The 1981 South African Grand Prix was a non-championship round of the 1981 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held at Kyalami in South Africa on Sunday, 7 February 1981. Nelson Piquet started on pole position in the Brabham Ford and Carlos Reutemann was the race winner in the Williams Ford.
1981 South African Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Gap | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 77 | 1:44:54.03 | - | 1:13.61 | 72 | 112.31 | 2 |
| 2 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Ford | Goodyear | 77 | 1:45:14.17 | +20.14 | 1 | |||
| 3 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 77 | 1:46:00.27 | +1:06.24 | 5 | |||
| 4 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | Fittipaldi Ford | Goodyear | 76 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 4 | |||
| 5 | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 76 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 15 | |||
| 6 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 76 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 6 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 76 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 12 | |||
| 8 | 6 | Ricardo Zunino | Argentina | Brabham Ford | Goodyear | 75 | +2 laps | +2 laps | 7 | |||
| 9 | 21 | Chico Serra | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Goodyear | 75 | +2 laps | +2 laps | 13 | |||
| 10 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Great Britain | Lotus Ford | Goodyear | 74 | +3 laps | +3 laps | 8 | |||
| 11 | 17 | Derek Daly | Ireland | March Ford | Goodyear | 74 | +3 laps | +3 laps | 17 | |||
| DNF | 33 | Geoff Lees | Great Britain | Theodore Ford | Goodyear | 11 | Accident | 18 | ||||
| DNF | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Italy | Arrows Ford | Goodyear | 12 | Engine | 11 | ||||
| DNF | 9 | Jan Lammers | Netherlands | ATS Ford | Goodyear | 17 | Brakes | 10 | ||||
| DNF | 18 | Eliseo Salazar | Chile | March Ford | Goodyear | 32 | Gearbox | 19 | ||||
| DNF | 4 | Desiré Wilson | South Africa | Tyrrell Ford | Goodyear | 51 | Accident | 16 | ||||
| DNF | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | Italy | McLaren Ford | Goodyear | 54 | Accident | 9 | ||||
| DNF | 14 | Marc Surer | Switzerland | Ensign Ford | Goodyear | 58 | Battery | 14 | ||||
| DNF | 1 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Goodyear | 62 | Skirt | 3 |
Qualifying
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Ford | 1:12.94 | 1:12.78 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Williams Ford | 1:12.98 | - | +0.20 |
| 3 | 1 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | 1:13.78 | 1:13.28 | +0.50 |
| 4 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | Fittipaldi Ford | 1:14.45 | 1:13.29 | +0.51 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Lotus Ford | 1:14.00 | 1:13.47 | +0.69 |
| 6 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | 1:15.03 | 1:14.07 | +1.29 |
| 7 | 6 | Ricardo Zunino | Argentina | Brabham Ford | 1:14.71 | 1:14.35 | +1.57 |
| 8 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Great Britain | Lotus Ford | 1:14.38 | 1:14.48 | +1.60 |
| 9 | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | Italy | McLaren Ford | 1:14.91 | 1:14.39 | +1.61 |
| 10 | 9 | Jan Lammers | Netherlands | ATS Ford | 1:14.93 | 1:14.85 | +2.07 |
| 11 | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Italy | Arrows Ford | 1:16.16 | 1:14.93 | +2.15 |
| 12 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Tyrrell Ford | 1:14.95 | 1:15.32 | +2.17 |
| 13 | 21 | Chico Serra | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | 1:15.06 | - | +2.28 |
| 14 | 14 | Marc Surer | Switzerland | Ensign Ford | 1:15.63 | 1:15.18 | +2.40 |
| 15 | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | 1:15.25 | 1:15.85 | +2.47 |
| 16 | 4 | Desiré Wilson | South Africa | Tyrrell Ford | 1:15.56 | 1:16.22 | +2.78 |
| 17 | 17 | Derek Daly | Ireland | March Ford | 1:16.80 | - | +4.02 |
| 18 | 33 | Geoff Lees | Great Britain | Theodore Ford | 1:17.39 | 1:17.08 | +4.30 |
| 19 | 18 | Eliseo Salazar | Chile | March Ford | - | - | - |