14 MARCH 17 2022 motorsport-news.co.uk
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FEATURE
ROSBERG’S 1982 MARCH IN FORMULA 1’S MOST TUMULTUOUS SEASON EVER
The main players in a script Hollywood would have rejected
Forty years on, David Addison unpacks a year where the drama was constant
H
ow to remember the 1982 Formula 1 season, a tumultuous year for sure? The year that Keke Rosberg won the title? The year that Gilles Villeneuve was killed? The year that began with a drivers’ strike and had a race boycotted by some teams? Or the year that team orders became acrimonious in the extreme at Ferrari? Those elements of the season barely scratch the surface.
World champion Keke Rosberg (l) greets Diana Ross and Las Vegas Grand Prix winner Michele Alboreto
Keke Rosberg won the championship, the Finn moving to Williams to replace Alan Jones who had retired at the end of ’81. He won but once, the Swiss Grand Prix held in France (which seemed apt for 1982’s contrary nature) but did enough to go to Caesars Palace for the final with an advantage over John Watson. “I had to win the race with Keke fifth or lower,” remembers Wattie. “Ron Dennis told
1982 ROUND-BY-ROUND 1 South African Grand Prix Kyalami January 23 1 Alain Prost (Renault) 2 Carlos Reutemann (Williams) 3 Rene Arnoux (Renault) When the race finally got underway, Rene Arnoux led from pole in his Renault until team-mate Alain
Prost powered through. The new leader suffered a puncture and dropped outside the top six but clawed his way back to the front on his fresher tyres to win. Williams driver Carlos Reutemann also overtook Arnoux in the latter stages to claim second spot.
2 Brazilian Grand Prix Jacarepagua March 21 1 Alain Prost (Renault) 2 John Watson (McLaren) 3 Nigel Mansell (Lotus) Gilles Villeneuve took the lead at the start but spun his Ferrari on lap 30, handing the advantage to Nelson Piquet’s Brabham.
Keke Rosberg (Williams) kept the reigning World champion honest throughout and finished a close second. However, a protest from Renault and Ferrari led to the top two being kicked out, handing the win to Alain Prost (Renault). John Watson (McLaren) inherited second place.
Niki Lauda, my team-mate, the facts of life about helping me, but Niki didn’t like that. On race day he was there in body but not spirit.” Michele Alboreto won the last race for Tyrrell thus sinking Watson’s championship dream. He finished second with Rosberg fifth, job done for the Finn. Rosberg was the champion with Watson second equal. He tied on points with Didier Pironi who hadn’t raced since France, a massive accident in free practice at Hockenheim ending his season and career. On the way, 1982 had twists and turns all the way. It began with a row over superlicences and a drivers’ strike in South Africa, before Alain Prost’s Renault won, and then the exclusion of the top two (Nelson Piquet and Rosberg) in Brazil over liquids carried in their cars that were deemed to be water for brake cooling. While Prost inherited a second win, more surprises came in Long Beach: Andrea de Cesaris took his first pole for Alfa Romeo and comeback kid Niki Lauda
