1982 Austrian F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Austian Grand Prix
Track: Österreichring

Weather: very hot, dry

Elio de Angelis won his 1st F1 World Championship race at the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix on the road. The Lotus-Ford Cosworth driver started from 7th on the grid and won on the Osterreichring for the 1st time. It was his 1st win in F1 and the 72nd win for the Lotus F1 team, by five hundredths of a second from Keke Rosberg in one of the closest finishes in championship history.

Brabham brings the refuelling plan

The Osterreichring was a turbo paradise, long, fast, hot, and Brabham finally had a clear weekend to deploy the refuelling strategy. Piquet took pole, BMW's first, four seconds quicker than the 1981 mark; Patrese was second. The plan: Patrese would lead at light load, Piquet would back him up, both would pit. Ferrari arrived with only Tambay, no replacement found for Pironi in eight days. The Renault-Lotus deal for 1983 had been signed the Wednesday before, a coup for Chapman, who also got de Angelis to extend his contract on the strength of it.

The Brabhams break

From the lights Piquet led, with Patrese taking the lead from Prost at Sebring on lap 2. Tambay picked up a puncture from de Cesaris-Daly-Giacomelli debris at the start and pitted, two laps down. Piquet stopped on lap 18, eight laps too early, mechanics scrambling, and lost a half-minute. Patrese came in lap 23 with the planned 14-second stop and emerged still leading. Then on lap 28 his BMW expired in flames in the Texaco esses; the Brabham nearly hit a photographer who had crossed the perimeter fence. Piquet's cam-drive followed on lap 32. Brabham's day was over. Prost inherited the lead.

De Angelis and Rosberg, side by side

Prost led de Angelis by 33 seconds, with Rosberg closing on de Angelis on lighter fuel. On lap 49 Prost's electronic injection cut out again, his Renault caught fire and he climbed out distraught, another championship-deciding result lost. De Angelis led with four seconds over Rosberg, and four laps to run. Rosberg attacked everywhere; with two laps left the gap was three seconds, with one lap two seconds, and on the last tour the Williams was tucked into the Lotus's slipstream out of Texaco. Through the final corner Rosberg pulled out and drew alongside down the pit straight, but ran out of road by a metre. De Angelis won by 0.05 seconds, his first F1 victory, the 150th for the Cosworth DFV, and Lotus's first since the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix. Chapman threw his cap in the air for the first time in four years.

Aftermath

Laffite was third, his only podium of the year in the Ligier, Tambay fourth after climbing back through the field, Lauda fifth, Baldi sixth. Rosberg, frustrated, said he should have attacked a lap earlier; but with 33 points he was now six off Pironi at the top, and with Watson and Prost having scored nothing, the Finn was the new favourite. "If Elio had waited until today to sign," joked Chapman, "he would have cost me a lot more." De Angelis, more dryly: "I didn't close the door. I simply found myself with a car that was wider than usual." Three races to run; Prost's title hopes had all but died with his injection box.

Classification 1982 Austrian F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	11	Eliode Angelis	Team Lotus	Lotus 91Ford DFV	7	53	5	1:25:02.212	9
2	6	KekeRosberg	Williams	Williams FW08Ford DFV	6	53		1:25:02.262+0.050s	6
3	26	JacquesLaffite	Ligier	Ligier JS19Matra MS81	14	52		+1 lap	4
4	27	PatrickTambay	Ferrari	Ferrari 126C2Ferrari 021	4	52		+1 lap	3
5	8	NikiLauda	McLaren	McLaren MP4/1Ford DFV	10	52		+1 lap	2
6	30	MauroBaldi	Arrows	Arrows A4Ford DFV	23	52		+1 lap	1
7	20	ChicoSerra	Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi F9Ford DFV	20	51		+2 laps
8	15	AlainProst	Renault	Renault RE30BRenault EF1	3	48	21	Injection
9	7	JohnWatson	McLaren	McLaren MP4/1Ford DFV	18	44		Engine
DNF	4	BrianHenton	Tyrrell	Tyrrell 011Ford DFV	19	32		Engine
DNF	1	NelsonPiquet	Brabham	Brabham BT50BMW M12/13	1	31	1	Electrical
DNF	33	TommyByrne	Theodore	Theodore TY02Ford DFV	26	28		Spun Off
DNF	29	MarcSurer	Arrows	Arrows A4Ford DFV	21	28		Engine
DNF	2	RiccardoPatrese	Brabham	Brabham BT50BMW M12/13	2	27	26	Engine
DNF	25	EddieCheever	Ligier	Ligier JS19Matra MS81	22	22		Engine
DNF	12	NigelMansell	Team Lotus	Lotus 91Ford DFV	12	17		Engine
DNF	16	RenéArnoux	Renault	Renault RE30BRenault EF1	5	16		Injection
DNF	9	ManfredWinkelhock	ATS	ATS D5Ford DFV	25	15		Spun Off
DNF	35	DerekWarwick	Toleman	Toleman TG181CHart 415T	15	7		Suspension
DNF	36	TeoFabi	Toleman	Toleman TG181CHart 415T	17	7		Transmission
DNF	14	RobertoGuerrero	Ensign	Ensign N181Ford DFV	16	6		Spun Off
DNF	3	MicheleAlboreto	Tyrrell	Tyrrell 011Ford DFV	8	1		Spun Off
DNF	17	RupertKeegan	March	March 821Ford DFV	24	1		Steering
DNF	5	DerekDaly	Williams	Williams FW08Ford DFV	9	0		Collision
DNF	22	Andreade Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 182Alfa Romeo 1260	11	0		Collision
DNF	23	BrunoGiacomelli	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 182Alfa Romeo 1260	13	0		Collision
DNQ	18	RaulBoesel	March	March 821Ford DFV		0		No Time
DNQ	31	Jean-PierreJarier	Osella	Osella FA1DFord DFV		0		No Time
DNQ	10	EliseoSalazar	ATS	ATS D5Ford DFV		0		No Time

Fastest lap: 1:33.699 min by Nelson Piquet (Brabham BT50) in lap 5

✅ Check out 1982 F1 Championship Standings
✅ Check out 1982 F1 Teams & Drivers

✅ Check out All Time F1 Drivers Rankings
✅ Check out All Time F1 Driver Records
✅ Check out All Time F1 Teams Rankings

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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