San Marino Grand Prix
1981 · Round 4 · Imola, Italy · May 3, 1981Race summary
Piquet won the race from 5th on the grid, 4.580s ahead of Patrese. Surer was the standout mover, climbing from 21st to 9th. Villeneuve lost the most ground, from 1st on the grid down to 7th (down 6 places).
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Laps | Time / status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 5 | 60 | 1:51:23.970 | 9 |
| 2 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows | 9 | 60 | +4.580 | 6 |
| 3 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams | 2 | 60 | +6.340 | 4 |
| 4 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham | 13 | 60 | +22.890 | 3 |
| 5 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 6 | 60 | +25.870 | 2 |
| 6 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren | 14 | 60 | +1:06.610 | 1 |
| 7 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 1 | 60 | +1:41.970 | 0 |
| 8 | René Arnoux | Renault | 3 | 59 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 9 | Marc Surer | Ensign | 21 | 59 | +1 Lap | 0 |
| 10 | John Watson | McLaren | 7 | 58 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 11 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore | 16 | 58 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 12 | Alan Jones | Williams | 8 | 58 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 13 | Slim Borgudd | ATS | 24 | 57 | +3 Laps | 0 |
| – | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Ligier | 18 | 45 | Not classified | 0 |
| – | Eliseo Salazar | March | 23 | 38 | Spun off | 0 |
| – | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell | 17 | 31 | Collision | 0 |
| – | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella | 20 | 31 | Collision | 0 |
| – | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 11 | 28 | Collision | 0 |
| – | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell | 19 | 28 | Collision | 0 |
| – | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 12 | 26 | Gearbox | 0 |
| – | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi | 15 | 14 | Engine | 0 |
| – | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 10 | 7 | Suspension | 0 |
| – | Alain Prost | Renault | 4 | 3 | Gearbox | 0 |
| – | Miguel Ángel Guerra | Osella | 22 | 0 | Accident | 0 |
| – | Jan Lammers | ATS | – | 0 | Retired | 0 |
| – | Elio de Angelis | Team Lotus | – | 0 | Withdrew | 0 |
| – | Nigel Mansell | Team Lotus | – | 0 | Withdrew | 0 |