1982 South African Grand Prix

The 1982 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 23 January 1982. It was the first race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. It was the 28th edition of the South African Grand Prix and the 16th time that the race had been held at Kyalami.

1982 South African Grand Prix
Race 1 of 16 in the 1982 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	23 January 1982
Location	Kyalami Transvaal Province, South Africa
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.104 km (2.550 miles)
Distance	77 laps, 316.008 km (196.358 miles)
Weather	Dry
Pole position
Driver	René Arnoux	Renault
Time	1:06.351
Fastest lap
Driver	Alain Prost	Renault
Time	1:08.278 on lap 49
Podium
First	Alain Prost	Renault
Second	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford
Third	René Arnoux	Renault
Lap leaders

Reutemann and Prost on the podium.

The prelude to the race was notable for a strike action by the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, led by Niki Lauda and Didier Pironi, in protest at the new superlicence conditions imposed by FISA, which would have tied the drivers to a single team for up to three years. A late compromise was reached and the race went ahead. The drivers were subsequently fined between US$5,000 and US$10,000 and handed suspended race bans; however, the FIA Court of Appeal later reduced the penalties and criticised FISA's handling of the dispute.^[1]

Turbocharged cars took the first six positions on the grid. Despite Alain Prost suffering a puncture while leading, he was able to recover to win the race. Lauda, in his first race after two years out of F1, finished fourth. It was the final podium and points finish for Carlos Reutemann (as of 2024, this is the most recent podium finish achieved by an Argentine driver), who retired from Formula One after the next race in Brazil, and the last point finish for an Argentine driver until Franco Colapinto finished 8th and scored 4 points at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.^[2] It also was the last race held in January.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	16	René Arnoux	Renault	1:06.351
2	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	1:06.625	+0.274
3	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	1:07.106	+0.755
4	2	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham-BMW	1:07.398	+1.047
5	15	Alain Prost	Renault	1:08.133	+1.782
6	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	1:08.360	+2.009
7	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Ford	1:08.892	+2.541
8	5	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	1:09.306	+2.955
9	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	1:09.736	+3.385
10	3	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	1:10.037	+3.686
11	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	1:10.241	+3.890
12	10	Eliseo Salazar	ATS-Ford	1:10.624	+4.273
13	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren-Ford	1:10.681	+4.330
14	35	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	1:10.685	+4.334
15	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	1:10.685	+4.334
16	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	1:10.952	+4.601
17	25	Eddie Cheever	Ligier-Matra	1:11.005	+4.654
18	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	1:11.227	+4.876
19	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	1:11.285	+4.934
20	9	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS-Ford	1:11.808	+5.457
21	18	Raul Boesel	March-Ford	1:12.077	+5.726
22	17	Jochen Mass	March-Ford	1:12.100	+5.749
23	4	Slim Borgudd	Tyrrell-Ford	1:12.366	+6.015
24	33	Derek Daly	Theodore-Ford	1:13.418	+7.067
25	20	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	1:13.467	+7.116
26	31	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella-Ford	1:13.834	+7.483
DNQ	30	Mauro Baldi	Arrows-Ford	1:13.976	+7.625
DNQ	32	Riccardo Paletti	Osella-Ford	1:15.504	+9.153
DNQ	29	Brian Henton	Arrows-Ford	1:16.653	+10.302
DNQ	36	Teo Fabi	Toleman-Hart	No time

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	15	Alain Prost	Renault	M	77	1:32:08.401	5	9
2	5	Carlos Reutemann	Williams-Ford	G	77	+ 14.946	8	6
3	16	René Arnoux	Renault	M	77	+ 27.900	1	4
4	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren-Ford	M	77	+ 32.113	13	3
5	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams-Ford	G	77	+ 43.139	7	2
6	7	John Watson	McLaren-Ford	M	77	+ 50.993	9	1
7	3	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell-Ford	G	76	+ 1 lap	10
8	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus-Ford	G	76	+ 1 lap	15
9	10	Eliseo Salazar	ATS-Ford	A	75	+ 2 laps	12
10	9	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS-Ford	A	75	+ 2 laps	20
11	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	M	74	+ 3 laps	19
12	17	Jochen Mass	March-Ford	P	74	+ 3 laps	22
13	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	M	73	+ 4 laps	16
14	33	Derek Daly	Theodore-Ford	A	73	+ 4 laps	24
15	18	Raul Boesel	March-Ford	P	72	+ 5 laps	21
16	4	Slim Borgudd	Tyrrell-Ford	G	72	+ 5 laps	23
17	20	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi-Ford	P	72	+ 5 laps	25
18	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	G	71	+ 6 laps	6
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier-Matra	M	54	Fuel system	11
Ret	35	Derek Warwick	Toleman-Hart	P	43	Accident	14
Ret	2	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham-BMW	G	18	Turbo	4
Ret	25	Eddie Cheever	Ligier-Matra	M	11	Fuel system	17
Ret	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	G	6	Turbo	3
Ret	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	G	3	Spun off	2
Ret	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus-Ford	G	0	Electrical	18
Ret	31	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella-Ford	P	0	Collision	26
DNQ	30	Mauro Baldi	Arrows-Ford	P
DNQ	32	Riccardo Paletti	Osella-Ford	P
DNQ	29	Brian Henton	Arrows-Ford	P
DNQ	36	Teo Fabi	Toleman-Hart	P
WD	14	Roberto Guerrero	Ensign-Ford	A
Source:[3][4][5]

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Colombian driver Roberto Guerrero, Brazilian driver Raul Boesel, and Italian drivers Mauro Baldi, Riccardo Paletti and Teo Fabi.
• This was the 10th Grand Prix start for a Chilean driver.
• This race marked the 100th podium finish for an Argentine driver.
• This was the 50th Grand Prix start for Alfa Romeo as a constructor.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Alain Prost 9 2 Carlos Reutemann 6 3 René Arnoux 4 4 Niki Lauda 3 5 Keke Rosberg 2 Source:[6]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Renault 13 2 Williams-Ford 8 3 McLaren-Ford 4 Source: [6]

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

References

1. "1982 South African Grand Prix flashback". F1 Fanatic. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
2. Fearnley, Paul (April 2012). "The Commodore 64, Compact Discs and F1 drivers on strike: welcome to 1982". Classic & Sports Car. Teddington, Middlesex, UK: Haymarket Media Group. p. 237. ISSN 0263-3183.
3. "1982 South African Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
4. "F1 World Championship – 1982 South African Grand Prix". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
5. "1982 South African Grand Prix – Race Results & History – GP Archive". GPArchive.com. 23 January 1982. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
6. "South Africa 1982 – Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.

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