Alain Prost won his first Formula One Grand Prix on home soil, beginning a career that would reach 51 race victories.
Key Facts
- Race laps
- 80 laps (stopped after 58 due to rain)
- Winner
- Alain Prost (Renault)
- Second place
- John Watson (McLaren-Ford)
- Third place
- Nelson Piquet (Brabham-Ford)
- Championship round
- 8th race of 1981 season
- Prost career wins at this point
- 1 of eventual 51
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1981 Formula One World Championship brought the field to Dijon-Prenois for the eighth round. Jean-Pierre Jabouille, still recovering from leg injuries sustained in Canada the previous year, retired from Formula One before the race, with Patrick Tambay taking his Ligier seat for the remainder of the season.
On 5 July 1981, the French Grand Prix was run over 80 laps at Dijon-Prenois. Heavy rain forced the race to be stopped after 58 laps and then restarted, with aggregate times used to determine final positions. Alain Prost drove his Renault to victory, ahead of John Watson's McLaren-Ford and Nelson Piquet's Brabham-Ford.
Prost's victory marked the first of his eventual 51 Formula One race wins, establishing him as a major force in the sport. Piquet, who had been leading when the race was stopped, was relegated to third on aggregate, affecting the championship standings. Tambay's entry with Ligier began a new chapter in his career.