1981 Formula 1 World Championship
A historical profile with source-linked evidence. Further research is in progress.
Profile & context
Championship season: 1981
- Name
- 1981 Formula 1 World Championship
Sources behind this page
v2026.17.0 · seasons/1981
Original reference ↗Historical source & scope
F1DB v2026.17.0 · CC BY 4.0. Normalisation, links and calculations by MotorPedia. Original source observations retained.
Source-reported facts are not independent historical confirmation. Missing times and points remain unknown; source-rounded points retain their published precision. Constructor, entrant and team identities are kept distinct.
Season coverage
15 of 15 source-calendar events have race results; 15 have qualifying; 15 have grids.
Rules audit: incomplete; published standings retained without summing gross race points. A populated calendar does not establish historical completeness.
Constructor championship: source_reported.
Historical scoring context
Finishing-point scale: Not yet audited for this season. Retention: Not yet audited.
Use source participant awards; eligibility and allocation vary historically. Use recorded awards; no universal half-points inference. Source decimals may round fractional awards; no guessed exact restoration.
Partial rule context only; this does not replace the source's retained championship standings.
Championship calendar
| Round | Grand Prix | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1981 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | 1981-03-15 | completed |
| 2 | Grande Prêmio do Brasil 1981 | 1981-03-29 | completed |
| 3 | Gran Premio de Argentina 1981 | 1981-04-12 | completed |
| 4 | Gran Premio di San Marino 1981 | 1981-05-03 | completed |
| 5 | 1981 Belgian Grand Prix | 1981-05-17 | completed |
| 6 | Grand Prix de Monaco 1981 | 1981-05-31 | completed |
| 7 | Gran Premio de España 1981 | 1981-06-21 | completed |
| 8 | Grand Prix de France 1981 | 1981-07-05 | completed |
| 9 | 1981 Marlboro British Grand Prix | 1981-07-18 | completed |
| 10 | Grosser Preis von Deutschland 1981 | 1981-08-02 | completed |
| 11 | Grosser Preis von Österreich 1981 | 1981-08-16 | completed |
| 12 | Grote Prijs van Nederland 1981 | 1981-08-30 | completed |
| 13 | Gran Premio d'Italia 1981 | 1981-09-13 | completed |
| 14 | Grand Prix Labatt du Canada 1981 | 1981-09-27 | completed |
| 15 | 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix | 1981-10-17 | completed |
Driver championship standings
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 50 |
| 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 49 |
| 3 | Alan Jones | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 46 |
| 4 | Jacques Laffite | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 44 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 43 |
| 6 | John Watson | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 27 |
| 7 | Gilles Villeneuve | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 25 |
| 8 | Elio de Angelis | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 14 |
| 9 | René Arnoux | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 11 |
| 10 | Héctor Rebaque | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 11 |
| 11 | Riccardo Patrese | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 10 |
| 12 | Eddie Cheever | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 10 |
| 13 | Didier Pironi | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 9 |
| 14 | Nigel Mansell | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 8 |
| 15 | Bruno Giacomelli | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 7 |
| 16 | Marc Surer | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 4 |
| 17 | Mario Andretti | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 3 |
| 18 | Patrick Tambay | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |
| 18 | Andrea de Cesaris | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |
| 18 | Slim Borgudd | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |
| 18 | Eliseo Salazar | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |
Constructor championship standings
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not recorded | Williams | Time not recorded · ford | 95 |
| 2 | Not recorded | Brabham | Time not recorded · ford | 61 |
| 3 | Not recorded | Renault | Time not recorded · renault | 54 |
| 4 | Not recorded | Ligier | Time not recorded · matra | 44 |
| 5 | Not recorded | Ferrari | Time not recorded · ferrari | 34 |
| 6 | Not recorded | McLaren | Time not recorded · ford | 28 |
| 7 | Not recorded | Lotus | Time not recorded · ford | 22 |
| 8 | Not recorded | Arrows | Time not recorded · ford | 10 |
| 9 | Not recorded | Alfa Romeo | Time not recorded · alfa-romeo | 10 |
| 10 | Not recorded | Tyrrell | Time not recorded · ford | 10 |
| 11 | Not recorded | Ensign | Time not recorded · ford | 5 |
| 12 | Not recorded | Theodore | Time not recorded · ford | 1 |
| 12 | Not recorded | ATS | Time not recorded · ford | 1 |