1983 South African Grand Prix

  1983 South African Grand Prix

Race details
Race 15 of 15 in the 1983 Formula One season
Date	October 15, 1983
Location	Kyalami Gauteng, South Africa
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.104 km (2.55 mi)
Distance	77 laps, 316.008 km (196.358 mi)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	Patrick Tambay	Ferrari
Time	1:06.554
Fastest lap
Driver	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW
Time	1:09.948 on lap 6
Podium
First	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham-BMW
Second	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo
Third	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW

The 1983 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on October 15, 1983. It was the final race of the 1983 Formula One season.

Before the race, three drivers were still in a position to win the World Drivers' Championship: Alain Prost (Renault) led the championship with 57 points, followed by Nelson Piquet (Brabham-BMW) with 55 and René Arnoux (Ferrari) with 49. Piquet qualified second, behind Patrick Tambay (Ferrari) in pole position and ahead of Riccardo Patrese (Brabham), Arnoux and Prost in third, fourth and fifth. At the start Piquet passed Tambay to take the lead, with Patrese moving into second place. Arnoux retired with engine failure on lap 9. Prost fought his way up to third place, but he also retired on lap 35 with turbo failure. Needing only to finish fourth or higher, Piquet slowed and was overtaken by Patrese, Niki Lauda (McLaren) and Andrea de Cesaris (Alfa Romeo). Lauda's engine failed on lap 71. The race finished with Patrese in first place, de Cesaris in second and Piquet in third, and Piquet won the championship by two points. John Watson, completing his last full Formula One season, was disqualified for overtaking other cars on the parade lap.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	6	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham-BMW	77	1:33:25.708	3	9
2	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	77	+ 9.319	9	6
3	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	77	+ 21.969	2	4
4	35	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	76	+ 1 Lap	13	3
5	1	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Honda	76	+ 1 Lap	6	2
6	16	Eddie Cheever	Renault	76	+ 1 Lap	14	1
7	4	Danny Sullivan	Tyrrell-Ford	75	+ 2 Laps	19
8	29	Marc Surer	Arrows-Ford	75	+ 2 Laps	22
9	30	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows-Ford	74	+ 3 Laps	20
10	25	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ligier-Ford	73	+ 4 Laps	21
11	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren-TAG	71	Electrical	12
12	17	Kenny Acheson	RAM-Ford	71	+ 6 Laps	24
NC	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Renault	68	Not Classified	7
NC	26	Raul Boesel	Ligier-Ford	66	Not Classified	23
Ret	3	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	60	Engine	18
Ret	27	Patrick Tambay	Ferrari	56	Turbo	1
Ret	36	Bruno Giacomelli	Toleman-Hart	56	Turbo	16
Ret	15	Alain Prost	Renault	35	Turbo	5
Ret	31	Corrado Fabi	Osella-Alfa Romeo	28	Engine	25
Ret	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Renault	20	Engine	11
DSQ	7	John Watson	McLaren-TAG	18	Disqualified	15
Ret	28	René Arnoux	Ferrari	9	Engine	4
Ret	23	Mauro Baldi	Alfa Romeo	5	Engine	17
Ret	9	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS-BMW	1	Engine	8
Ret	2	Jacques Laffite	Williams-Honda	1	Spun Off	10
Ret	32	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella-Alfa Romeo	1	Engine	26

Notes

• Prost, Piquet and Arnoux went into this race fighting for the championship.
  • Prost (57pts) needed either
    • 1st
    • 2nd, ahead of Piquet
    • 3rd, with Piquet 2nd or lower
    • 4th or 5th, with Piquet 3rd or lower
    • 6th, with Piquet 4th or lower and Arnoux 2nd or lower
    • Piquet 5th or lower and Arnoux 2nd or lower
  • Piquet (55pts)
    • 1st
    • 2nd, with Prost 4th or lower
    • 3rd, with Prost 6th or lower
    • 4th, with Prost 7th or lower and Arnoux 2nd or lower
  • Arnoux (49pts) needed 1st with Prost 6th or lower and Piquet 4th or lower
• Ferrari and Renault were also fighting for the Constructor's Championship
  • Ferrari (89pts) needed either
    • To score 5pts or better
    • 4th, or 5th and 6th, or higher, with the Renaults 1st and 3rd or lower
    • 5th or better, with the Renaults 1st and 4th or lower
    • 6th or better, with the Renaults 1st and 5th or lower
    • The Renaults scoring fewer than 11pts
  • Renault (78pts) needed either
    • 1st and 2nd with the Ferraris scoring fewer than 5pts
    • 1st and 3rd with the Ferraris scoring fewer than 3pts
    • 1st and 4th with the Ferraris 6th or lower
    • 1st and 5th with the Ferraris 7th or lower.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Nelson Piquet 59 2 Alain Prost 57 3 René Arnoux 49 4 Patrick Tambay 40 5 Keke Rosberg 27

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 89 2 Renault 79 3 Brabham-BMW 72 4 Williams-Ford 36 5 McLaren-Ford 34

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from "The Official Formula 1 website". http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1983/341/. Retrieved 2007-06-17. 

External links

• Grandprix.com encyclopedia