British Grand Prix
Silverstone Circuit
Grand Prix starting grid
Race starts
Grid positions from race-result records; not a separately verified pre-race grid.
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | René Arnoux | Renault |
| 2 | Alain Prost | Renault |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| 4 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari |
| 5 | John Watson | McLaren |
| 6 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren |
| 7 | Alan Jones | Williams |
| 8 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari |
| 9 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams |
| 10 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows |
| 11 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo |
| 12 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo |
| 13 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham |
| 14 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier |
| 14 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi |
| 15 | Patrick Tambay | Ligier |
| 17 | Derek Daly | March |
| 18 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows |
| 19 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell |
| 20 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella |
| 21 | Slim Borgudd | ATS |
| 22 | Elio de Angelis | Team Lotus |
| 23 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell |
| 24 | Marc Surer | Theodore |