This is the complete race as broadcast on LIVE TV.
World Championship leader Didier Pironi was on pole in his Ferrari, but the following day during
practice, a wet track and clouds of spray caused a massive crash as Pironi ran into the back of Alain
Prost’s Renault. Pironi’s car flew through the air, landed tail first, then proceeded to somersault. Pironi
was seriously injured, but alive, and would undergo a series of leg operations. Unfortunately, Didier
Pironi would never race in Formula 1 again. This was a second major blow for Ferrari, as they had
suffered the loss Gilles Villeneuve just three months earlier. The pole position slot was left open
because Ferrari never withdrew Pironi. Second and third were the Renaults of Alain Prost and Rene
Arnoux with Nelson Piquet third in his Brabham and Patrick Tambay fourth in the second Ferrari. The
first of the non-turbo cars was Michele Alboreto in the Tyrrell, who was seventh on the grid.
Nelson Piquet shot off into the lead ahead of Rene Arnoux, followed by Alain Prost and Patrick Tambay.
On lap 10, Tambay passed Arnoux for second place, and on lap 14, Alain Prost retired with a fuel
injection problem. A few laps later, Riccardo Patrese retired with an engine failure. Everything was
looking good for leader Nelson Piquet, who was enjoying a massive 26-second lead over Patrick Tambay.
Then on lap 19, while attempting to lap Eliseo Salazar, the two cars collided going into a chicane. Both
drivers were unhurt, but Piquet was furious. The Brazilian unbuckled his seat belt and jumped from his
cockpit almost before his car came to a halt. He approached Salazar, shoved him, then threw a punch or
two before walking away from the wreck. So Patrick Tambay, in the lone Ferrari, inherited the lead,
followed by Rene Arnoux and John Watson. On lap 37, Watson suffered a suspension failure, handing
third place over to Keke Rosberg. Patrick Tambay went on to win the race, a much needed boost for the
Ferrari team. Rene Arnoux was second and Keke Rosberg third.
This has some Japanese subtitles, and a few places where there is some Japanese commentary, but the
bulk of this broadcast is in English, with commentary from Murray Walker and James Hunt.