The 1982 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 23 January 1982. It was the first race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. It was the 28th edition of the South African Grand Prix and the 16th time that the race had been held at Kyalami.
The prelude to the race was notable for a strike action by the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, led by Niki Lauda and Didier Pironi, in protest at the new superlicence conditions imposed by FISA, which would have tied the drivers to a single team for up to three years. A late compromise was reached and the race went ahead. The drivers were subsequently fined between US$5,000 and US$10,000 and handed suspended race bans; however, the FIA Court of Appeal later reduced the penalties and criticised FISA's handling of the dispute.
Turbocharged cars took the first six positions on the grid. Despite Alain Prost suffering a puncture while leading, he was able to recover (from over a lap behind) to win the race. Lauda, in his first race after two years out of F1, finished fourth. It was the final podium and points finish for Carlos Reutemann, who retired from Formula One after the next race in Brazil. , this is the most recent podium finish achieved by an Argentine driver and the last point finish for an Argentine driver until Franco Colapinto finished 8th and scored 4 points at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It also was the last race held in January.
Classification
Qualifying + Pos Driver Constructor Time Gap 1 16 René Arnoux Renault 1:06.351 2 1 Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 1:06.625 +0.274 3 27 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 1:07.106 +0.755 4 2 Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW 1:07.398 +1.047 5 15 Alain Prost Renault 1:08.133 +1.782 6 28 Didier Pironi Ferrari 1:08.360 +2.009 7 6 Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford 1:08.892 +2.541 8 5 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 1:09.306 +2.955 9 7 John Watson McLaren-Ford 1:09.736 +3.385 10 3 Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 1:10.037 +3.686 11 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 1:10.241 +3.890 12 10 Eliseo Salazar ATS-Ford 1:10.624 +4.273 13 8 Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford 1:10.681 +4.330 14 35 Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 1:10.685 +4.334 15 11 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 1:10.685 +4.334 16 22 Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo 1:10.952 +4.601 17 25 Eddie Cheever Ligier-Matra 1:11.005 +4.654 18 12 Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 1:11.227 +4.876 19 23 Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 1:11.285 +4.934 20 9 Manfred Winkelhock ATS-Ford 1:11.808 +5.457 21 18 Raul Boesel March-Ford 1:12.077 +5.726 22 17 Jochen Mass March-Ford 1:12.100 +5.749 23 4 Slim Borgudd Tyrrell-Ford 1:12.366 +6.015 24 33 Derek Daly Theodore-Ford 1:13.418 +7.067 25 20 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 1:13.467 +7.116 26 31 Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 1:13.834 +7.483 30 Mauro Baldi Arrows-Ford 1:13.976 +7.625 32 Riccardo Paletti Osella-Ford 1:15.504 +9.153 29 Brian Henton Arrows-Ford 1:16.653 +10.302 36 Teo Fabi Toleman-Hart No time
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 15 Alain Prost Renault 77 1:32:08.401 5 9 2 5 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford 77 + 14.946 8 6 3 16 René Arnoux Renault 77 + 27.900 1 4 4 8 Niki Lauda McLaren-Ford 77 + 32.113 13 3 5 6 Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford 77 + 43.139 7 2 6 7 John Watson McLaren-Ford 77 + 50.993 9 1 7 3 Michele Alboreto Tyrrell-Ford 76 + 1 lap 10 8 11 Elio de Angelis Lotus-Ford 76 + 1 lap 15 9 10 Eliseo Salazar ATS-Ford 75 + 2 laps 12 10 9 Manfred Winkelhock ATS-Ford 75 + 2 laps 20 11 23 Bruno Giacomelli Alfa Romeo 74 + 3 laps 19 12 17 Jochen Mass March-Ford 74 + 3 laps 22 13 22 Andrea de Cesaris Alfa Romeo 73 + 4 laps 16 14 33 Derek Daly Theodore-Ford 73 + 4 laps 24 15 18 Raul Boesel March-Ford 72 + 5 laps 21 16 4 Slim Borgudd Tyrrell-Ford 72 + 5 laps 23 17 20 Chico Serra Fittipaldi-Ford 72 + 5 laps 25 18 28 Didier Pironi Ferrari 71 + 6 laps 6 26 Jacques Laffite Ligier-Matra 54 Fuel system 11 35 Derek Warwick Toleman-Hart 43 Accident 14 2 Riccardo Patrese Brabham-BMW 18 Turbo 4 25 Eddie Cheever Ligier-Matra 11 Fuel system 17 27 Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari 6 Turbo 3 1 Nelson Piquet Brabham-BMW 3 Spun off 2 12 Nigel Mansell Lotus-Ford 0 Electrical 18 31 Jean-Pierre Jarier Osella-Ford 0 Collision 26 30 Mauro Baldi Arrows-Ford 32 Riccardo Paletti Osella-Ford 29 Brian Henton Arrows-Ford 36 Teo Fabi Toleman-Hart 14 Roberto Guerrero Ensign-Ford
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Alain Prost 9 2 Carlos Reutemann 6 3 René Arnoux 4 4 Niki Lauda 3 5 Keke Rosberg 2Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Renault 13 2 Williams-Ford 8 3 McLaren-Ford 4Source:
References