The 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix was Round 2 of the 1981 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday, 29 March 1981. Nelson Piquet started on pole position in the Brabham Ford and Carlos Reutemann was the race winner in the Williams Ford.
1981 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Tyre | Laps | Time/Retired | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Started | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Argentina | Williams Ford | Michelin | 62 | 2:00:23.660 | 2:00:23.660 | - | - | 1:54.780 | 61 | 155.450 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 1 | Alan Jones | Australia | Williams Ford | Michelin | 62 | +4.440 | 2:00:28.100 | +4.440 | +4.440 | 1:55.210 | 54 | 155.350 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Italy | Arrows Ford | Michelin | 62 | +1:03.080 | 2:01:26.740 | +1:03.080 | +58.640 | 1:56.100 | 9 | 154.100 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 14 | Marc Surer | Switzerland | Ensign Ford | Michelin | 62 | +1:17.030 | 2:01:40.690 | +1:17.030 | +13.950 | 1:54.302 | 36 | 153.810 | 18 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Italy | Lotus Ford | Michelin | 62 | +1:26.420 | 2:01:50.080 | +1:26.420 | +9.390 | 1:56.270 | 46 | 153.610 | 10 | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | France | Ligier Matra | Michelin | 62 | +1:26.830 | 2:01:50.490 | +1:26.830 | +0.410 | 1:54.500 | 37 | 153.600 | 16 | 1 |
| 7 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | France | Ligier Matra | Michelin | 62 | +1:30.250 | 2:01:53.910 | +1:30.250 | +3.420 | 1:55.850 | 38 | 153.530 | 23 | |
| 8 | 7 | John Watson | Great Britain | McLaren Ford | Michelin | 61 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:56.950 | 29 | 15 | |||
| 9 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Finland | Fittipaldi Ford | Michelin | 61 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:57.340 | 8 | 12 | ||||
| 10 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | France | Theodore Ford | Michelin | 61 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:56.710 | 15 | 19 | ||||
| 11 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Great Britain | Lotus Ford | Michelin | 61 | +1 lap | 1 lap | 1:57.120 | 10 | 13 | ||||
| 12 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brazil | Brabham Ford | Michelin | 60 | +2 laps | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:54.670 | 31 | 1 | |||
| 13 | 4 | Ricardo Zunino | Argentina | Tyrrell Ford | Michelin | 57 | +5 laps | 5 laps | 3 laps | 2:00.350 | 39 | 24 | |||
| NC | 3 | Eddie Cheever | United States | Tyrrell Ford | Michelin | 49 | +13 laps | 1:59.190 | 34 | 14 | |||||
| NC | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Italy | Alfa Romeo | Michelin | 40 | +22 laps | 1:56.730 | 40 | 6 | |||||
| DNF | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | Ferrari | Michelin | 25 | Turbo | 1:57.420 | 8 | 7 | |||||
| DNF | 6 | Hector Rebaque | Mexico | Brabham Ford | Michelin | 22 | Spun Off | 1:57.270 | 14 | 11 | |||||
| DNF | 15 | Alain Prost | France | Renault | Michelin | 20 | Collision | 1:57.120 | 14 | 5 | |||||
| DNF | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Italy | Arrows Ford | Michelin | 20 | Accident | 2:03.420 | 12 | 21 | |||||
| DNF | 28 | Didier Pironi | France | Ferrari | Michelin | 19 | Collision | 2:00.440 | 15 | 17 | |||||
| DNF | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | Italy | McLaren Ford | Michelin | 9 | Engine | 1:58.870 | 7 | 20 | |||||
| DNF | 16 | René Arnoux | France | Renault | Michelin | Collision | 8 | ||||||||
| DNF | 22 | Mario Andretti | United States | Alfa Romeo | Michelin | Collision | 9 | ||||||||
| DNF | 21 | Chico Serra | Brazil | Fittipaldi Ford | Michelin | Collision | 22 |