1980 United States Grand Prix
The final race of the season in Watkins Glen saw Williams already unveil their 1981 car, the FW08. The FW07 that has achieved two wins in the last five races is by no means a bad chassis but the decision to run the new chassis here is clearly a statement to other teams saying 'we are ready for next year, are you?'.
On any other weekend William's new car would have been the key talking point but not here. It's the last race of the season with three drivers fighting for the title so naturally the trio
Jones,
Reutemann and
Laffite gather the biggest media attention. Looking at the standings, Jones leads the championship with 49 points and two wins. Defending champion Reutemann is second with 44 points and three wins. Laffite has won four races this season but struggled with reliability and consistency, he has 43 points prior to this round.
There are a number of possible scenarios but to put it simply, this is what each of the three need for them to lift the championship trophy: Jones has to finish second if Reutemann wins and at least third if Laffite wins. If neither of the other two can win on Sunday, a fifth place finish would be enough for Jones. Reutemann on the other hand must win (Jones 3rd or worse) or finish second (Jones 6th or worse)
and finish ahead of Laffite. Laffite's scenarios are much easier as he must win the race if Jones is to finish on points. If Jones doesn't get any points, a second place finish would be enough for Laffite to win the title on countback
if Reutemann doesn't win.
Interesting times in teh contructors too where Tyrrell, Williams and Arrows are the favourites for the second place. McLaren has a theoretical chance to claim second too but it would require a 1-2 finish and lots of bad luck for their competitors.
Pre-qualifying
Last round of the season and the order is largely unchanged.
Tambay on top,
Hunt in second.
Jean-Pierre Jarier however wasn't third this time but fifth behind both Ligiers and Wolves. Unfortunately for Rebaque, Osella and ATS, their season ended short.
Qualifying
Most important qualifying session of the season and Arrows in particular were delighted to see Michelin tyres prove their worth. Top two rows went for the teams using the French mark's tyres with another French ace
Jacques Laffite topping the sheets. Williamses were second and third as the FW08 showed very promising speed.
Didier Pironi was high on confidence putting his Tyrrell to fourth on the grid.
Behind Pironi were two Ferraris that would certainly give all they can on Sunday.
Reutemann and
Jones were the best Goodyear using drivers but it wasn't really making them feel any better after seeing Laffite's name on pole. Shadows were in the fourth row, raising hopes of a good finish to the season.
Arnoux was ninth, qualifying in the top-10 for the first time since the season opener. Alongside him in row 5 was
Jody Scheckter.
James Hunt had also gained confidence after scoring his first point of the season in Montréal, he was 11th beating both McLarens! The British team was struggling badly as
Rosberg was 12th and
Mansell only 16th fastest. Fittipaldis were also down on the grid on their more "usual" positions in 13th and 20th. Ensigns failed to qualify and so their season ended already on Saturday. Rumours also have it that the team might be retiring from the sport after the season.
Race
Tension on the grid was high ahead of the season finale. Would the Ferraris be able rise up the order and would Laffite keep his calm on pole? He did but there was absolutely nothing he could do to defend from
Piquet as the Brazilian shot in to the lead. Laffite slotted in behind him but was not happy to already see red on his mirrors. Reutemann jumped from fifth to third at the start and the order behind him was Pironi,
de Angelis,
Prost, Jones, Scheckter,
Mass and Arnoux. McLaren on the other hand had a terrible start - Mansell was 17th and Rosberg was 19th after first lap.
Despite his great start, Reutemann wasn't quite up to speed and Pironi passed him quickly. With Jones out of the points in seventh, this would be enough for Laffite to win the title. Of course there were still 57 of the 59 laps left to complete...
Jones, Scheckter and Hunt looked like the strongest drivers today. Each of them made a number of great overtakes and by lap 15 Jones and Scheckter following Reutemann in 4th and 5th. However, next lap would prove to be brutal for them. Coming down the Boot straight, Reutemann's Ferrari suddenly lost power due to a oil leak. Jones and Scheckter dodged the Argentinean but were so concentrated on missing the Ferrari #1 that they didn't see each other. Resulting contact ended both Jones' and Scheckter races. Laffite who was still second saw the wrecked Ferraris by the side of the road next lap and must've known that now he is the favourite for the title as second place finish would be enough for him to win the title on countback.
Laffite's task was made even more easier three laps later when Nelson Piquet's fine weekend ended with transmission problems. With a number of top drivers already out, the running order was quite an uxpected one: Pironi in second was three seconds behind Laffite, de Angelis further 17s down in third while Hunt,
Lauda and Prost were racing lonely in 4th, 5th and 6th. Mass,
Depailler,
Giacomelli and
Ickx formed the tightest pack in 7th-10th.
Lapped traffic slowed Laffite down a little bit, allowing Pironi to close the gap before pit stops. Pironi pitted first, rejoining behind de Angelis. Laffite came in a few laps later but managed to stay ahead of Pironi. McLaren sneaked into top-10 during pit cycle but points were still looking unlikely.
De Angelis was slow on old tyres and Laffite passed him easily and regained the lead on lap 28.Pironi wasn't able to make the pass as quickly and Laffite was able to get a gap of 10 seconds before the Williams driver headed into pit lane. This didn't make much difference though as two laps Pironi joined the growing list of retired drivers. On lap 38 of 59 Laffite was now leading de Angelis by 36 seconds. Hunt was 11 seconds behind in third and Prost a further 12 seconds behind. Depailler was fifth but had a slight off while dodging Regazzoni when the Alfa Romeo driver's gearbox broke down. Mass, Lauda,
Takahara, Mansell and Rosberg completed the top-10.
Laps went on and everything looked set for Arrows and Jacques Laffite celebrations. But there was always going to be one last swing in the title race. With 11 laps to go the TV cameras caught the Arrows #29 pulling to the side of the track and a furious Frenchman climb off it. Arrows' and Laffite's hopes of a title were crushed while Alan Jones could hardly believe the news - he was the 1980 World Champion!
De Angelis inherited the lead after Laffite's retirement. Hunt had crashed out earlier in the race and so two Shadows were suddenly looking to get podium finishes. Fittipaldis were 4th and 5th and Ligier's Noritake Takahara in 6th! This was the finishing order too although Lauda gave Mass some serious pressure in the closing laps. Elio de Angelis was the winner of the 1980 United States GP, giving the brand new Williams FW08 a flying start. This result can only promise a good campaign for them in 1981.
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The season has now ended! Budgets are NOT updated yet. There will once again be information about the off-season development soon once I get everything sorted out.
I would also like to hear a hello from each manager to find out about possible retirements from the game. (Big thanks to Manolis for informing me earlier!)
@Joel
@kedy89
@William Néron
@Aidan Keranen
@Takuma Ishikawa
@Costello
@Omer Said
@tigerkart_22
@Steven Poirier
@Márk Lintner
@airutonpurosuto8912
@Jimlaad43
@Milos
@Diehl
@Donaldinho105
@Millsy24
@Tim
It looks like of the current teams at least Ensign and Fittipaldi are available next season. There are also three new teams (March, Theodore, Toleman) to choose for next season so you can start thinking of which team you'd like to choose. I'd wait until everyone has replied though to give you the full list of open vacancies
