Carlos Reutemann won the 1980 Monaco Grand Prix after a dramatic multi-car start crash eliminated four drivers, while Nelson Piquet took the championship lead.
Key Facts
- Race distance
- 254 km over 76 laps
- Circuit length
- 3.34 km km
- Winner's margin
- 1 minute 13 seconds over Laffite
- Reutemann's career win number
- 10th Formula One victory
- Grid size
- 20 cars
- Season round
- 6th round of 1980 F1 season
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1980 Monaco Grand Prix took place on 18 May 1980 as the sixth round of the Formula One season. Polesitter Didier Pironi started from pole position, and the narrow Monte Carlo street circuit created intense competition from the opening lap, setting the stage for incidents throughout the race.
At the start, Derek Daly collided with Bruno Giacomelli's Alfa Romeo, sending Daly's car airborne over Giacomelli and into Jean-Pierre Jarier and Alain Prost, eliminating all four drivers. Pironi later crashed at Casino corner on lap 55, handing the lead to Carlos Reutemann, who drove his Williams FW07B to victory over Jacques Laffite and Nelson Piquet.
Reutemann's victory was his tenth Formula One win and gave Williams a five-point lead over Ligier in the constructors' championship. Piquet's third place elevated him to the top of the drivers' world championship standings for the first time. For Jochen Mass and Emerson Fittipaldi, the points scored proved to be the last of their Formula One careers.