Patrick Depailler
Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (born 9 August 1944 in Clermont-Ferrand, France, died 21 June, 1981 in Mexico City, Mexico) was a Grand Prix racing driver famous for his appearances in Formula One.
Formula One
1976-1977: Ferrari
1976
At the beginning of the season, Depailler was forced to sit on the sidelines as a result of failing to find a drive. However, at the non-championship BRDC International Trophy event Depailler was called upon by Scuderia Ferrari to race alongside Niki Lauda. A good performance from the Frenchman netted Depailler a reserve role at the Scuderia.
Following the death of Niki Lauda at the Soviet Grand Prix, Ferrari withdrew from the French Grand Prix - before returning to the championship at Brands Hatch with Depailler in Lauda's place. Nearly all of Depailler's 1976 outings ended up in retirement, barring the Austrian Grand Prix - which he won - and the Italian Grand Prix, where he came second to teammate Jody Scheckter.
1977
Patrick Depailler returned to the Scuderia for the 1976 season. His season started well, taking pole position at three of the four opening races, though strangely his first win of the year came at the South African Grand Prix - where he did not qualify on pole. Depailler followed Scheckter home for a Ferrari one-two at the Belgian Grand Prix. Depailler would win another race, in The Netherlands, before it was announced that he would be benched by the Scuderia in Italy and Canada in order for them to evaluate a possible replacement for him in 1978. These candidates were Elio de Angelis and Gilles Villeneuve - both of which would impress on their respective trials - with Villeneuve even scoring a maiden win on his debut for Ferrari. Whilst he was shut out of the team for these two races, Depailler would race for the Williams Racing team replacing the injured Alan Jones. Depailler's best result for Williams would be an impressive third in Italy, just one place behind his Ferrari stand-in De Angelis. Depailler returned to Ferrari for the final two Grands Prix of the season, but his relationship with the Prancing Horse had by now broken down entirely. With the team making clear that he would not be in the running for a 1978 race seat, Depailler struggled in the hostile environment, with his best result a solitary 5th place at the Japanese Grand Prix - his final race for Ferrari.
1978: Williams
With Ferrari signing Gilles Villeneuve for 1978, Depailler found a new home with Williams alongside Alan Jones, after impressing Frank Williams during his stint on loan. He managed a number of podiums and finished the season in sixth. He was let go at the end of the season.
1980: Ligier
After a year on the sidelines, Depailler signed for Ligier on a two year deal where he failed to impress in his first season with the team.
1981: Arrows/B&S Fabrications
Depailler was loaned out to the Ragno Arrows North Star Beta Racing Team in 1981, racing alongside fellow French upstart Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler. He was consistent, if outperformed regularly by Voeckler. At the Spanish Grand Prix, he moved to B&S Fabrications team on a one-off. Following a boycott from several FOCA teams, the B&S Spartecs had an unusual opportunity to challenge for points. Sure enough, it was Depailler who delivered the team's best ever Championship result with a third place behind Elio de Angelis and Patrick Tambay. Unfortunately, only two races later - Depailler would succumb to injuries suffered in a startline crash at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Complete Formula 1 Results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WDC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 312T | Ferrari 015 3.0 F12 | ARG |
RSA |
USW |
ESP |
BEL |
MON |
SOV |
FRA |
GBR 16† |
GER Ret |
AUT 1 |
NED Ret |
ITA 2 |
CAN Ret |
USA Ret |
JPN Ret |
15 | 10th | |
1977 | Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 312T2 | Ferrari 015 3.0 F12 | ARG 14† |
RSA 1 |
USW Ret |
ESP Ret |
BEL 2 |
MON Ret |
FRA Ret |
TUS Ret |
SOV Ret |
GBR 10† |
NED 1 |
GER Ret |
AUT 5 |
USA Ret |
JPN 5 |
32 | 7th | ||
Template:GBR Williams Racing | Williams FW05B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ITA 3 |
CAN 7 |
||||||||||||||||||
1978 | Template:GBR Saudia Williams Racing Team | Williams FW06 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 2 |
RSA 3 |
USW Ret |
ESP 7 |
BEL 4 |
MON 2 |
SUI 5 |
TUS Ret |
GBR 2 |
FRA Ret |
NED Ret |
GER 6 |
AUT Ret |
ITA Ret |
CAN 3 |
USA Ret |
32 | 6th | |
1979 | Did not participate | |||||||||||||||||||||
1980 | Template:FRA Ligier Talbot Gitanes | Ligier JS11B | Matra MS80 3.0 V12 | ARG Ret |
BRA Ret |
USW Ret |
ESP Ret |
BEL Ret |
MON |
MEX Ret |
SMR 12 |
FRA 12 |
GBR 7 |
GER Ret |
AUT 10 |
ITA 7 |
CAN |
CPL Ret |
DUB 8 |
0 | - | |
1981 | Template:GBR Arrows North Star Racing Team | Arrows A4 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 11 |
RSA 14 |
BRA 8 |
USW 10 |
BEL ENT |
MON ENT |
SMR ENT |
MEX ENT |
FRA ENT |
GBR ENT |
GER ENT |
AUT ENT |
EUR ENT |
ITA ENT |
CAN ENT |
CPL ENT |
0 | - | |
Template:GBR B&S Fabrications | Spartec G71C | Hart 415T 1.5 L4t | ESP ENT |