Jacques Laffite's win at the 1981 Canadian Grand Prix proved to be his last F1 victory and the final win for Ligier until 1996.
Key Facts
- Race number in 1981 season
- 14th of 16 races
- Laps completed
- 63 of 70 scheduled laps
- Winner
- Jacques Laffite (Talbot Ligier-Matra)
- Pole position
- Nelson Piquet (Brabham-Ford)
- Championship gap after race
- Piquet within 1 point of Reutemann
- Constructors' title
- Williams clinched despite no points scored
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1981 Formula One World Championship was in its penultimate round, with Nelson Piquet and Carlos Reutemann locked in a close Drivers' title battle. The race at Circuit Île Notre-Dame was run in wet conditions, triggering the two-hour time limit rule and leading to an early finish.
Held on 27 September 1981 in Montreal, the race was stopped after 63 of 70 planned laps due to the time limit. Jacques Laffite won for Ligier-Matra, with John Watson second and local favourite Gilles Villeneuve third. Pole-sitter Piquet finished fifth, while championship leader Reutemann managed only tenth.
Piquet closed to within one point of Reutemann in the Drivers' Championship ahead of the final race, and Laffite entered contention for the title. Williams secured the Constructors' Championship. The victory was the last of Laffite's career and Ligier's last win for fifteen years, until the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.
Result
at Circuit Île Notre-Dame, Montreal