United States Grand Prix West
Long Beach
Grand Prix starting grid
Race starts
Grid positions from race-result records; not a separately verified pre-race grid.
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows |
| 2 | Alan Jones | Williams |
| 3 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| 5 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 6 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo |
| 7 | Nigel Mansell | Team Lotus |
| 8 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell |
| 9 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo |
| 10 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Ligier |
| 11 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari |
| 12 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| 13 | Elio de Angelis | Team Lotus |
| 14 | Alain Prost | Renault |
| 15 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham |
| 16 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi |
| 17 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore |
| 18 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi |
| 19 | Marc Surer | Ensign |
| 20 | René Arnoux | Renault |
| 21 | Jan Lammers | ATS |
| 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren |
| 23 | John Watson | McLaren |
| 24 | Beppe Gabbiani | Osella |