1981 French Grand Prix

1981 French Grand Prix
Race 8 of 15 in the 1981 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	5 July 1981
Official name	67e Grand Prix de France[1]
Location	Dijon-Prenois, Dijon, France
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	3.801 km (2.361 miles)
Distance	80 laps, 304.08 km (188.88 miles)
Weather	Dry, then wet at half distance, then dry again
Pole position
Driver	René Arnoux	Renault
Time	1:05.95
Fastest lap
Driver	Alain Prost	Renault
Time	1:09.14 on lap 64
Podium
First	Alain Prost	Renault
Second	John Watson	McLaren-Ford
Third	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1981 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon-Prenois near Dijon, France on 5 July 1981. It was the eighth race of the 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The 80-lap race was won by Alain Prost, driving a Renault. On home soil, Prost scored the first of an eventual 51 Grand Prix victories, in a race that was stopped after 58 laps due to heavy rain and then restarted, with aggregate times determining the final positions. John Watson finished second in his McLaren-Ford, while Nelson Piquet, who had been leading in his Brabham-Ford when the race was stopped, finished third.

Prior to the race, Jean-Pierre Jabouille decided to retire from Formula One, having not fully recovered from the leg injuries he had sustained in Canada the previous year. His place at Ligier was taken for the rest of the season by Patrick Tambay, who moved from Theodore.^[2]