Brands Hatch and Silverstone continued to share the GP during the eighties.
Didier Pironi was the class of the field in qualifying at Brands Hatch in 1980, securing pole position in his Ligier. The Frenchman also set the fastest race lap but victory went to Alan Jones, his Williams finishing ahead of Nelson Piquet and Carlos Reutemann. Jody Scheckter announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, while Patrick Depailler competed in his final Grand Prix. Before the next round he was killed testing for Alfa-Romeo at Hockenheim.
Northern Ireland’s John Watson scored an emotional victory at Silverstone in 1981. It was also McLaren’s first win under the guidance of Ron Dennis. Pole position and fastest lap went to René Arnoux but the Frenchman retired from the race. Reutemann finished second with Jacques Laffite third.
Keke Rosberg was on pole for the 1982 race at Brands, despite driving a normally aspirated Williams-Ford. Niki Lauda won for McLaren, followed by Pironi and Patrick Tambay, the latter having replaced the unfortunate Gilles Villeneuve at Ferrari. Brian Henton’s performance was worthy of note as the British driver set fastest lap in his Tyrrell.
There were two Frenchmen on the podium at Silverstone in 1983. Alain Prost won for Renault while Tambay drove his Ferrari to third. Sandwiched by the countrymen was Piquet, who would go on to win his second World Championship that year. Lauda won the 1984 race at Brands, ahead of Derek Warwick’s Renault. In third was the rising young star Ayrton Senna, who had already attracted attention by taking his Toleman to second in Monaco.
A significant landmark was broken at Silverstone in 1985. In qualifying Rosberg became the first person to average over 160 mph for a lap of the track. The Finn only lasted 21 laps in the race before a broken exhaust put him out. Prost secured his second British Grand Prix victory with Michele Alboreto and Laffite his nearest challengers.
Laffite’s final Grand Prix appearance came in 1986 at Brands. A start-line crash sent his Ligier head-on into the barriers, shattering his legs. The race was memorable for a titanic struggle between Williams team-mates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet. Piquet took pole with Mansell second but, by the end of the race, the positions had been reversed. Prost finished third, but a lap behind.
It was back to Silverstone in 1987 and, once again, the battle for victory was between Mansell and Piquet. Mansell was forced to pit but then embarked on a relentless pursuit of his team-mate. After tricking Piquet into thinking he was going to pass on one side into Stowe corner Mansell jinked to the other and went on to win. Senna was third for Lotus, but a lap behind the Williams pair.
