The 1981 USA West Grand Prix was Round 1 of the 1981 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held on the streets of Long Beach, California, United States on Sunday, 15 March 1981. Riccardo Patrese started on pole position in the Arrows Ford and Alan Jones was the race winner in the Williams Ford.
1981 USA West Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Michelin | 80 | 1:50:41.330 | 1:50:41.330 | - | - | 1:20.901 | 31 | 141.860 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Williams Ford | Michelin | 80 | +9.190 | 1:50:50.520 | +9.190 | +9.190 | 1:20.910 | 31 | 141.660 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Ford | Michelin | 80 | +34.920 | 1:51:16.250 | +34.920 | +25.730 | 1:21.830 | 69 | 141.120 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 22 | Mario Andretti | United States | Alfa Romeo | Michelin | 80 | +49.310 | 1:51:30.640 | +49.310 | +14.390 | 1:21.790 | 66 | 140.810 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Tyrrell Ford | Michelin | 80 | +1:06.700 | 1:51:48.030 | +1:06.700 | +17.390 | 1:22.230 | 36 | 140.450 | 8 | 2 |
| 6 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | France | Theodore Ford | Michelin | 79 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:21.750 | 49 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 7 | 21 | Chico Serra | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Michelin | 78 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:23.090 | 19 | 18 | |||
| 8 | 16 | René Arnoux | France | Renault | Michelin | 77 | +3 laps | 3 laps | 1 lap | 1:22.540 | 34 | 20 | |||
| DNF | 14 | Marc Surer | Switzerland | Ensign Ford | Michelin | 70 | Fuel System | 1:22.770 | 50 | 19 | |||||
| DNF | 28 | Didier Pironi | France | Ferrari | Michelin | 67 | Fuel System | 1:22.230 | 26 | 11 | |||||
| DNF | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | France | Ligier Matra | Michelin | 64 | Fuel Pump | 1:22.900 | 41 | 10 | |||||
| DNF | 6 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Brabham Ford | Michelin | 49 | Accident | 1:22.680 | 49 | 15 | |||||
| DNF | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Italy | Alfa Romeo | Michelin | 41 | Collision | 1:22.410 | 37 | 9 | |||||
| DNF | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Matra | Michelin | 41 | Collision | 1:22.080 | 33 | 12 | |||||
| DNF | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | Fittipaldi Ford | Michelin | 41 | Engine | 1:22.880 | 25 | 16 | |||||
| DNF | 9 | Jan Lammers | Netherlands | ATS Ford | Michelin | 41 | Collision | 1:22.330 | 29 | 21 | |||||
| DNF | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Michelin | 33 | Fuel System | 1:21.420 | 14 | 1 | |||||
| DNF | 32 | Beppe Gabbiani | Italy | Osella Hart | Michelin | 26 | Accident | 1:25.190 | 14 | 24 | |||||
| DNF | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Great Britain | Lotus Ford | Michelin | 25 | Accident | 1:22.750 | 19 | 7 | |||||
| DNF | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | Michelin | 17 | Halfshaft | 1:22.540 | 15 | 5 | |||||
| DNF | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Michelin | 16 | Brakes | 1:24.550 | 15 | 23 | |||||
| DNF | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Lotus Ford | Michelin | 13 | Accident | 1:23.320 | 8 | 13 | |||||
| DNF | 15 | Alain Prost | France | Renault | Michelin | Collision | 14 | ||||||||
| DNF | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | Italy | McLaren Ford | Michelin | Collision | 22 | ||||||||
| DNQ | 4 | Kevin Cogon | United States | Tyrrell Ford | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 17 | Derek Daly | Ireland | March Ford | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 31 | Miguel Angel Guerra | Argentina | Osella Hart | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 20 | Siegfried Stohr | Italy | Arrows Ford | Michelin | ||||||||||
| DNQ | 18 | Eliseo Salazar | Chile | March Ford | Michelin |