43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E / 43.7346500; 7.421333

1981 Monaco Grand Prix
Race 6 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	31 May 1981
Location	Circuit de Monaco
Course	Street circuit
Course length	3.312 km (2.057 miles)
Distance	76 laps, 251.712 km (156.406 miles)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford
Time	1:25.710
Fastest lap
Driver	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford
Time	1:27.47 on lap 48
Podium
First	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari
Second	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford
Third	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra
Lap leaders

The 1981 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 31 May 1981. It was the sixth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.^[1]

The 76-lap race was won by Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve, driving a Ferrari. Brazilian Nelson Piquet took pole position in his Brabham-Ford and led until he crashed out on lap 54. Australian Alan Jones finished second in a Williams-Ford, with Frenchman Jacques Laffite third in a Ligier-Matra.

Race

The start of the race was delayed after a fire in the Loews Hotel kitchens, which necessitated the fire service pumping large quantities of water to put the fires out. Water then seeped through the floors of the hotel and into the tunnel, delaying the race for an hour. Nelson Piquet led for much of the race, but crashed out late on. New race leader Alan Jones then suffered a fuel feed problem in the latter stages of the race, allowing Gilles Villeneuve in his Ferrari, to take his first victory since 1979 as well as becoming the first, and to this day, the only Canadian to win in Monaco. Championship leader Carlos Reutemann retired with gearbox problems, breaking a 15-race streak of consistently finishing in the points.

Classification

Pre-qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore-Ford	1:30.492
2	14	Marc Surer	Ensign-Ford	1:31.249	+0.757
3	31	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	1:32.704	+2.212
4	32	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Ford	1:33.189	+2.697
5	10	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	1:33.285	+2.793
6	18	Derek Daly	March-Ford	1:33.800	+3.308
7	17	Eliseo Salazar	March-Ford	1:35.249	+4.757
8	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	1:37.528	+7.036
9	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	1:41.966	+11.474

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Gap
1	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	1:25.710	1:28.667
2	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:26.891	1:25.788	+0.078
3	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	1:27.174	1:25.815	+0.105
4	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	1:27.643	1:26.010	+0.300
5	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	1:27.447	1:26.040	+0.330
6	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	1:28.381	1:26.259	+0.549
7	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	1:26.938	1:26.538	+0.828
8	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	1:27.468	1:26.704	+0.994
9	15	Alain Prost	Renault	1:27.623	1:26.953	+1.243
10	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:28.137	1:27.058	+1.348
11	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	1:28.966	1:27.122	+1.412
12	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	1:27.512	1:28.162	+1.802
13	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:28.613	1:27.513	+1.803
14	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	1:29.789	1:27.564	+1.854
15	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	1:29.282	1:27.594	+1.884
16	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore-Ford	1:28.897	1:27.939	+2.229
17	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	1:29.150	1:28.266	+2.556
18	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:28.335	1:28.323	+2.613
19	14	Marc Surer	Ensign-Ford	1:29.611	1:28.339	+2.629
20	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	1:30.699	1:28.358	+2.648
21	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:29.924	1:28.436	+2.726
22	25	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Ligier-Matra	1:29.752	1:28.841	+3.131
23	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	1:29.188	1:29.256	+3.478
24	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:32.109	1:29.434	+3.724
25	32	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Ford	no time	1:29.694	+3.984
26	31	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	1:30.963	1:29.795	+4.085
Source: [2]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	M	76	1:54:23.38	2	9
2	1	Alan Jones	Williams-Ford	M	76	+ 39.91	7	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	M	76	+ 1:29.24	8	4
4	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	M	75	+ 1 Lap	17	3
5	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell-Ford	M	74	+ 2 Laps	15	2
6	14	Marc Surer	Ensign-Ford	M	74	+ 2 Laps	19	1
7	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore-Ford	M	72	+ 4 Laps	16
Ret	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford	M	53	Spun off	1
Ret	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	M	52	Engine	10
Ret	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	M	50	Collision	20
Ret	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	M	50	Collision	18
Ret	15	Alain Prost	Renault	M	45	Engine	9
Ret	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	M	33	Gearbox	4
Ret	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	M	32	Engine	6
Ret	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	32	Spun off	13
Ret	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows-Ford	M	29	Gearbox	5
Ret	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	M	15	Suspension	3
Ret	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows-Ford	M	14	Fuel system	14
Ret	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren-Ford	M	0	Collision	11
Ret	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	M	0	Collision	12
DNQ	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi-Ford	A
DNQ	25	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Ligier-Matra	M
DNQ	6	Héctor Rebaque	Brabham-Ford	M
DNQ	21	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	A
DNQ	32	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Ford	M
DNQ	31	Beppe Gabbiani	Osella-Ford	M
DNPQ	10	Slim Borgudd	ATS-Ford	M
DNPQ	18	Derek Daly	March-Ford	M
DNPQ	17	Eliseo Salazar	March-Ford	M
DNPQ	35	Brian Henton	Toleman-Hart	P
DNPQ	36	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	P
Source: [3][4]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Carlos Reutemann 34 2 Alan Jones 24 3 Nelson Piquet 22 4 Gilles Villeneuve 12 5 Jacques Laffite 11 Source: [5]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Ford 58 2 Brabham-Ford 25 3 Ferrari 17 4 Ligier-Matra 11 5 Arrows-Ford 10 Source: [5]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.