1980 & 1981 Formula 1 Season Reviews

Two F1 season reviews on one DVD! These are excellent

reviews that cover each race in detail, and were produced

at the end of  the 1980 and 1981 seasons.

1980 Formula 1 Season Review  – 52 min

1980 would be a turning point in Formula 1, as the politics of the sport began to overshadow some of the action on the
track. Alan Jones, driving for the upstart Williams Team, would become World Champion, and Frank Williams would
receive his first ever Constructors’ Trophy. The biggest disappointment of 1980 was in the Ferrari Team, where
reigning 1979 World Champion Jody Scheckter struggled all season, failing to get a win or even to get a podium finish
(Scheckter retired at the end of this season), while his Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve didn’t fair any better.  Keke
Rosberg and Emerson Fittipaldi struggled all year, and future stars Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell made their debuts.
Two tragedies occurred in 1980;  Clay Regazzoni crashed in Long Beach and was paralyzed, and a few weeks later,
while testing in Hockenheim Germany, Patrick DePailler was killed when his Alfa Romeo ran off track and into a barrier.

1981 Formula 1 Season Review  – 88 min

The excitement of the 1980 season continued into 1981, and unfortunately, so did the politics. After a dismal 1980
season, Ferrari switched to V6 turbo engines, following the lead of the Renault Team. The long and successful career
of Ron Dennis would begin here when he becomes team principal for McLaren. Mario Andretti returned to Formula 1,
this time driving for Alfa Romeo. On the technical front, turbos were still the main story, but controversy occurred
when the FIA banned the sliding side skirt mechanisms used for ground effects. Brabham responded with a
hydro-pneumatic suspension that lowered the entire car, allowing the side skirts to touch the ground once out on the
track. The final race of the 1981 season was held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and just a few points separated
Nelson Piquet, Carlos Reutemann, and Alan Jones. When it was all over, Nelson Piquet would be World Champion (by a
single point), and Alan Jones stunned the F1 world by announcing his retirement.