1983 Formula 1 Season Review

All 15 of the 1983 Formula 1 races are reviewed from

a 1983 perspective. Each segment is around 8 minutes

long, and is an excellent review of the season.

1983 was a significant year in F1 history. F1 banned undercar ground effects for 1983, so all cars now
had flat bottoms. Because of the lack of downforce, speed became more critical, and turbos were
essential. A new tactic, introduced by Brabham, was to start a race with a half tank of fuel to save
weight, and now fast pit stops became crucial to a driver’s success.

With turbos dominating, the Ford Cosworth DFV’s days were numbered, and 1983 would be the last
hurrah for the legendary powerplant. The Williams Team would have to use the DFV’s for one more
year until their new Honda turbos were ready. Colin Chapman secured Renault engines for Team Lotus,
but unfortunately Chapman died suddenly, leaving the Lotus Team in a state of flux. Lotus would field
one car with a Renault engine, the other with the trustworthy Ford Cosworth DFV (driven by Nigel
Mansell) until another Renault engine was available mid-season. McLaren signed a deal for Porsche V6
engines, but like the other promised powerplants for other teams, delays caused the McLaren Team
(Niki Lauda and John Watson) to use Cosworth DFV’s for the entire year.

As for the season itself, it came down to the wire, the final battleground being the last race of the
season at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa. Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost were the two front runners,
with Rene Arnoux and Patrick Tambay still having an outside chance.

This season highlight reel goes race-by-race, each segment about 8 minutes long. The narration is very
good (one of the races is by Murray Walker), but the original sound mix left something to be desired.
Sometimes the roar of the engines nearly drowns out the commentary, and the original film producer
back in 1983 added a few sound bytes of what sounds like a Brooklyn girl making a few comments about
the drivers. But it’s all very 1980’s, very entertaining, and an exciting F1 season!