Grand Prix Insider

For the first time the French Grand Prix at the Paul Ricard circuit in Le Castellet was staged in the spring as opposed to the traditional high-summer venue.

After the Friday practice session Andrea de Cesaris’s Alfa Romeo was found to have a faulty fire extinguisher and was consequently disqualified. The team management held Gerard Ducarouge responsible and promptly sacked him. This turned out to be a major blunder and this excellent engineer was quickly snapped up by Lotus. Within six weeks he would help get the Lotus 94T onto the track and thus provide the failing team with a big boost for morale.

Renault were able to take full advantage of the extensive testing they had done on the circuit. As a result Prost easily secured pole with team-mate Eddie Cheever alongside him on the front row. Race day began under a grey sky and in the presence of a strong Mediterranean wind it soon became apparent that the entire proceedings were going to be staged in somewhat chilly conditions.

When the lights went green Prost made an excellent start which looked even more impressive when compared to Cheever’s wheel-spinning antics. Patrese got through into second spot while Piquet, having started in sixth place charged between Arnoux and the pit-wall to grab fourth behind a rapidly recovering Cheever. The Renault 1-2 remained in force until lap 18 when Piquet edged ahead of Cheever but catching Prost would be impossible without some kind of miracle. So it was Prost, Piquet and Cheever climbing onto the podium in the end.

1983 French Formula 1 Grand Prix, Paul Ricard, Le Castellet

Pole Position: Alain Prost, Renault RE40, 1m 36.672s, 216.360 km/h (134.469 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Alain Prost, Renault RE40, 54 laps x 5,810 = 313.740 km (194.990 miles) total race distance in 1h 34m 13.913s, 199.767 km/h (124.156 mph) average.

2) Nelson Piquet Brabham BT52 + 29.720s
3) Eddie Cheever Renault RE40 + 40.232s
4) Patrick Tambay Ferrari 126C2B + 1m 06.880s
5) Keke Rosberg Williams FW08C + 1 lap
6) Jacques Laffite Williams FW08C + 1 lap

Fastest Lap: Alain Prost, Renault RE40, 1m 42.695s on Lap 34 = 203.671 km/h (126.555 mph) average.

Milestones among drivers:

- Eddie Cheever’s 50th F1 Grand Prix

- Jean-Louis Schlesser’s debut in an F1 Grand Prix