Formula 1 historical archive

Nelson Piquet won the 1980 United States Grand Prix West

Nelson Piquet won the 1980 United States Grand Prix West for Brabham, ahead of Riccardo Patrese and Emerson Fittipaldi at Long Beach.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Nelson Piquet
Team
Brabham
Top listed
Nelson Piquet, Riccardo Patrese, and Emerson Fittipaldi
Race date
March 30, 1980
Pole
Nelson Piquet
Fastest lap
Nelson Piquet
Classified drivers
27
Circuit
Long Beach

The decisive result

Nelson Piquet finished first for Brabham. Riccardo Patrese is listed 2 for Arrows, with Emerson Fittipaldi 3 for Fittipaldi.

Grid to finish

Emerson Fittipaldi from P24 to P3 (+21), John Watson from P21 to P4 (+17), and Jody Scheckter from P16 to P5 (+11) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Nelson Piquet started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 5 +1 lap, 5 Accident, 4 Transmission, 3 DNQ, and 3 Finished. Nelson Piquet holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:19.830 on lap 38. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Nelson PiquetBrabham1:50:18.5509
2Riccardo PatreseArrows1:51:07.7606
3Emerson FittipaldiFittipaldi1:51:37.1104
4John WatsonMcLaren+1 lap3
5Jody ScheckterFerrari+1 lap2
6Didier PironiLigier+1 lap1
7Jochen MassArrows+1 lap0
8Derek DalyTyrrell+1 lap0
9René ArnouxRenault+2 laps0
10Jean-Pierre JabouilleRenault+9 laps0
DNFKeke RosbergFittipaldiOverheating0
DNFClay RegazzoniEnsignAccident0
DNFBruno GiacomelliAlfa RomeoCollision0
DNFAlan JonesWilliamsCollision0
DNFGilles VilleneuveFerrariTransmission0
DNFPatrick DepaillerAlfa RomeoSuspension0
DNFJacques LaffiteLigierPuncture0
DNFEddie CheeverOsellaTransmission0
DNFCarlos ReutemannWilliamsTransmission0
DNFJean-Pierre JarierTyrrellAccident0