The 1982 Canadian Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor race held at

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, also spelled ''Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve'' (), is a motor racing Race track, circuit on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the venue for the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA Form ...

on 13 June 1982. It was the eighth race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. This was the first Canadian Grand Prix to be held in June, the organisers having moved the race from the autumn to allow for warmer weather; it has been held in June ever since. The 70-lap race was won by

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...

, driving a

Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

. It was the first Formula One victory for a BMW-engined car, but the only victory of the season for defending Drivers' Champion Piquet. Team-mate Riccardo Patrese finished second in an older

- Ford, with John Watson third in a

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

-Ford.

Death of Riccardo Paletti

The race was marred by the death of Italian driver Riccardo Paletti, in only his second F1 race start. At the start, the lights took an unusually long time to turn to green. During this time,

Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver and offshore powerboat racing, offshore powerboat racer, who competed in Formula One from to . Pironi was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Cham ...

, who had the pole position, stalled the engine of his

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

. Pironi lifted his hand to signal the problem just as the lights switched to green, which was too late to abort the start. The other cars swerved across the track, trying to squeeze past Pironi's stationary car. Raul Boesel just clipped the back left of the Ferrari, spinning his

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

into the path of Eliseo Salazar and Jochen Mass. Salazar, Boesel and Mass suffered minor impacts but it looked as if everyone had passed the Ferrari without serious consequences. However, Paletti could not react in time and slammed into the rear of the stranded Ferrari at , catapulting it into the path of Geoff Lees. The Osella's nose was crushed in severely. Due to the force of the severe impact, Paletti sustained heavy chest injuries and was lying unconscious in his car, wedged against the steering wheel. Didier Pironi and Sid Watkins, the FIA's head doctor, were on the scene to stabilise and assist Paletti. As Watkins climbed over the wreckage of the Osella, the petrol from the fuel tank ignited, enveloping the car in a wall of fire. When the fire was finally put out, the injured Paletti was without a pulse. It took the rescue workers 25 minutes to cut him out safely from his wrecked car, as the sparks caused by the cutting equipment threatened to re-ignite the petrol on the track. He was flown by a medical helicopter to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he died soon after arriving. His mother was watching from the stands, as they were to celebrate his 24th birthday later that week. Paletti suffered a torn aorta as well as fractures to both legs. According to track doctor Jacques Bouchard his pupils were already dilated (indicating brain death) when medical personnel arrived and that the extended extraction time made no difference to his chances of survival.Paletti was the last driver to lose his life in a Formula One car until

Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis (26 March 1958 – 15 May 1986) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . De Angelis won two Formula One Grands Prix across eight seasons. De Angelis competed in Formula One for Shadow, Lotus and Br ...

was killed while testing for Brabham at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France in 1986, and was the last fatality at a Formula One race weekend until Roland Ratzenberger at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Notes

* This was the 1st Grand Prix win and podium finish for a

-powered car.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings *

References

{{F1GP 80-89 Canadian Grand Prix Grand Prix Canadian Grand Prix Canadian Grand Prix Grand Prix 1982 in Montreal