Caesars Palace Grand Prix 1981 - Race Schedule and Countdown

Alan Jones dominated the bizarre Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas to end his Formula 1 career with victory, while Nelson Piquet clinched his first World Championship with a calculated fifth-place finish. The retiring Australian led from lights to flag around the temporary parking lot circuit, delivering a fitting farewell performance that reminded everyone of his championship-winning ability. Jones's triumph in the desert provided the perfect ending to a brilliant if truncated career at the top level, while Piquet's tactical fifth place secured the title by a single point over Carlos Reutemann.

The real drama unfolded behind Jones as Piquet drove a tactical masterclass to secure the points needed for the championship. The Brazilian suffered terrible physical sickness from the extreme heat and counter-clockwise layout, requiring a 90-minute massage from Sugar Ray Leonard's trainer post-race to recover from debilitating back pain. Carlos Reutemann's championship dream died with a mystifying performance, starting on pole but braking inexplicably early to allow Piquet through before finishing eighth with gearbox problems. Reutemann's enigmatic collapse remains one of racing's great unsolved mysteries - whether he choked under pressure, suffered mechanical issues, or simply gave up will never be fully understood. Alain Prost finished second ahead of Bruno Giacomelli's Alfa Romeo, but the Frenchman's championship challenge fell just one point short.

The surreal Caesars Palace circuit, with its bumpy surface and punishing heat, hosted only one more Grand Prix before being abandoned, its brief existence serving as a symbol of Formula 1's sometimes misguided American expansion attempts. Piquet's championship by one point, won despite winning only three races to Prost's four, demonstrated that consistency trumps occasional brilliance in Formula 1. The title battle had been defined by the bitter civil war within Williams, where Jones and Reutemann's mutual antagonism allowed Piquet to split their points and claim the crown. Reutemann finished just one point behind Piquet in second place, with Jones third despite announcing his retirement mid-season. The championship marked the beginning of Piquet's emergence as one of the 1980s' defining champions.