1980 United States Grand Prix

Infobox Grand Prix race report
Type = F1
Country = United States
Grand Prix = United States
Official name = XXIII Toyota United States Grand Prix
Date = October 5


Year = 1980
Race_No = 14
Season_No = 14
Location = Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course Watkins Glen, New York
Course = Permanent road course
Course_mi = 3.377
Course_km = 5.435
Distance_laps = 59
Distance_mi = 199.24
Distance_km = 320.67
Weather = Cloudy, dry
Pole_Driver = flagicon|Italy Bruno Giacomelli
Pole_Team = Alfa Romeo
Pole_Time = 1:33.291
Fast_Driver = flagicon|Australia Alan Jones
Fast_Team = Williams-Ford
Fast_Time = 1:34.068
Fast_L

First_Driver = flagicon|Australia Alan Jones
First_Team = Williams-Ford
Second_Driver = flagicon|Argentina Carlos Reutemann
Second_Team = Williams-Ford
Third_Driver = flagicon|France Didier Pironi
Third_Team = Ligier-Ford

The 1980 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 5, 1980 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on March 30, 1980 in Long Beach, California..

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In the fall of 1980, the autumn colors of upstate New York passed from the Formula One calendar just as the name of Frank Williams was being scrawled across it. Williams' first Championship season, his eleventh as an owner, ended in style with another victory by team leader and new Driver's Champion Alan Jones, but...

"...this was the last Grand Prix to be held on the historic Watkins Glen course in the glorious wooded hills at the foot of Seneca Lake, and American road racing has not been the same since. The Glen's demise came about when attempts to resurface the track proved not to be enough, runoff areas became too short for the speeds produced, and attendance was not what it had been, for even this race had been in doubt until just a month before."

As the track's last Grand Prix weekend got under way, the big surprise of qualifying was the Alfa Romeo of Italian Bruno Giacomelli, who was quickest in both Friday's and Saturday's sessions. The Italian took the only pole of his 69-race career, and the first for Alfa Romeo since 1951, by three-quarters of a second over a tightly-bunched group including Nelson Piquet's Brabham, Carlos Reutemann's Williams, Elio de Angelis' Lotus and Jones in the second Williams.

Race day threatened rain, but none appeared. Alain Prost, completing his first F1 season, was still suffering from the effects of his qualifying crash on Saturday, and was replaced after the warmup by Dutchman Jan Lammers. At the start, Giacomelli got off the line well and led into the first turn.

"Jones rocketed forward from fifth on the grid to second entering Turn One, but he could not hold his line through the turn. He swung wide onto the dirt, then collected himself and continued, finishing the first lap in fourteenth place. After the race, Jones said, "I thought I had blown it, but I took it easy to see that all was well, then I went hard."

At the end of a lap, Giacomelli had opened a gap back to Piquet, followed by Reutemann, Didier Pironi, de Angelis and Hector Rebaque. In two more laps, the Alfa was ahead by two and a half seconds. Meanwhile, Jones was battling his way back through the field, and on lap 7, he was already poking around the gearbox of John Watson's McLaren, trying to take seventh place. Watson held him off until the tenth lap, and, once by, Jones quickly pulled away after de Angelis and Pironi.

Giacomelli continued to set an even pace, and his lead was ten seconds on lap 21, with Reutemann now threatening Piquet, whose tires were beginning to go off. Jones had caught up to de Angelis, and on the next lap, got around him for fifth.

Reutemann's pressure, and the Brabham's increasing lack of grip, finally got to Piquet on lap 26 as he spun off in turn one. The off-road excursion damaged a skirt, and he retired after reaching the pits. Three laps later, Jones passed Pironi for third, as the Ligier was also suffering from tire wear.

The only car between Jones and the leader now was teammate Reutemann, but with the Driver's Championship already in Jones' hands, there would be no team orders. Understeer induced by a worn left front tire was plaguing the Argentinian, however, and Jones easily overcame him on lap 30 and set his sights on Giacomelli, now 12 seconds ahead.

"Could the surprising Italian, leading a race for what would be the only time in his career, hold off the charging World Champion? The suspense didn't last for long, as the red and white Alfa Romeo coasted to a halt on the circuit on lap 32 with electrical trouble. Once in the lead, Jones refused to cruise home in front of his teammate. Instead, he seemed to want to put on a performance worthy of the reigning Champion. Indeed, he went faster and faster, finally doing a 1:34.068 on lap 44, better than his qualifying time!"

When Watson pitted to replace a broken shock absorber on his McLaren, crowd favorite Mario Andretti moved up to the final points position. A set of new tires allowed René Arnoux to catch and pass the American, but a broken skirt soon slowed the Renault, and Andretti was able to regain the sixth spot and score his only point of the season.

The Williams team celebrated the climax to a marvelous year where they had taken the Driver's and Constructor's Championships by waving a huge Union Flag at their one-two finish. The race saw not only the end of Formula One at The Glen, but Jody Scheckter's last Grand Prix ("Now I am no longer a racing driver; I am an ordinary citizen.") and Mario Andretti's last race for Colin Chapman and Lotus.

Classification

F1 race report
Name_of_race = United States Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 1980
Previous_race_in_season = 1980 Canadian Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1981 United States Grand Prix West
Previous_year's_race = 1979 United States Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 1984 United States Grand Prix

Notes

* Lap Leaders: Bruno Giacomelli 31 laps (1-31), Alan Jones 28 laps (32-59)

References

* Rob Walker (January, 1981). "22nd United States Grand Prix: Final Round". "Road & Track", 110-113.