1.5 G
11 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom John Player Team Lotus Lotus 93T Renault EF1 V6t 1.5 P
12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom John Player Team Lotus Lotus 92 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 P
15 France Alain Prost France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE40 Renault EF1 V6t 1.5 M
16 United States Eddie Cheever France Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE40 Renault EF1 V6t 1.5 M
17 Chile Eliseo Salazar United Kingdom RAM Racing Team March RAM 01 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 P
22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 183T Alfa Romeo 890T V8t 1.5 M
23 Italy Mauro Baldi Italy Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 183T Alfa Romeo 890T V8t 1.5 M
25 France Jean-Pierre Jarier France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS21 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 M
26 Brazil Raul Boesel France Equipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS21 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 M
27 France Patrick Tambay Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 126C2B Ferrari 021 V6t 1.5 G
28 France René Arnoux Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 126C2B Ferrari 021 V6t 1.5 G
29 Switzerland Marc Surer United Kingdom Arrows Racing Team Arrows A6 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
30 Brazil Chico Serra United Kingdom Arrows Racing Team Arrows A6 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
31 Italy Corrado Fabi Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1D Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 M
32 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1E Alfa Romeo 1260 V12 3.0 M
33 Colombia Roberto Guerrero United Kingdom Theodore Racing Team Theodore N183 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
34 Venezuela Johnny Cecotto United Kingdom Theodore Racing Team Theodore N183 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
35 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Candy Toleman Motorsport Toleman TG183B Hart 415T L4t 1.5 P
36 Italy Bruno Giacomelli United Kingdom Candy Toleman Motorsport Toleman TG183B Hart 415T L4t 1.5 P

Practice Overview[]

Ferrari were determined to have a good weekend at Imola, the last track at which they had taken a one-two (courtesy of Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve the year before).[1] Rene Arnoux was the fastest, beating his team mate by a second, with Prost and PIquet the only drivers splitting the Ferraris.[1] Osella ran the Alfa engine for the first time, although Ghinzani was almost two seconds slower than the older, Ford engined car of Corrado Fabi, the extra weight the most likely cause.[1]

With 28 entries, the practice session did not see any cars eliminated, although, as with the rest of the 1983 season, times in practice could count towards a driver's ultimate qualifying position.

Qualifying[]

It would be an emotional day for the tifosi on the saturday before the race, as René Arnoux claimed his first pole position for the Italian marque, three quarters of a second ahead of team mate Patrick Tambay.[2] Nelson Piquet also impressed, sneaking between the two Ferraris to take second on the grid, with Alain Prost the only other man within a second of his former Renault team mate.[2] Manfred Winkelhock was another highlight of the day, taking the BMW powered ATS to seventh on the grid, only falling behind Riccardo Patrese and Eddie Cheever by a few hundreths of a second.[2] Keke Rosberg was the fastest of the non-turbo cars, although his eleventh place, almost four seconds down on Arnoux, showed that the turbos had a significant advantage in Imola.[2]

John Watson had a poor day, qualifying down in twenty-fourth place, while Osella's Alfa experiment failed as Piercarlo Ghinzani failed to qualify.[2] He joined Eliseo Salazar on the sidelines for the race, with the Chilean lacking the speed to beat Ghinzani's team mate Corrado Fabi in the normal Osella.[1]

Qualifying Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time[1]
Q1 Q2
1 28 FranceRené Arnoux Ferrari 1:33.419 1:31.238
2 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 1:33.542 1:31.964
3 27 France Patrick Tambay Ferrari 1:34.221 1:31.967
4 15 France Alain Prost Renault 1:33.653 1:32.138
5 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW 1:36.243 1:32.969
6 16 United States Eddie Cheever Renault 1:33.888 1:33.450
7 9 Germany Manfred Winkelhock ATS-BMW 1:35.010 1:33.470
8 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo 1:34.345 1:33.528
9 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Renault 1:35.091 1:34.332
10 23 Italy Mauro Baldi Alfa Romeo 1:35.000 1:36.620
11 1 Finland Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford Cosworth 1:36.145 1:35.086
12 29 Switzerland Marc Surer Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:35.723 1:35.411
13 3 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:35.988 1:35.525
14 35 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:35.676 No Time
15 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford Cosworth 1:36.391 1:35.703
16 2 France Jacques Laffite Williams-Ford Cosworth 1:36.630 1:35.707
17 36 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Toleman-Hart 1:35.969 No Time
18 8 Austria Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:38.089 1:36.099
19 25 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Ligier-Ford Cosworth 1:37.544 1:36.116
20 30 Brazil Chico Serra Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:37.337 1:36.258
21 33 Colombia Roberto Guerrero Theodore-Ford Cosworth 1:36.792 1:36.324
22 4 United States Danny Sullivan Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:37.320 1:36.359
23 34 Venezuela Johnny Cecotto Theodore-Ford Cosworth 1:37.554 1:36.638
24 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford Cosworth 1:37.847 1:36.652
25 26 Brazil Raul Boesel Ligier-Ford Cosworth 1:39.435 1:37.332
26 31 Italy Corrado Fabi Osella-Ford Cosworth 1:37.952 1:37.711
DNQ 17 Chile Eliseo Salazar RAM-Ford Cosworth 1:38.691 1:38.091
DNQ 32 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:39.248 1:38.873
Bold indicates a driver's fastest time


Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 René Arnoux
Nelson Piquet ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Patrick Tambay
Alain Prost ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Riccardo Patrese
Eddie Cheever ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Manfred Winkelhock
Andrea de Cesaris ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Elio de Angelis
Mauro Baldi ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Keke Rosberg
Marc Surer ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Michele Alboreto
Derek Warwick ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Nigel Mansell
Jacques Laffite ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Bruno Giacomelli
Niki Lauda ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Jean-Pierre Jarier
Chico Serra ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Roberto Guerrero
Danny Sullivan ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Johnny Cecotto
John Watson ______________
Row 13 ______________ 25
26 Raul Boesel
Corrado Fabi ______________

Race[]

With a strong backing from the tifosi, it was clear that the fans around Imola wanted nothing more than a Ferrari win, and with Arnoux on pole and Tambay third, it seemed as if their wish would be granted. Piquet, Prost and Patrese were still in contention, however, and with Rosberg leading the non-turbo charge, Ferrari would have to be at their best to appease the crowd. One further note was to be made of McLaren, and particularly John Watson, as the last time he had failed to qualify in the top twenty (two races earlier at the United States Grand Prix West) the Ulsterman had won, showing a battling nature that he would need in San Marino.

Report[]

A stall off the line for Piquet gave Arnoux a dream start, as he pulled smartly away from the grid as the pack filtered past the stationary Brabham.[2] It would not be too long, however, before Tambay caught the back of his team mate, dragging Patrese, Prost and Andrea de Cesaris with him.[2] Piquet, meanwhile, got the Brabham back to life, and set about catching the back of the field, while Eddie Cheever became the first to fall with a turbo failure on the second lap.[2] 

Piquet's day would be improved by the fact that the Brabham was the dominant car that day, as Patrese demonstrated by taking Tambay and Arnoux on the fifth and sixth laps respectively to take the lead.[2] He quickly established a lead as Piquet began his slow climb, while Watson was gradually making progress, benefitting from several accidents, including the collision between his team mate Niki Lauda and Johnny Cecotto.[2]

By half distance, the Brabhams were beginning to get low on fuel, with Patrese pitting on lap 34.[2] Unfortunately for the Italian, he overshot his pitbox, meaning he emerged behind Tambay after the delay.[2] Tyre degredation had seen Arnoux stop earlier than planned, meaning he had fallen behind his team mate and rival Prost, leaving Tambay and Patrese to duel for the victory. Piquet, meanwhile, emerged from his stop in sixth, although his performance would count for little as an engine failure on the 42nd lap ended his race.[2]

Tambay and Patrese continued to battle away, until Patrese snatched the lead with six laps to go, building a small lead over the Frenchman.[2] Yet, the Italian was pushing far too hard for the state of his tyres, sliding wide at Acque Minerale and into the barriers.[2] The tifosi, in a typical show of loyalty to Ferrari, cheered as the Italian driver slid off as it meant that Tambay would take victory, as well as promote Arnoux into third.[2] Patrese's accident also put Watson into the points.[2]

Six laps later and the No. 27 Ferrari swept across the line to take an emotional victory at Imola, the first for Tambay in 1983.[2] Arnoux could do little to catch his former team mate Prost in the Renault, who split the Ferraris by taking second.[2] Keke Rosberg had a relatively quiet day to take fourth, with the charging McLaren of Watson beating Marc Surer to fifth.[2] Prost's six points for finishing second meant that he took the lead in the championship, with Tambay a point behind in third (Piquet was second, level on points with Prost), while Watson overtook Lauda for fourth.[1]

Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 27 France Patrick Tambay Italy Ferrari 60 1:37:52.460 3 9
2 15 France Alain Prost France Renault 60 + 48.781 4 6
3 28 France René Arnoux Italy Ferrari 59 + 1 Lap 1 4
4 1 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 59 + 1 Lap 11 3
5 7 United Kingdom John Watson United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 59 + 1 Lap 24 2
6 29 Switzerland Marc Surer United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 59 + 1 Lap 12 1
7 2 France Jacques Laffite United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 59 + 1 Lap 16
8 30 Brazil Chico Serra United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 58 + 2 Laps 20
9 26 Brazil Raul Boesel France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 58 + 2 Laps 25
10 23 Italy Mauro Baldi* Italy Alfa Romeo 57 Engine 10
11 9 Germany Manfred Winkelhock Germany ATS-BMW 57 + 3 Laps 7
12 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell* United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth 56 Accident 15
13 6 Italy RIccardo Patrese* United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 54 Accident 5
Ret 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Italy Alfa Romeo 45 Distributor 8
Ret 11 Italy Elio de Angelis United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 43 Handling 9
Ret 5 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 41 Engine 2
Ret 25 France Jean-Pierre Jarier France Ligier-Ford Cosworth 39 Radiator 19
Ret 4 United States Danny Sullivan United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 37 Accident 22
Ret 35 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Toleman-Hart 27 Accident 14
Ret 31 Italy Corrado Fabi Italy Osella-Ford Cosworth 20 Accident 26
Ret 36 Italy Bruno Giacomelli United Kingdom Toleman-Hart 20 Suspension 17
Ret 8 Austria Niki Lauda United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 11 Accident 18
Ret 34 Venezuela Johnny Cecotto Hong Kong Theodore-Ford Cosworth 11 Accident 23
Ret 3 Italy Michele Alboreto United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 10 Suspension 13
Ret 33 Colombia Roberto Guerrero Hong Kong Theodore-Ford Cosworth 3 Accident 21
Ret 16 United States Eddie Cheever France Renault 2 Turbo 6

* Baldi, Mansell and Patrese were still classified, despite retiring, as they had all completed 90% of the race distance.

Milestones[]

Standings after race[]

1983 Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts
1 France Alain Prost 15
2 Brazil Nelson Piquet 15
3 France Patrick Tambay 14
4 United Kingdom John Watson 11
5 Austria Niki Lauda 10

Only the top 5 drivers are displayed.

1983 Constructors' World Championship
Pos. Team Pts
1 Italy Ferrari 22
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth 21
3 France Renault 19
4 United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 15
5 United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth 12

Only the top 5 constructors are displayed.

References[]


V T E San Marino San Marino Grand Prix
Circuits Imola (1981-2006)
Imola 1981
Races 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006
V T E 1983 Formula One Season
Teams Williams • Tyrrell • Brabham • McLaren • ATS • Lotus • Renault • RAM • Alfa Romeo • Ligier • Ferrari • Arrows • Osella • Theodore • Toleman • Spirit
Engines Alfa Romeo • BMW • Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Honda • Renault • TAG
Drivers alphabetically Acheson • Alboreto • De Angelis • Arnoux • Baldi • Boesel • Boutsen • Cecotto • De Cesaris • Cheever • Fabi • Ghinzani • Giacomelli • Guerrero • Jarier • Johansson • Jones • Laffite • Lauda • Mansell • Palmer • Patrese • Piquet • Prost • Rosberg • Salazar • Schlesser • Serra • Sullivan • Surer • Tambay • Villeneuve • Warwick • Watson • Winkelhock
Drivers by number Rosberg • 2 Laffite • 42 Palmer • 3 Alboreto • 4 Sullivan • 5 Piquet • 6 Patrese • 7 Watson • 8 Lauda • 9 Winkelhock • 11 De Angelis • 12 Mansell • 15 Prost • 16 Cheever • 17 Salazar • 17 Villeneuve • 17 Acheson • 18 Schlesser • 22 De Cesaris • 23 Baldi • 25 Jarier • 26 Boesel • 27 Tambay • 28 Arnoux • 29 Surer • 30 Serra • 30 Jones • 30 Boutsen • 31 Fabi • 32 Ghinzani • 33 Guerrero • 34 Cecotto • 35 Warwick • 36 Giacomelli • 40 Johansson
Cars Ferrari 126C2B • Ferrari 126C3 • Renault RE30C • Renault RE40 • Brabham BT52 • Brabham BT52B • Williams FW08C • Williams FW09 • McLaren MP4/1C • McLaren MP4/1E • Alfa Romeo 183T • Tyrrell 011B • Tyrrell 012 • Lotus 92 • Lotus 93T • Lotus 94T • Toleman TG183 • Arrows A6 • Theodore N183 • Ligier JS21 • Spirit 201 • ATS D6 • Osella FA1D • Osella FA1E • RAM 01
Tyres Goodyear • Michelin • Pirelli
Races Brazil • U.S. West • France • San Marino • Monaco • Belgium • Detroit • Canada • Britain • Germany • Austria • Netherlands • Italy • Europe • South Africa
Non-championship races Race of Champions
See also 1982 Formula One Season • 1984 Formula One Season • Category
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