1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix

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1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix
Race 16 of 16 in the 1982 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date September 25, 1982
Official name 2nd Caesars Palace Grand Prix
Location Las Vegas Strip
Course Temporary street course
Course length 3.650 km (2.268 miles)
Distance 75 laps, 273.75 km (170.10 miles)
Weather Sunny with temperatures reaching up to 98.8 °F (37.1 °C); wind speeds approaching 18.1 miles per hour (29.1 km/h)[1]
Pole position
Driver Renault
Time 1:16.356
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford
Time 1:19.639 on lap 59
Podium
First Tyrrell-Ford
Second McLaren-Ford
Third Ligier-Matra
Lap leaders

The 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 25, 1982 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1982 FIA Formula One World Championship, and the second and last F1 race to be held in Caesars Palace.

The 75-lap race was won by Michele Alboreto, driving a Tyrrell-Ford. Alboreto scored Tyrrell's first victory since the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix, becoming the eleventh different winning driver of 1982 while Tyrrell became the seventh different winning constructor. John Watson finished second in a McLaren-Ford, with Eddie Cheever third in a Ligier-Matra. Keke Rosberg finished fifth in his Williams-Ford to secure the Drivers' Championship, with Ferrari taking the Constructors' Championship despite neither car finishing in the top six.

This was the last F1 race for 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti. It was also the last race for the Ensign and Fittipaldi teams, the last for March until 1987, and the last for Matra as an engine supplier.

Background

When the 1982 Formula One schedule was first released in October 1981, the Caesars Palace Grand Prix was scheduled for Saturday, October 16, 1982.[2]

In anticipation of the second year in Las Vegas, race organizers attempted to make the weekend even larger by also scheduling an CART Indy car race. The weekend would consist of a Can-Am race on Friday, the Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday, then the track would be converted to an oval for Indy cars on Sunday.[3]

Shortly after CART announced their 1982 schedule confirming the Las Vegas race twin bill, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) announced the Caesars Palace Grand Prix would be moved to September 25. Jean-Marie Balestre, head of FISA, explained this was done to shorten the one month wait between the Italian Grand Prix and the Caesars Palace Grand Prix. It was also done so the American television broadcaster, NBC, would not have a conflict with their coverage of the 1982 World Series being held the same weekend. This new date was in conflict with CART's previously scheduled race at Michigan International Speedway. Furthermore, FISA prevented any future F1-IndyCar combination weekends by instituting a rule that banned two open-wheel series with engines over two liters from competing at the same venue on the same weekend.[4]

In response, CART president John Frasco said, "I don't know all the politics, but it's pretty obvious FISA doesn't want to race with us... I didn't think we were competing against each other because we would be racing on different configurations. Caesars Palace thought the doubleheader concept was fascinating, so did Bernie Ecclestone, and so did we. But obviously, other people involved didn't feel that way."[5]

Qualifying report

For the first time since the World Championship began in 1950, a country hosted three rounds in the same season in 1982. The final race of the year, and the third in the US, would once again decide the Championship. Keke Rosberg of Williams had 42 points, to 33 for McLaren's John Watson, and needed to finish sixth or better to secure the title. Meanwhile, the race was former world champion Mario Andretti's final grand prix.

The course's tight turns and short straights allowed the non-turbo cars to be more competitive than usual, with Michele Alboreto's Tyrrell and Eddie Cheever's Talbot Ligier fastest among them. The turbocharged Renaults of Alain Prost and René Arnoux took first and second positions in qualifying, more than eight-tenths clear of Alboreto. The two Championship contenders, Rosberg and Watson, meanwhile, were in sixth and ninth places respectively, separated by the Ferraris of Mario Andretti and Patrick Tambay.

Championship permutations

Rosberg and Watson both entered this race with a chance of winning the Drivers' Championship.

  • Rosberg (42 points) needed either
    • 6th or higher
    • Watson 2nd or lower
  • Watson (33 points) needed to win the race, with Rosberg 7th or lower. Had this happened, both drivers would have finished with 42 points, and Watson would have been champion by virtue of having three wins to Rosberg's one.
  • The injured Didier Pironi exited championship contention before the race on the grounds of being absent from the event.

For the first time since 1964, three teams entered the final race with a chance of winning the Constructors' Championship.

  • Ferrari (74 points) needed either
    • 2nd (or 4th and 5th) or better
    • 4th (or 5th and 6th) or better, with the McLarens 1st and 3rd or lower
    • 5th or better, with the McLarens 1st and 4th or lower
    • 6th or better, with the McLarens 1st and 5th or lower
    • the McLarens scoring fewer than 11 points, with the Renaults 1st and 3rd or lower
  • McLaren-Ford (63 points) needed 1st and either
    • 2nd with the Ferraris scoring fewer than 5 points
    • 3rd with the Ferraris scoring fewer than 3 points
    • 4th with the Ferraris 6th or lower
    • 5th with the Ferraris 7th or lower
  • Renault (59 points) needed 1st and 2nd, with the Ferraris 7th or lower. Had this happened, both teams would have finished with 74 points, with Renault then winning by virtue of having five wins to Ferrari's three.

Race report

At the green light for the race on Saturday, Prost led from the pole, followed by teammate Arnoux. Cheever, from the fourth spot on the grid, was determined to get around the outside of Alboreto on the first left-hander. They touched wheels, but both continued with Alboreto still in front, Cheever's Ligier sporting a vibrating front wheel and the Tyrrell of Alboreto bearing a tire mark on the right sidepod.

For the first ten laps, the Renaults steadily pulled away from Alboreto, with Arnoux now leading Prost. The Tyrrell began to match Arnoux's times, however, and then to close on him, as Prost took back the lead on lap 15. Speculation of a problem with Arnoux's car proved true, as the Renault was faltering, and he retired on lap 21.

Watson, meanwhile, had dropped to twelfth in the opening laps, but passed Piquet on lap 12, then Rosberg, Andretti and Cheever on successive laps, eventually reaching third place, with a thirty-second gap to the two leaders. However, when Andretti, hoping to help clinch the Constructors' title for Ferrari, slid off directly in front of Rosberg on lap 27 with a broken rear suspension link, Rosberg took over the fifth place he sought.

Among the leaders, Alboreto began inching closer to Prost again, and Watson continued to close on both of them. Niki Lauda's McLaren retired on lap 54, while Alboreto had eliminated the gap to Prost, and gotten by him to take the lead in a Grand Prix for the first time. Prost's tires were picking up rubber and had developed a vibration. In four more laps, Watson had also caught and passed him, but he was having the same problem as Prost, and so could make no progress on Alboreto.

Alboreto cruised to a comfortable victory, his first ever and the first for Tyrrell in four years. Alboreto was the 11th different victor that year. Cheever was also able to overtake the ailing Prost for third, nine laps from the end. Less than three seconds behind Prost, and the last car on the lead lap, was Rosberg, who therefore won the world title. Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship despite not finishing in the points.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 15 France Alain Prost Renault 1:18.922 1:16.356
2 16 France René Arnoux Renault 1:17.868 1:16.786 +0.430
3 3 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:18.756 1:17.646 +1.290
4 25 United States Eddie Cheever Ligier-Matra 1:18.842 1:17.683 +1.327
5 2 Italy Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW 1:20.386 1:17.772 +1.416
6 6 Finland Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford 1:19.162 1:17.886 +1.530
7 28 United States Mario Andretti Ferrari 1:19.246 1:17.921 +1.565
8 27 France Patrick Tambay Ferrari 1:21.067 1:17.958 +1.602
9 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:19.320 1:17.986 +1.630
10 35 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:20.181 1:18.012 +1.656
11 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:19.635 1:18.056 +1.700
12 1 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 1:19.210 1:18.275 +1.919
13 8 Austria Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford 1:19.171 1:18.333 +1.977
14 5 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly Williams-Ford 1:19.808 1:18.418 +2.062
15 14 Colombia Roberto Guerrero Ensign-Ford 1:20.516 1:18.496 +2.140
16 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:20.065 1:18.622 +2.266
17 29 Switzerland Marc Surer Arrows-Ford 1:19.764 1:18.734 +2.378
18 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo 1:19.728 1:18.761 +2.405
19 4 United Kingdom Brian Henton Tyrrell-Ford 1:21.038 1:18.765 +2.409
20 31 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:19.222 no time +2.866
21 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:19.564 1:19.302 +2.946
22 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:20.986 1:19.439 +3.083
23 9 West Germany Manfred Winkelhock ATS-Ford 1:21.563 1:19.767 +3.411
24 30 Italy Mauro Baldi Arrows-Ford 1:20.271 1:20.824 +3.915
25 18 Brazil Raul Boesel March-Ford 1:20.766 1:21.215 +4.410
26 17 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan March-Ford 1:26.048 1:21.180 +4.824
27 33 Republic of Ireland Tommy Byrne Theodore-Ford 1:24.208 1:21.555 +5.199
28 36 Italy Teo Fabi Toleman-Hart 1:22.324 1:21.569 +5.213
29 10 Chile Eliseo Salazar ATS-Ford 1:23.148 1:21.583 +5.227
30 20 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:23.100 1:22.387 +6.031
Source:[6]

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 3 Italy Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford G 75 1:41:56.888 3 9
2 7 United Kingdom John Watson McLaren-Ford M 75 + 27.292 9 6
3 25 United States Eddie Cheever Ligier-Matra M 75 + 56.450 4 4
4 15 France Alain Prost Renault M 75 + 1:08.648 1 3
5 6 Finland Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford G 75 + 1:11.375 6 2
6 5 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly Williams-Ford G 74 + 1 Lap 14 1
7 29 Switzerland Marc Surer Arrows-Ford P 74 + 1 Lap 17
8 4 United Kingdom Brian Henton Tyrrell-Ford G 74 + 1 Lap 19
9 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo M 73 + 2 Laps 18
10 23 Italy Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo M 73 + 2 Laps 16
11 30 Italy Mauro Baldi Arrows-Ford P 73 + 2 Laps 23
12 17 United Kingdom Rupert Keegan March-Ford M 73 + 2 Laps 25
13 18 Brazil Raul Boesel March-Ford M 69 + 6 Laps 24
NC 9 West Germany Manfred Winkelhock ATS-Ford M 62 + 13 Laps 22
Ret 8 Austria Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford M 53 Engine 13
Ret 33 Republic of Ireland Tommy Byrne Theodore-Ford G 39 Spun Off 26
Ret 35 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart P 32 Spark Plugs 10
Ret 11 Italy Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford G 28 Engine 20
Ret 28 United States Mario Andretti Ferrari G 26 Suspension 7
Ret 1 Brazil Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW G 26 Spark Plugs 12
Ret 16 France René Arnoux Renault M 20 Engine 2
Ret 2 Italy Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW G 17 Clutch 5
Ret 12 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford G 8 Collision 21
Ret 26 France Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra M 5 Ignition 11
DNS 27 France Patrick Tambay Ferrari G 0 Driver Unfit 8
DNS 14 Colombia Roberto Guerrero Ensign-Ford M 0 Engine 15
DNS 31 France Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford P
DNQ 36 Italy Teo Fabi Toleman-Hart P
DNQ 10 Chile Eliseo Salazar ATS-Ford M
DNQ 20 Brazil Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford P
Source:[7][8]

Final championship standings after the race

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

References

  1. ^ "Weather information for the "1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix"". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "Formula 1 Dates Set". Springfield Leader and Press. October 9, 1981. p. 18. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ "CART Announced Schedule Featuring First F1 Doubleheader". The Press Democrat. November 29, 1981. p. 44. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. ^ Vierra, Dan (December 25, 1981). "Wrench in CART's Works". Sacramento Bee. p. 53. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ Miller, Robin (January 10, 1982). "Indy Car, Formula 1 Twin Bill at Vegas Wiped Out By FISA". The Indianapolis Star. p. 73. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ "1982 Las Vegas Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  7. ^ "1982 Las Vegas Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  8. ^ "1982 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive". GPArchive.com. September 25, 1982. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Las Vegas 1982 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

Further reading

  • Rob Walker (January, 1983). "2nd Las Vegas Grand Prix: King Keke". Road & Track, 96–99.
  • Mike S. Lang (1992). Grand Prix!: Race-by-race account of Formula 1 World Championship motor racing. Volume 4: 1981 to 1984. Haynes Publishing Group. ISBN 0-85429-733-2


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