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'''Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni''' (born 5th September, 1939 in Mendrisio, Switzerland, died 15th December, 2006 in Fontevivo, Italy) was a Swiss racing driver known for his appearances in [[Formula One]]. Throughout his career he was known for his hard charging driving style - which earned him great respect amongst his peers. | {{Infobox Active Driver | ||
| name = Clay Regazzoni | |||
| nationality = {{CH}} Swiss | |||
| birth date = 5 September 1939 | |||
| birth place = Mendrisio, Switzerland | |||
| death date = 15 December 2006 (aged 67) | |||
| death place = Fontevivo, Italy | |||
| series 1 = [[Alternate Formula One|Formula One]] | |||
| debut season = TBC | |||
| latest season = [[1983 Alternate Formula One season|1983]] | |||
| current team = [[March Engineering]] | |||
| car number = 9 | |||
| former teams = [[Williams]], [[McLaren]] | |||
| races = 100 (100 starts) | |||
| championships = 1 ([[1981 Alternate Formula One season|1981]]) | |||
| wins = 7 | |||
| podiums = 17 | |||
| points = 150 | |||
| poles = 13 | |||
| fastest laps = 1 | |||
| first race = 1976 Belgian Grand Prix | |||
| first win = 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix | |||
| last win = 1982 European Grand Prix | |||
| last race = 1983 Brazilian Grand Prix | |||
| best finish = 1st (1981) | |||
}} | |||
'''Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni''' (born 5th September, 1939 in Mendrisio, Switzerland, died 15th December, 2006 in Fontevivo, Italy) was a Swiss racing driver known for his appearances in [[Formula One]] and winning the world championship in [[1981 Alternate Formula One season|1981]]. Throughout his career he was known for his hard charging driving style - which earned him great respect amongst his peers. | |||
==Formula One== | ==Formula One== | ||
Line 7: | Line 34: | ||
[[1977 Alternate Formula One season|1977]] came around and Regazzoni was still at Williams and in a much better position than before. Being joined by talented Australian [[Alan Jones]] and campaigning an upgraded FW05B, he was able to easily score points throughout the season - his best result being a second place at the [[Dutch Grand Prix]]. | [[1977 Alternate Formula One season|1977]] came around and Regazzoni was still at Williams and in a much better position than before. Being joined by talented Australian [[Alan Jones]] and campaigning an upgraded FW05B, he was able to easily score points throughout the season - his best result being a second place at the [[Dutch Grand Prix]]. | ||
===[[1978 Alternate Formula One season|1978]]-: [[McLaren]]=== | ===[[1978 Alternate Formula One season|1978]]-[[1982 Alternate Formula One season|1982]]: [[McLaren]]=== | ||
The retirement of [[Carlos Reutemann]] at the end of 1977 saw an opening at [[McLaren|Marlboro Team McLaren]] become available - and as such Regazzoni signed for the Woking team for the upcoming season. Joined by [[Tom Sneva]] in his third season with the team, Regazzoni and McLaren had begun to lose some of their usual prowess - with the M23B chassis now getting long in the tooth. | The retirement of [[Carlos Reutemann]] at the end of 1977 saw an opening at [[McLaren|Marlboro Team McLaren]] become available - and as such Regazzoni signed for the Woking team for the upcoming season. Joined by [[Tom Sneva]] in his third season with the team, Regazzoni and McLaren had begun to lose some of their usual prowess - with the M23B chassis now getting long in the tooth. | ||
Regazzoni was able to salvage a handful of points from the season - finishing the year in 14th place. | Regazzoni was able to salvage a handful of points from the season - finishing the year in 14th place. | ||
Regazzoni's lacklustre season saw him frozen out of the team ahead of [[1979 Alternate Formula One season|1979]] in favour of [[Jacky Ickx]] - although he'd later return to the team at the [[Austrian Grand Prix]] following an injury to Ickx. He'd score three podiums in the final four races along with a win in the non-championship Gunnar Nilsson Memorial Trophy which would be enough to convince McLaren to take him on again in [[1980 Alternate Formula One season|1980]]. | Regazzoni's lacklustre season saw him frozen out of the team ahead of [[1979 Alternate Formula One season|1979]] in favour of [[Jacky Ickx]] - although he'd later return to the team at the [[Austrian Grand Prix]] following an injury to Ickx. He'd score three podiums in the final four races along with a win in the non-championship Gunnar Nilsson Memorial Trophy which would be enough to convince McLaren to take him on again in [[1980 Alternate Formula One season|1980]]. Yet again, [[Teddy Mayer]] and the leadership at McLaren decided to only install minor updates to the previous season's chassis, resulting in the M28B only being capable of fighting for minor points paying positions at the start of the season. | ||
Regazzoni managed to be classified 4th on two occasions - in Argentina and Mexico - outscoring team-mate [[Masahiro Hasemi]], despite the Japanese scoring a podium at the attrition-hit season opener in Buenos Aires. These early results would soon lead to a mid-season full of unreliability, as Regazzoni failed to reach the chequered flag in 5 races from 6 from the Mexican Grand Prix (where he was still classified fourth) to the Austrian Grand Prix. Seeing results going begging, McLaren opted to switch to Nissan power from the Italian Grand Prix onwards. Despite the engine being regarded as one of the most reliable of the entire 1980s in Formula One, the VRT30 V12 was down on power, preventing Regazzoni - or indeed Hasemi - from scoring any more points in the season. | |||
[[1981 Alternate Formula One season|1981]] saw a change in ownership at McLaren as the Project 4 group led by [[Ron Dennis]] became the majority owners of the team. Fortunes began to look up in [[1981 Alternate Formula One season|1981]] - gone were the cumbersome Nissan engines as McLaren switched to customer [[Renault]] power, and in was a brand new chassis that saw Regazzoni get pole in the season-opening [[Argentine Grand Prix]]. However, new team-mate [[Jean-Pierre Jarier]] would soon prove to be a thorn in Regazzoni's side, winning the Argentine Grand Prix as Clay could only watch on from the side of the road. Wins in Brazil, Long Beach, Belgium, Imola and Britain would follow, as Regazzoni adapted to the demands of the turbocharged MP4/1 much sooner than Jarier. Despite parking the car intentionally in the Spanish Grand Prix - as part McLaren's neutrality in the ongoing [[FISA-FOCA war]] - Regazzoni found himself in leading position for the championship in a close battle with rising star [[Keke Rosberg]], whose Williams proved highly reliable. Another win at the [[Italian Grand Prix]] left Regazzoni able to clinch his first world title despite retirements from pole position in both [[Canadian Grand Prix|Canada]] and [[Caesars Palace Grand Prix|Las Vegas]]. | |||
For [[1982 Alternate Formula One season|1982]], Regazzoni and McLaren entered the season as clear favourites for both World titles. In the off-season, the MP4/1 had been heavily updated, with Regazzoni reporting the new MP4/1B handled much more smoothly than its predecessor. Gone, however, was Jarier - recalled by Renault in an act of spite at being beaten to the World Championships by a customer team - to be replaced by [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]], fresh from his debut season with [[Hesketh]] in 1980. Although Clay later revealed in private that he fancied his chances against the young Frenchman, it soon became apparent that Voeckler was not to be trifled with, out qualifying Regazzoni on a regular basis. In the first four races of the season, Regazzoni found himself with only 2 points compared to Voeckler's 18, including a win at the Long Beach Grand Prix. To make matters worse Renault now faced stiff competition from other engine manufacturers in the turbocharged realm, and whilst the EF1 V6 turbo was the most reliable of the lot, the other marques had found ways to extract more power from their units, leaving the McLaren underpowered. Despite rallying to a 5-race consecutive point scoring run in the last half of the season - including victory at the European Grand Prix held at Brands Hatch - Regazzoni proved unable to compete with the championship front runners of [[Harvey Jones]] in the BMW-powered [[Tyrrell]] and [[Alain Prost]] in the Honda-powered [[Williams]]. Regazzoni was classified just 8th in the championship in his title-defending year, leading to calls from some quarters of "retire, old man" something he vehemently rejected, promising to continue racing for as long as he enjoyed it. | |||
This attitude was not enough to convince Ron Dennis, who promptly sold Regazzoni's contract for 1983 to [[March Engineering|March]], for an at-the-time undisclosed fee. It was later revelead in the documentary series ''[[The Rise and Fall of Ron Dennis]]'' that March paid only a peppercorn fee to secure the 1981 champion's services. | |||
===[[1983_Alternate_Formula_One_season|1983]]-: [[March Engineering|March]]=== | |||
Regazzoni did not take the option of breaking his contract, instead opting to take the new challenge of leading the down-on-their-luck March team for 1983. Despite the naturally-aspirated Ford Cosworth V8 in the March, Regazzoni managed to prove that he indeed still had it, finishing seventh at the season-opening [[South African Grand Prix]] and the best of the Cosworth V8 runners. However, it came at a price as Regazzoni was running in the points before he was overtaken by the recovering [[Manfred Winkelhock]] in his [[Lotus]]-[[BMW]] coming into the final lap of the race. | |||
==Complete [[Alternate Formula One|Formula 1]] Results== | ==Complete [[Alternate Formula One|Formula 1]] Results== | ||
Line 40: | Line 76: | ||
! 16 | ! 16 | ||
! 17 | ! 17 | ||
! WDC | |||
! Points | ! Points | ||
|- | |- | ||
! [[1976 Alternate Formula One season|1976]] | ! [[1976 Alternate Formula One season|1976]] | ||
Line 64: | Line 100: | ||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"|[[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>7</small> | |bgcolor="#cfcfff"|[[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>7</small> | ||
| | | | ||
! 13th | |||
! 9 | ! 9 | ||
|- | |- | ||
! [[1977 Alternate Formula One season|1977]] | ! [[1977 Alternate Formula One season|1977]] | ||
Line 88: | Line 124: | ||
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>3</small> | |bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>3</small> | ||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>7</small> | |bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>7</small> | ||
! 8th | |||
! 22 | ! 22 | ||
|- | |- | ||
! [[1978 Alternate Formula One season|1978]] | ! [[1978 Alternate Formula One season|1978]] | ||
! [[McLaren|Marlboro Team McLaren]] | ! [[McLaren|Marlboro Team McLaren]] | ||
! [[McLaren]] | ! [[McLaren]] M23C | ||
! [[Ford]] Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ! [[Ford]] Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"|[[Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br /><small>6</small> | |bgcolor="#dfffdf"|[[Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br /><small>6</small> | ||
Line 112: | Line 148: | ||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"|[[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>7</small> | |bgcolor="#cfcfff"|[[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>7</small> | ||
| | | | ||
! 14th | |||
! 4 | ! 4 | ||
|- | |- | ||
! [[1979 Alternate Formula One season|1979]] | ! [[1979 Alternate Formula One season|1979]] | ||
Line 136: | Line 172: | ||
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]<br /><small>2</small> | |bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]<br /><small>2</small> | ||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>6</small> | |bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>6</small> | ||
!15 | ! 8th | ||
!8th | ! 15 | ||
|- | |||
!rowspan=2| [[1980 Alternate Formula One season|1980]] | |||
!rowspan=2| [[McLaren|Marlboro Team McLaren]] | |||
![[McLaren]] M28B | |||
! [[Ford]] Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br><small>4</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[United States Grand Prix West|USW]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]<br><small>9</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br><small>5</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]<br><small>4†</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br><small>6</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[German Grand Prix|GER]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Austrian Grand Prix|AUT]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
!rowspan=2|10th | |||
!rowspan=2|10 | |||
|- | |||
![[McLaren]] M28C | |||
! [[Nissan]] VRT30 3.0 V12 | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br><small>6</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Caesars Palace Grand Prix|CPL]]<br><small>7</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Dubai Grand Prix|DUB]]<br><small>9</small> | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
! [[1981 Alternate Formula One season|1981]] | |||
! [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren International]] | |||
! [[McLaren]] MP4/1 | |||
! [[Renault|Renault-Gordini]] EF1 1.5 V6t | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| '''[[Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#DFDFDF|'''[[South African Grand Prix|RSA]]'''<br /><small>2</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|'''[[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]'''<br /><small>1</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|[[United States Grand Prix West|USW]]<br /><small>1</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| '''[[Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|'''[[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]'''<br /><small>1</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|'''[[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]'''<br /><small>1</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| '''[[Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| '''[[French Grand Prix|FRA]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|'''[[British Grand Prix|GBR]]'''<br /><small>1</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| '''[[German Grand Prix|GER]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"|''[[Austrian Grand Prix|AUT]]''<br /><small>3</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"|[[Swiss Grand Prix|SUI]]<br /><small>6</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|'''[[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]'''<br /><small>1</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| '''[[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#EFCFFF| '''[[Caesar's Palace Grand Prix|CPL]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small> | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|'''1st''' | |||
| bgcolor=#FFFFBF|'''65''' | |||
|- | |||
! [[1982 Alternate Formula One season|1982]] | |||
! [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren International]] | |||
! [[McLaren]] MP4/1B | |||
! [[Renault]] EF1 1.5 V6t | |||
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF" align="center"| RSA<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff" align="center"| BRA<br><small>13†</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff" align="center"| USW<br><small>7</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf" align="center"| SMR<br><small>5</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF" align="center"| BEL<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff" align="center"| MON<br><small>11</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf" align="center"| MEX<br><small>4</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF" align="center"| DET<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#cfcfff" align="center"| FRA<br><small>8</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF" align="center"| GBR<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf" align="center"| GER<br><small>6</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf" align="center"| AUT<br><small>2</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#ffffbf" align="center"| EUR<br><small>1</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf" align="center"| ITA<br><small>4</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#dfffdf" align="center"| CAN<br><small>6</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF" align="center"| CPL<br><small>Ret</small> | |||
| | |||
! 8th | |||
! 25 | |||
|- | |||
! [[1983 Alternate Formula One season|1983]] | |||
! [[March Engineering]] | |||
! [[March]] 821B | |||
! [[Ford|Ford Cosworth]] DFV 3.0 V8 | |||
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF" align="center"| RSA<br><small>7</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF" align="center"| BRA<br><small>9</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| SMR<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| BEL<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| ESP<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| MON<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| MEX<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| DET<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| FRA<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| GBR<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| GER<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| AUT<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| ITA<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| EUR<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| CAN<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF" align="center"| NYC<br><small>ENT</small> | |||
| | |||
! NC* | |||
! 0* | |||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
{{Sporting Accolades | |||
|Formula 1 = [[Formula 1]] | |||
|F1 champion preceded 1 = [[Alan Jones]] | |||
|F1 champion season 1 = [[1981 Alternate Formula One season|1981]] | |||
|F1 champion succeeded 1 = [[Harvey Jones]] | |||
}} | |||
[[Category:Real-life drivers]] | [[Category:Real-life drivers]] | ||
[[Category:Formula One Drivers]] | [[Category:Formula One Drivers]] | ||
[[Category:Formula One World Champions]] |
Latest revision as of 07:02, 23 July 2025
Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni (born 5th September, 1939 in Mendrisio, Switzerland, died 15th December, 2006 in Fontevivo, Italy) was a Swiss racing driver known for his appearances in Formula One and winning the world championship in 1981. Throughout his career he was known for his hard charging driving style - which earned him great respect amongst his peers.
Formula One
1976-1977: Williams
By 1976, Regazzoni was out of a drive in Formula One - having to wait until the fifth round of the season, where he'd replace Patrick Nève at Wolf-Williams after an underwhelming start to the season. Williams' belief in Regazzoni paid off very quickly, taking a third place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. Unfortunately, points finishes were few and far between after this podium and he'd finish the season in 13th overall.
1977 came around and Regazzoni was still at Williams and in a much better position than before. Being joined by talented Australian Alan Jones and campaigning an upgraded FW05B, he was able to easily score points throughout the season - his best result being a second place at the Dutch Grand Prix.
1978-1982: McLaren
The retirement of Carlos Reutemann at the end of 1977 saw an opening at Marlboro Team McLaren become available - and as such Regazzoni signed for the Woking team for the upcoming season. Joined by Tom Sneva in his third season with the team, Regazzoni and McLaren had begun to lose some of their usual prowess - with the M23B chassis now getting long in the tooth.
Regazzoni was able to salvage a handful of points from the season - finishing the year in 14th place.
Regazzoni's lacklustre season saw him frozen out of the team ahead of 1979 in favour of Jacky Ickx - although he'd later return to the team at the Austrian Grand Prix following an injury to Ickx. He'd score three podiums in the final four races along with a win in the non-championship Gunnar Nilsson Memorial Trophy which would be enough to convince McLaren to take him on again in 1980. Yet again, Teddy Mayer and the leadership at McLaren decided to only install minor updates to the previous season's chassis, resulting in the M28B only being capable of fighting for minor points paying positions at the start of the season.
Regazzoni managed to be classified 4th on two occasions - in Argentina and Mexico - outscoring team-mate Masahiro Hasemi, despite the Japanese scoring a podium at the attrition-hit season opener in Buenos Aires. These early results would soon lead to a mid-season full of unreliability, as Regazzoni failed to reach the chequered flag in 5 races from 6 from the Mexican Grand Prix (where he was still classified fourth) to the Austrian Grand Prix. Seeing results going begging, McLaren opted to switch to Nissan power from the Italian Grand Prix onwards. Despite the engine being regarded as one of the most reliable of the entire 1980s in Formula One, the VRT30 V12 was down on power, preventing Regazzoni - or indeed Hasemi - from scoring any more points in the season.
1981 saw a change in ownership at McLaren as the Project 4 group led by Ron Dennis became the majority owners of the team. Fortunes began to look up in 1981 - gone were the cumbersome Nissan engines as McLaren switched to customer Renault power, and in was a brand new chassis that saw Regazzoni get pole in the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. However, new team-mate Jean-Pierre Jarier would soon prove to be a thorn in Regazzoni's side, winning the Argentine Grand Prix as Clay could only watch on from the side of the road. Wins in Brazil, Long Beach, Belgium, Imola and Britain would follow, as Regazzoni adapted to the demands of the turbocharged MP4/1 much sooner than Jarier. Despite parking the car intentionally in the Spanish Grand Prix - as part McLaren's neutrality in the ongoing FISA-FOCA war - Regazzoni found himself in leading position for the championship in a close battle with rising star Keke Rosberg, whose Williams proved highly reliable. Another win at the Italian Grand Prix left Regazzoni able to clinch his first world title despite retirements from pole position in both Canada and Las Vegas.
For 1982, Regazzoni and McLaren entered the season as clear favourites for both World titles. In the off-season, the MP4/1 had been heavily updated, with Regazzoni reporting the new MP4/1B handled much more smoothly than its predecessor. Gone, however, was Jarier - recalled by Renault in an act of spite at being beaten to the World Championships by a customer team - to be replaced by Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler, fresh from his debut season with Hesketh in 1980. Although Clay later revealed in private that he fancied his chances against the young Frenchman, it soon became apparent that Voeckler was not to be trifled with, out qualifying Regazzoni on a regular basis. In the first four races of the season, Regazzoni found himself with only 2 points compared to Voeckler's 18, including a win at the Long Beach Grand Prix. To make matters worse Renault now faced stiff competition from other engine manufacturers in the turbocharged realm, and whilst the EF1 V6 turbo was the most reliable of the lot, the other marques had found ways to extract more power from their units, leaving the McLaren underpowered. Despite rallying to a 5-race consecutive point scoring run in the last half of the season - including victory at the European Grand Prix held at Brands Hatch - Regazzoni proved unable to compete with the championship front runners of Harvey Jones in the BMW-powered Tyrrell and Alain Prost in the Honda-powered Williams. Regazzoni was classified just 8th in the championship in his title-defending year, leading to calls from some quarters of "retire, old man" something he vehemently rejected, promising to continue racing for as long as he enjoyed it.
This attitude was not enough to convince Ron Dennis, who promptly sold Regazzoni's contract for 1983 to March, for an at-the-time undisclosed fee. It was later revelead in the documentary series The Rise and Fall of Ron Dennis that March paid only a peppercorn fee to secure the 1981 champion's services.
1983-: March
Regazzoni did not take the option of breaking his contract, instead opting to take the new challenge of leading the down-on-their-luck March team for 1983. Despite the naturally-aspirated Ford Cosworth V8 in the March, Regazzoni managed to prove that he indeed still had it, finishing seventh at the season-opening South African Grand Prix and the best of the Cosworth V8 runners. However, it came at a price as Regazzoni was running in the points before he was overtaken by the recovering Manfred Winkelhock in his Lotus-BMW coming into the final lap of the race.
Complete Formula 1 Results
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Wolf-Williams Racing | Williams FW05 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL Ret |
MON 3 |
SOV Ret |
FRA 5 |
GBR 4 |
GER 7 |
AUT Ret |
NED Ret |
ITA Ret |
CAN Ret |
USA Ret |
JPN 7 |
13th | 9 | |
1977 | Williams Racing | Williams FW05B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 5 |
RSA 6 |
USW 3 |
ESP 6 |
BEL 8 |
MON 6 |
FRA Ret |
TUS 10† |
SOV Ret |
GBR Ret |
NED 2 |
GER 4 |
AUT 11 |
ITA Ret |
CAN 8 |
USA 3 |
JPN 7 |
8th | 22 |
1978 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M23C | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 6 |
RSA 5 |
USW Ret |
ESP 18† |
BEL 12 |
MON 12 |
SUI 6 |
TUS 16 |
GBR Ret |
FRA 8 |
NED 11 |
GER 13 |
AUT 10 |
ITA Ret |
CAN Ret |
USA 7 |
14th | 4 | |
1979 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M28 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | EUR | SMR | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT 3 |
NED C |
ITA 3 |
CAN 2 |
USA 6 |
8th | 15 |
1980 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M28B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 4 |
BRA Ret |
USW Ret |
ESP 9 |
BEL Ret |
MON 5 |
MEX 4† |
SMR Ret |
FRA 6 |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
AUT Ret |
10th | 10 | |||||
McLaren M28C | Nissan VRT30 3.0 V12 | ITA 6 |
CAN Ret |
CPL 7 |
DUB 9 |
|||||||||||||||||
1981 | Marlboro McLaren International | McLaren MP4/1 | Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6t | ARG Ret |
RSA 2 |
BRA 1 |
USW 1 |
ESP Ret |
BEL 1 |
MON Ret |
SMR 1 |
MEX Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR 1 |
GER Ret |
AUT 3 |
SUI 6 |
ITA 1 |
CAN Ret |
CPL Ret |
1st | 65 |
1982 | Marlboro McLaren International | McLaren MP4/1B | Renault EF1 1.5 V6t | RSA Ret |
BRA 13† |
USW 7 |
SMR 5 |
BEL Ret |
MON 11 |
MEX 4 |
DET Ret |
FRA 8 |
GBR Ret |
GER 6 |
AUT 2 |
EUR 1 |
ITA 4 |
CAN 6 |
CPL Ret |
8th | 25 | |
1983 | March Engineering | March 821B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | RSA 7 |
BRA 9 |
SMR ENT |
BEL ENT |
ESP ENT |
MON ENT |
MEX ENT |
DET ENT |
FRA ENT |
GBR ENT |
GER ENT |
AUT ENT |
ITA ENT |
EUR ENT |
CAN ENT |
NYC ENT |
NC* | 0* |
Sporting Accolades | ||
---|---|---|
Formula 1 | ||
Preceded by: Alan Jones |
World Driver's Championship Champion 1981 |
Succeeded by: Harvey Jones |