1982 San Marino Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Italy
Grand Prix:San Marino
Date:25 April
Year:1982
Race No:4
Season No:16
Official Name:Gran Premio di San Marino
Location:Autodromo Dino Ferrari
Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Course Mi:3.132
Course Km:5.040
Distance Laps:60
Distance Km:302.400
Distance Mi:187.902
Pole Driver:René Arnoux
Pole Team:Renault
Pole Time:1:29.765
Pole Country:France
Fast Driver:Didier Pironi
Fast Team:Ferrari
Fast Time:1:35.036
Fast Lap:44
Fast Country:France
First Driver:Didier Pironi
First Team:Ferrari
First Country:France
Second Driver:Gilles Villeneuve
Second Team:Ferrari
Second Country:Canada
Third Driver:Michele Alboreto
Third Team:Tyrrell-Ford
Third Country:Italy

The 1982 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 April 1982 at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the fourth race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. The race was boycotted by many teams as part of a political war, unrelated to the event itself, involving the two dominant forces within Formula One, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) and the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA). Only seven teams took part, giving a field of 14 cars.

The 60-lap race was won by Frenchman Didier Pironi, driving a Ferrari, with Canadian teammate Gilles Villeneuve second and Italian Michele Alboreto third in a Tyrrell-Ford. After the Renaults of René Arnoux and Alain Prost retired, Villeneuve led from Pironi before the Ferrari team ordered both drivers to slow down, with Alboreto far behind. Villeneuve interpreted this as an order to maintain position on the track; Pironi did not and thus overtook Villeneuve on the final lap, infuriating the Canadian to the point that he vowed never to speak to Pironi again. Villeneuve would lose his life in a crash during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks later.

Summary

See also: FISA–FOCA war.

In a decision relating to the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg were excluded for their cars' use of water tanks as ballast to keep them under the weight limit during race conditions. The Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) protested, and decided to boycott the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix.

Most of the FOCA-aligned teams, including Brabham, McLaren, Williams and Lotus, boycotted the race. However, the Tyrrell, Osella, ATS and Toleman teams broke the boycott, citing "sponsor obligations". They joined the FISA-aligned Ferrari, Renault and Alfa Romeo teams in the race, giving a total of 14 cars.

The Renaults of René Arnoux and Alain Prost qualified first and second, but their cars failed in the race, leaving Ferrari occupying the top two positions with Gilles Villeneuve leading Didier Pironi. The third-placed Tyrrell of Michele Alboreto was far behind, so Ferrari ordered their drivers to slow down to minimize the risk of mechanical failure or running out of fuel. Villeneuve believed this order also meant that the cars were to maintain position on the track, with Villeneuve ahead of Pironi. However, Pironi believed that the cars were free to race, and passed Villeneuve. Villeneuve believed that Pironi was simply trying to spice up an otherwise dull race, and duly re-passed his teammate, assuming that he would then hold station for the remainder of the race. Thus, Villeneuve failed to protect the inside line going into the Tosa corner on the final lap, and Pironi passed him to take the win. Villeneuve was irate at what he saw as Pironi's betrayal, although opinion inside the Ferrari team was split over the true meaning of the order to slow down. Villeneuve's expression was sullen on the podium, enraged by Pironi's actions. He was quoted afterwards as saying, "I'll never speak to Pironi again in my life." They proved to be prophetic words, as he was still not on speaking terms with his teammate when he died during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks later. Pironi's pass on Villeneuve is considered to be one of the most controversial moments in Formula One.[1] [2]

Manfred Winkelhock was disqualified for his car being underweight in post-race scrutineering.

Despite most of the FOCA-aligned teams boycotting the race it still counted towards the World Championship. This was a bone of contention with the FOCA teams as two previous races held during the war (the 1980 Spanish Grand Prix and the 1981 South African Grand Prix) which had seen all three manufacturer teams boycotting had been down-graded to non-championship races and had not counted towards the championship or official records.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No. Driver ConstructorQ1Q2 Gap
116 René ArnouxRenault1:32.6281:29.765
215 Alain ProstRenault1:31.1691:30.249+ 0.484
327 Gilles VilleneuveFerrari1:31.5411:30.717+ 0.952
428 Didier PironiFerrari1:32.0201:32.779+ 2.255
53 Michele AlboretoTyrrell-Ford1:34.4801:33.209+ 3.444
623 Bruno GiacomelliAlfa Romeo1:35.2141:33.230+ 3.465
722 Andrea de CesarisAlfa Romeo1:33.8791:33.397+ 3.632
835 Derek WarwickToleman-Hart1:34.0621:33.503+ 3.738
931 Jean-Pierre JarierOsella-Ford1:34.7151:34.336+ 4.571
1036 Teo FabiToleman-Hart1:42.5291:34.647+ 4.882
114 Brian HentonTyrrell-Ford1:36.1001:35.262+ 5.497
129 Manfred WinkelhockATS-Ford1:36.1551:35.790+ 6.025
1332 Riccardo PalettiOsella-Ford1:37.9991:36.228+ 6.463
1410 Eliseo SalazarATS-Ford1:41.2551:36.434+ 6.669

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
128 Didier PironiFerrari601:36:38.88749
227 Gilles VilleneuveFerrari60+ 0.36636
33 Michele AlboretoTyrrell-Ford60+ 1:07.68454
431 Jean-Pierre JarierOsella-Ford59+ 1 Lap93
510 Eliseo SalazarATS-Ford57+ 3 Laps142
DSQ9 Manfred WinkelhockATS-Ford54Underweight12 
NC36 Teo FabiToleman-Hart52+ 8 Laps10 
Ret16 René ArnouxRenault44Turbo1 
Ret23 Bruno GiacomelliAlfa Romeo24Engine6 
Ret32 Riccardo PalettiOsella-Ford7Suspension13 
Ret15 Alain ProstRenault6Engine2 
Ret22 Andrea de CesarisAlfa Romeo4Electrical7 
Ret4 Brian HentonTyrrell-Ford0Transmission11 
Ret35 Derek WarwickToleman-Hart0Electrical8 

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Alain Prost18
2 Niki Lauda12
3 Didier Pironi10
4 Michele Alboreto10
5 Keke Rosberg8
Source:[3]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 Renault22
2 McLaren-Ford20
3 Ferrari16
4 Williams-Ford14
5 Tyrrell-Ford10
Source:

Notes and References

  1. News: Imola 1982: An F1 controversy that keeps on rolling. 9 March 2021.
  2. News: Cooper. Adam. Treachery and betrayal at Imola: the most controversial San Marino GPs. subscription. 9 March 2021.
  3. Web site: San Marino 1982 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 20 March 2019.