The 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 25, 1982, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship, the second F1 race in Las Vegas, and the last F1 race to be held at Caesars Palace.
The 75-lap race was won by Michele Alboreto, driving a Tyrrell-Ford. Alboreto scored Tyrrell's first victory since the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix, becoming the eleventh different winning driver of 1982 while Tyrrell became the seventh different winning constructor. John Watson finished second in a McLaren-Ford, with Eddie Cheever third in a Ligier-Matra. Keke Rosberg finished fifth in his Williams-Ford to secure the Drivers' Championship, with Ferrari taking the Constructors' Championship despite neither car finishing in the top six.
This was the last F1 race for 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti and for Colin Chapman, the creator and manager of Lotus (who died of a heart attack at his home, later in December). It was also the last race for the Ensign and Fittipaldi teams, the last for March until , and the last for Matra as an engine supplier. This would be last Grand Prix held in Las Vegas for just over 41 years until the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix held on a new circuit utilising the Las Vegas Strip.
Background When the 1982 Formula One schedule was first released in October 1981, the Caesars Palace Grand Prix was scheduled for Saturday, October 16, 1982.
In anticipation of the second year in Las Vegas, race organizers attempted to make the weekend even larger by also scheduling a CART Indy car race. The weekend would consist of a Can-Am race on Friday, the Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday, then the track would be converted to an oval for Indy cars on Sunday.
Shortly after CART announced their 1982 schedule confirming the Las Vegas race twin bill, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) announced the Caesars Palace Grand Prix would be moved to September 25. Jean-Marie Balestre, head of FISA, explained this was done to shorten the one-month wait between the Italian Grand Prix and the Caesars Palace Grand Prix. It was also done so the American television broadcaster, NBC, would not have a conflict with their coverage of the 1982 World Series being held the same weekend. This new date, however, was in conflict with CART's previously scheduled race at Michigan International Speedway. Furthermore, FISA prevented any future F1-IndyCar combination weekends by instituting a rule that banned two open-wheel series with engines over two liters from competing at the same venue on the same weekend.
In response, CART president John Frasco said, "I don't know all the politics, but it's pretty obvious FISA doesn't want to race with us... I didn't think we were competing against each other because we would be racing on track's different configurations. Caesars Palace thought the doubleheader concept was fascinating, so did Bernie Ecclestone, and so did we. But obviously, other people involved didn't feel that way."
Qualifying report For the first time since the World Championship began in 1950, a country hosted three rounds in the same season in 1982. The final race of the year, and the third in the US, would once again decide the Championship. Keke Rosberg of Williams had 42 points, to 33 for McLaren's John Watson, and needed to finish sixth or better to secure the title. Meanwhile, the race was former world champion Mario Andretti's final grand prix.
The course's tight turns and short straights allowed the non-turbo cars to be more competitive than usual, with Michele Alboreto's Tyrrell and Eddie Cheever's Talbot Ligier fastest among them. The turbocharged Renaults of Alain Prost and René Arnoux took first and second positions in qualifying, more than eight-tenths clear of Alboreto. The two Championship contenders, Rosberg and Watson, meanwhile, were in sixth and ninth places respectively, separated by the Ferraris of Mario Andretti and Patrick Tambay.
Championship permutations Rosberg and Watson both entered this race with a chance of winning the Drivers' Championship. Rosberg (42 points) needed either 6th or higher Watson 2nd or lower Watson (33 points) needed to win the race, with Rosberg 7th or lower. Had this happened, both drivers would have finished with 42 points, and Watson would have been champion by virtue of having three wins to Rosberg's one. The injured Didier Pironi exited championship contention before the race on the grounds of being absent from the event. For the first time since , three teams entered the final race with a chance of winning the Constructors' Championship. Ferrari (74 points) needed either 2nd (or 4th and 5th) or better 4th (or 5th and 6th) or better, with the McLarens 1st and 3rd or lower 5th or better, with the McLarens 1st and 4th or lower 6th or better, with the McLarens 1st and 5th or lower the McLarens scoring fewer than 11 points, with the Renaults 1st and 3rd or lower McLaren-Ford (63 points) needed 1st and either 2nd with the Ferraris scoring fewer than 5 points 3rd with the Ferraris scoring fewer than 3 points 4th with the Ferraris 6th or lower 5th with the Ferraris 7th or lower Renault (59 points) needed 1st and 2nd, with the Ferraris 7th or lower. Had this happened, both teams would have finished with 74 points, with Renault then winning by virtue of having five wins to Ferrari's three.
Race report At the green light for the race on Saturday, Prost led from the pole, followed by teammate Arnoux. Cheever, from the fourth spot on the grid, was determined to get around the outside of Alboreto on the first left-hander. They touched wheels, but both continued with Alboreto still in front, Cheever's Ligier sporting a vibrating front wheel and the Tyrrell of Alboreto bearing a tire mark on the right sidepod.
For the first ten laps, the Renaults steadily pulled away from Alboreto, with Arnoux now leading Prost. The Tyrrell began to match Arnoux's times, however, and then to close on him, as Prost took back the lead on lap 15. Speculation of a problem with Arnoux's car proved true, as the Renault was faltering, and he retired on lap 21.
Watson, meanwhile, had dropped to twelfth in the opening laps, but passed Piquet on lap 12, then Rosberg, Andretti and Cheever on successive laps, eventually reaching third place, with a thirty-second gap to the two leaders. However, when Andretti, hoping to help clinch the Constructors' title for Ferrari, slid off directly in front of Rosberg on lap 27 with a broken rear suspension link, Rosberg took over the fifth place he sought.
Among the leaders, Alboreto began inching closer to Prost again, and Watson continued to close on both of them. Niki Lauda's McLaren retired on lap 54, while Alboreto had eliminated the gap to Prost, and gotten by him to take the lead in a Grand Prix for the first time. Prost's tires were picking up rubber and had developed a vibration. In four more laps, Watson had also caught and passed him, but he was having the same problem as Prost, and so could make no progress on Alboreto.
Alboreto cruised to a comfortable victory, his first ever and the first for Tyrrell in four years. Alboreto was the 11th different victor that year. Cheever was also able to overtake the ailing Prost for third, nine laps from the end. Less than three seconds behind Prost, and the last car on the lead lap, was Rosberg, who therefore won the world title. Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship despite not finishing in the points.
This race also was marked the end of the engine's 14-year dominance of Ford Cosworth engine (of normal combustion), since the 1968 with Lotus and Graham Hill, being increasingly superseded by the turbocharged engines of the time.
Classification
Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2Gap 1 15 Alain ProstRenault 1:18.922 1:16.356 2 16 René ArnouxRenault 1:17.868 1:16.786 +0.430 3 3 Michele AlboretoTyrrell-Ford 1:18.756 1:17.646 +1.290 4 25 Eddie CheeverLigier-Matra 1:18.842 1:17.683 +1.327 5 2 Riccardo PatreseBrabham-BMW 1:20.386 1:17.772 +1.416 6 6 Keke RosbergWilliams-Ford 1:19.162 1:17.886 +1.530 7 28 Mario AndrettiFerrari 1:19.246 1:17.921 +1.565 8 27 Patrick TambayFerrari 1:21.067 1:17.958 +1.602 9 7 John WatsonMcLaren-Ford 1:19.320 1:17.986 +1.630 10 35 Derek WarwickToleman-Hart 1:20.181 1:18.012 +1.656 11 26 Jacques LaffiteLigier-Matra 1:19.635 1:18.056 +1.700 12 1 Nelson PiquetBrabham-BMW 1:19.210 1:18.275 +1.919 13 8 Niki LaudaMcLaren-Ford 1:19.171 1:18.333 +1.977 14 5 Derek DalyWilliams-Ford 1:19.808 1:18.418 +2.062 15 14 Roberto GuerreroEnsign-Ford 1:20.516 1:18.496 +2.140 16 23 Bruno GiacomelliAlfa Romeo 1:20.065 1:18.622 +2.266 17 29 Marc SurerArrows-Ford 1:19.764 1:18.734 +2.378 18 22 Andrea de CesarisAlfa Romeo 1:19.728 1:18.761 +2.405 19 4 Brian HentonTyrrell-Ford 1:21.038 1:18.765 +2.409 20 31 Jean-Pierre JarierOsella-Ford 1:19.222 no time +2.866 21 11 Elio de AngelisLotus-Ford 1:19.564 1:19.302 +2.946 22 12 Nigel MansellLotus-Ford 1:20.986 1:19.439 +3.083 23 9 Manfred WinkelhockATS-Ford 1:21.563 1:19.767 +3.411 24 30 Mauro BaldiArrows-Ford 1:20.271 1:20.824 +3.915 25 18 Raul BoeselMarch-Ford 1:20.766 1:21.215 +4.410 26 17 Rupert KeeganMarch-Ford 1:26.048 1:21.180 +4.824 27 33 Tommy ByrneTheodore-Ford 1:24.208 1:21.555 +5.199 28 36 Teo FabiToleman-Hart1:22.3241:21.569 +5.213 29 10 Eliseo SalazarATS-Ford1:23.1481:21.583 +5.227 30 20 Chico SerraFittipaldi-Ford1:23.1001:22.387 +6.031
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 3 Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 75 1:41:56.888 3 9 2 7 John Watson McLaren-Ford 75 + 27.292 9 6 3 25 Eddie Cheever Ligier-Matra 75 + 56.450 4 4 4 15 Alain Prost Renault 75 + 1:08.648 1 3 5 6 Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford 75 + 1:11.375 6 2 6 5 Derek Daly Williams-Ford 74 + 1 Lap 14 1 7 29 Marc Surer Arrows-Ford 74 + 1 Lap 17 8 4 Brian Henton Tyrrell-Ford 74 + 1 Lap 19 9 22 Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo 73 + 2 Laps 18 10 23 Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 73 + 2 Laps 16 11 30 Mauro Baldi Arrows-Ford 73 + 2 Laps 23 12 17 Rupert Keegan March-Ford 73 + 2 Laps 25 13 18 Raul Boesel March-Ford 69 + 6 Laps 24 9 Manfred Winkelhock ATS-Ford 62 + 13 Laps 22 8 Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford 53 Engine 13 33 Tommy Byrne Theodore-Ford 39 Spun Off 26 35 Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 32 Spark Plugs 10 11 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 28 Engine 20 28 Mario Andretti Ferrari 26 Suspension 7 1 Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 26 Spark Plugs 12 16 René Arnoux Renault 20 Engine 2 2 Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW 17 Clutch 5 12 Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 8 Collision 21 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 5 Ignition 11 27 Patrick Tambay Ferrari 0 Driver Unfit 8 14 Roberto Guerrero Ensign-Ford 0 Engine 15 31 Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 36 Teo Fabi Toleman-Hart 10 Eliseo Salazar ATS-Ford 20 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford
Notes
This was the 50th Grand Prix start for an Irish driver.
Final championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Keke Rosberg 44 2 Didier Pironi 39 3 John Watson 39 4 Alain Prost 34 5 Niki Lauda 30Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 74 2 McLaren-Ford 69 3 Renault 62 4 Williams-Ford 58 5 Lotus-Ford 30Source:
References
Further reading Rob Walker (January, 1983). "2nd Las Vegas Grand Prix: King Keke". Road & Track, 96–99. Mike S. Lang (1992). Grand Prix!: Race-by-race account of Formula 1 World Championship motor racing. Volume 4: 1981 to 1984. Haynes Publishing Group.