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1983 French Grand Prix

FieldValue
TypeF1
CountryFrance
Grand PrixFrench
ImagePaul Ricard 1970.png
Date17 April
Year1983
Race_No3
Season_No15
LocationPaul Ricard Circuit
CoursePermanent racing facility
Course_mi3.610
Course_km5.810
Distance_laps54
Distance_mi194.949
Distance_km313.740
WeatherDry, grey and cool
Pole_DriverAlain Prost
Pole_TeamRenault
Pole_Time1:36.672
Pole_CountryFrance
Fast_DriverAlain Prost
Fast_TeamRenault
Fast_Time1:42.695
Fast_Lap34
Fast_CountryFrance
First_DriverAlain Prost
First_TeamRenault
First_CountryFrance
Second_DriverNelson Piquet
Second_TeamBrabham-BMW
Second_CountryBrazil
second_flag_suffix1968
Third_DriverEddie Cheever
Third_TeamRenault
Third_CountryUSA
Lapchart

The 1983 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 17 April 1983.

French driver Alain Prost won the race for the Renault team, and this was the French marque's 3rd French Grand Prix win in a row and the 4th in 5 seasons. Second was the Brabham-BMW of World Champion Nelson Piquet, with Prost's Renault teammate Eddie Cheever finishing third. Rounding out the points finishers were Patrick Tambay in his Ferrari, and the non-turbo Williamses of Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite. This was the final time that both Renault cars started on the front row until the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix, when young Spaniard Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli started on the front row.

Summary

Qualifying

On home soil, Renault dominated the French Grand Prix. Alain Prost took pole position 2.3 seconds faster than second placed teammate Eddie Cheever. It would be Cheever's best ever qualifying position in Formula One. On the fast Circuit Paul Ricard with its 1.8 km long Mistral Straight, the turbo engines with their greater power had a large advantage. The fastest normally-aspirated car was the 12th placed McLaren-Ford of Long Beach runner up Niki Lauda, qualifying some 4.3 seconds slower than pole-sitter Prost. After occupying the front row of the grid at Long Beach, Ferrari had difficulty with René Arnoux qualifying 4th and Tambay faring worse, only qualifying 11th.

Chico Serra returned to the grid in the No.30 Arrows-Ford after the expected sponsorship that would have kept Australia's World Champion Alan Jones in the seat for the remainder of the season fell through at the last minute. Serra, who qualified 26th in France, would only last this and the next two races in Imola and Monaco before Arrows team boss Jackie Oliver replaced him for good with Belgian rookie Thierry Boutsen (who had finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 1981 and 1982 European Formula Two Championships) at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Failing to qualify for the race were the RAM-Fords of Eliseo Salazar and debutante Jean-Louis Schlesser, and the Osella of Piercarlo Ghinzani.

Race

As he had done in qualifying, Prost dominated the race for his first win in over 12 months, only losing the lead during the mid-race pit stops. Piquet finished second in the Brabham-BMW while Eddie Cheever finished 3rd in his Renault. Tambay managed to salvage what had been a tough weekend by finishing 4th with the Williams pair of Rosberg and Laffite finishing a lap down in 5th and 6th respectively.

Before the race, Lotus driver Nigel Mansell had his toes accidentally run over by his own team pushing his car in the pits which caused him to need a pain killing injection. He started the race but retired after just 6 laps when the pain of pushing the pedals became unbearable. Long Beach winner John Watson was the races first retirement on lap 3 with engine failure in his McLaren.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1Q2Gap1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829Source:
15France Alain ProstRenault1:38.358**1:36.672**—
16USA Eddie CheeverRenault**1:38.980**1:39.785+2.308
6Italy Riccardo PatreseBrabham-BMW1:41.095**1:39.104**+2.432
28France René ArnouxFerrari1:40.027**1:39.115**+2.443
11Italy Elio de AngelisLotus-Renault1:39.512**1:39.312**+2.640
5Brazil Nelson PiquetBrabham-BMW**1:39.601**1:39.746+2.929
22Italy Andrea de CesarisAlfa Romeo1:38.099†**1:39.611**+2.939
23Italy Mauro BaldiAlfa Romeo1:41.215**1:39.618**+2.946
35UK Derek WarwickToleman-Hart1:43.038**1:39.881**+3.209
9FRG Manfred WinkelhockATS-BMW**1:40.233**1:44.997+3.561
27France Patrick TambayFerrari**1:40.393**1:40.488+3.721
8Austria Niki LaudaMcLaren-Ford**1:41.065**1:41.492+4.393
36Italy Bruno GiacomelliToleman-Hart1:42.219**1:41.775**+5.103
7UK John WatsonMcLaren-Ford**1:41.838**1:42.448+5.166
3Italy Michele AlboretoTyrrell-Ford**1:42.177**1:43.317+5.505
1Finland Keke RosbergWilliams-Ford**1:42.450**1:42.551+5.778
34Venezuela Johnny CecottoTheodore-Ford1:43.552**1:42.615**+5.943
12UK Nigel MansellLotus-Ford1:43.320**1:42.650**+5.978
2France Jacques LaffiteWilliams-Ford1:43.295**1:42.678**+6.006
25France Jean-Pierre JarierLigier-Ford1:42.808**1:42.737**+6.065
29Switzerland Marc SurerArrows-Ford**1:42.962**1:44.346+6.290
33Colombia Roberto GuerreroTheodore-Ford**1:43.367**1:43.602+6.695
31Italy Corrado FabiOsella-Ford1:45.638**1:43.411**+6.739
4USA Danny SullivanTyrrell-Ford1:44.317**1:43.654**+6.982
26Brazil Raul BoeselLigier-Ford**1:44.470**1:44.905+7.798
30Brazil Chico SerraArrows-Ford**1:44.778**1:45.859+8.106
17Chile Eliseo SalazarRAM-Ford**1:45.073**2:02.335+8.401
32Italy Piercarlo GhinzaniOsella-Ford1:46.541**1:45.812**+9.140
18France Jean-Louis SchlesserRAM-Ford**1:45.866**1:46.102+9.194
  • † — Time disallowed

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorTyreLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints12345678910111213RetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetRetDNQDNQDNQSource:
15France **Alain Prost****Renault**541:34:13.9131**9**
5Brazil **Nelson Piquet****Brabham-BMW**54+ 29.7206**6**
16USA **Eddie Cheever****Renault**54+ 40.2322**4**
27France **Patrick Tambay****Ferrari**54+ 1:06.88011**3**
1Finland **Keke Rosberg****Williams-Ford**53+ 1 Lap16**2**
2France **Jacques Laffite****Williams-Ford**53+ 1 Lap19**1**
28France René ArnouxFerrari53+ 1 Lap4
3Italy Michele AlboretoTyrrell-Ford53+ 1 Lap15
25France Jean-Pierre JarierLigier-Ford53+ 1 Lap20
29Switzerland Marc SurerArrows-Ford53+ 1 Lap21
34Venezuela Johnny CecottoTheodore-Ford52+ 2 Laps17
22Italy Andrea de CesarisAlfa Romeo50+ 4 Laps7
36Italy Bruno GiacomelliToleman-Hart49Gearbox13
26Brazil Raul BoeselLigier-Ford47Engine25
31Italy Corrado FabiOsella-Ford36Engine23
9FRG Manfred WinkelhockATS-BMW36Turbo10
8Austria Niki LaudaMcLaren-Ford29Wheel bearing12
23Italy Mauro BaldiAlfa Romeo28Spun Off8
30Brazil Chico SerraArrows-Ford26Gearbox26
33Colombia Roberto GuerreroTheodore-Ford23Engine22
4USA Danny SullivanTyrrell-Ford21Clutch24
11Italy Elio de AngelisLotus-Renault20Electrical5
6Italy Riccardo PatreseBrabham-BMW19Water Leak3
35UK Derek WarwickToleman-Hart14Engine9
12UK Nigel MansellLotus-Ford6Physical18
7UK John WatsonMcLaren-Ford3Engine14
17Chile Eliseo SalazarRAM-Ford
32Italy Piercarlo GhinzaniOsella-Ford
18France Jean-Louis SchlesserRAM-Ford

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

PosDriverPointsSource:
1BRA Nelson Piquet15
2AUT Niki Lauda10
3FRA Alain Prost9
4UK John Watson9
5FRA Jacques Laffite7

;Constructors' Championship standings

PosConstructorPointsSource:
1UK McLaren-Ford19
2UK Brabham-BMW15
3FRA Renault13
4ITA Ferrari9
5UK Williams-Ford9
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

Name_of_race = French Grand Prix | Year_of_race = 1983 | Previous_race_in_season = 1983 United States Grand Prix West | Next_race_in_season = 1983 San Marino Grand Prix | Previous_year's_race = 1982 French Grand Prix | Next_year's_race = 1984 French Grand Prix

References

  1. (May 1983). "The French Grand Prix". MotorSport.
  2. "69e Grand Prix de France de Formule 1 - QUALIFYING 1".
  3. "69e Grand Prix de France de Formule 1 - QUALIFYING 2".
  4. "69e Grand Prix de France de Formule 1 - OVERALL QUALIFYING".
  5. Hamilton, Maurice. (1983). "[[AUTOCOURSE]] 1983–84". Hazleton Publishing Ltd.
  6. "1983 French Grand Prix". formula1.com.
  7. (17 April 1983). "1983 French Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive".
  8. "France 1983 - Championship • STATS F1".
Info: Wikipedia Source

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