Patrick Depailler

Sports cars and Formula Two

Depailler finished 0.9 seconds behind Peter Gethin in the 1972 Formula Two Pau Grand Prix. He battled Gethin closely in a March 722 over the 70-lap course which curved through the French city. Both drivers lapped the field twice. Depailler came in third in an April 1973 Formula Two race at the Nürburgring. He was driving a Ford Alpine. In May 1974 Depailler qualified his March in first position in qualifying for the Formula Two Pau Grand Prix. In June, he crashed his March 742 through a guard rail during time trials for a Formula Two race in Salzburgring. Depailler was uninjured but qualifying was stopped so that workmen could replace a section of railing which was torn off in the accident.

In April 1976, the Renault sports car team suspended Depailler for three races after he was involved in a crash which knocked out both his car and the Renault of teammate Jean-Pierre Jabouille. The incident occurred on the second turn, slightly more than a mile after the beginning of a 180 mi race at the Nürburgring. Depailler lost control and crashed, after which Jabouille also crashed while attempting to avoid his teammate. The drivers had been instructed not to contest the lead with each other. Depailler placed second in the 1976 Swedish Formula One Grand Prix. He was 19 seconds behind winner Jody Scheckter. Depailler drove in the International Race of Champions event at Riverside International Raceway in September 1978. He was behind the wheel of the Paul Newman entered Spyder-Chevy in the October 1978 California Grand Prix.

Formula One

Tyrrell (1972–1978)

Tyrrell had given Depailler drives at France and Watkins Glen in 1972. Using one of the older cars, Depailler had finished in seventh place in the latter race. So in December 1973 Depailler was chosen with Scheckter to drive for Tyrrell, to replace the deceased François Cevert and retired Jackie Stewart. Depailler captured the pole for the 1974 Swedish Grand Prix, his 9th race as a Formula One driver. He negotiated the 2.49 mi Anderstorp course in a time of 1 minute, 24.758 seconds, for an average speed of 105.8 miles per hour. Depailler would finish 2nd in the race behind teammate Jody Scheckter; this proved his only podium of the year.

In January 1975 Depailler was given 25–1 odds of becoming the 1975 Formula One World Champion. He finished 5th in the 1975 Argentine Grand Prix in Buenos Aires. He took 3rd at Kyalami in the 1975 South African Grand Prix. Depailler stayed behind 2nd-place finisher, Carlos Reutemann, throughout the 78 laps of the event. On the first day of qualifying for the 1975 United States Grand Prix, Depailler crashed his Tyrrell into a catch fence at Watkins Glen. He was not injured.

Depailler came in second in the 1976 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. He ended up second to Clay Regazzoni on the second day of qualifying, with a speed of 87.31 mi/h. Depailler gained a third-place finish but drew the ire of rival James Hunt, who went out on the 4th lap. Hunt claimed that Depailler forced him off the track and shook his fist at him after his exit from the race. Depailler, who wrestled with brake trouble, claimed that he did not see the English driver in his mirrors. Depailler placed his six-wheeled Tyrrell in 3rd position for the start of the 1976 Monaco Grand Prix. The Tyrrells of Scheckter and Depailler were the only cars able to stay on the same lap with Lauda's Ferrari, who won from pole position. Depailler was second to Hunt in the 1976 French Grand Prix at Le Castellet. Hunt held off a determined Depailler at Mosport Park in the 1976 Canadian Grand Prix. Both drivers were ill at the conclusion of the event, with Depailler having inhaled fumes over the last third of the race. He lost consciousness after pulling his car off at the first corner following the finish. He regained consciousness momentarily. Depailler finished second ahead of Hunt (who nevertheless secured the 1976 Drivers' Championship by finishing third) at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix, despite encountering tyre problems as the Fuji Speedway track dried from heavy rains.

He skidded off the Interlagos track at São Paulo during the 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix. He was hospitalized with a leg injury. Depailler qualified in the 6th row, 12th position, for the 1977 United States Grand Prix West. In December 1977 Depailler was promoted to the number one driver for Tyrrell, when Ronnie Peterson left to drive for Lotus. At the same time Tyrrell revealed that it was quitting its experiment with six-wheeled Formula One cars.

Depailler was third in the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix in an Elf-Tyrrell. Peterson passed Depailler on the last turn of the last lap at Kyalami, to claim the 1978 South African Grand Prix. Depailler's car was running short of fuel, allowing Peterson to erase a 9-second gap to win. Depailler climbed from 12th starting place to end in 3rd position in the 1978 United States Grand Prix West. Depailler gained his first Formula One triumph by winning the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix. Piloting a Tyrrell-Ford 008, Depailler secured the 36th annual event. It was his first victory in 69 championship races, although he had been second eight times.

Ligier (1979)

Depailler switched to the Ligier team for 1979. The team began to field cars with V-8 Ford Cosworth engines, rather than the French-built Matra V-12 engines of 1978. Depailler led the first 10 laps before his engine experienced problems in the 1979 Argentine Grand Prix. He was forced to make a pit stop but managed a fourth-place finish. Depailler came in 2nd to his victorious teammate, Jacques Laffite, in the 1979 Brazilian Grand Prix. Laffite was more than five seconds ahead at the end of the race. Depailler made contact with the fence at "Barbecue Bend" in the 1979 South African Grand Prix.

Ligier team manager, Gerard Ducarouge, said that the Ligier JS-11 had been in the planning stages for some time. The JS-9 had been tested as a "wing car" following the 1978 United States Grand Prix West, but the wind tunnel tests proved unsatisfactory. The JS-11 was built and tested in December 1978, with positive results. The V-8 engine was lighter and the Cosworth exhaust system was modified so that it sounded much the same as the old Matra engine's distinctive whine. The new body features of the JS-11 were revealed at the 1979 United States Grand Prix West.

Depailler posted a flag-to-flag win at Jarama in the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix. The win enabled him to tie Gilles Villeneuve for the lead in the standings for the Formula One world championship at the end of April, with 20 points each. Depailler posted a third position in qualifying for the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix on a staggered grid. Depailler was replaced in June 1979 by Ligier, after breaking both legs in a hang gliding incident on 3 June

He had been healing well when he fell out of his hospital bed in early August, rebreaking one of the fractures. On 29 August, Depailler said that he was "resigned not to race again until next year", although he expected to leave his Paris hospital by the end of the week. He had undergone a number of operations on his legs, but had hopes to attend both autumn North American rounds, at Montreal and the Watkins Glen, as a spectator.

Alfa Romeo (1980)

In 1980, Depailler joined the newly formed Alfa Romeo team, that was on a comeback trail: Depailler had worked his way back from his hang-gliding accident the previous year, and had equipped his car with special brakes designed to toughen his leg muscles, he was still driving in pain by the time of his fatal accident and the car was fast (he qualified 3rd for the 1980 United States Grand Prix West) but not reliable enough to finish.

Death

Depailler suffered a fatal accident whilst testing at Hockenheim ten days prior to the 1980 German Grand Prix when a suspension failure pitched his Alfa Romeo 179 into the Armco barrier at the high-speed Ostkurve, inflicting fatal head injuries when the vehicle overturned and vaulted the barrier. The car skidded along the top of the guard rail for several hundred feet prior to flipping onto its top.

Legacy

A radio-controlled car racing circuit is named in honour of Depailler at his home town. The Mini Circuit Patrick Depailler is one of the oldest tracks in France and was used to host an International Federation of Model Auto Racing (IFMAR) meeting in 1999.

As a result of his fatal accident, a new chicane was built into the Ostkurve at the Hockenheim circuit in order to slow the cars down - previously it had been a flat out curving right hander. The new Ostkurve Schikane was first used during the 1982 German Grand Prix.

Depailler was portrayed by Xavier Laurent in the 2013 film Rush, directed by Ron Howard.

Racing record

Career summary

Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Notes

References

References

1. ''Article-No Title'', [[New York Times]], 8 May 1972, Page 53.
2. ''Wisell Wins Formula Two Race'', New York Times, 30 April 1973, Page 42.
3. ''Wohlhuter's Team Victor at Quantico'', New York Times, 4 May 1974, Page 32.
4. ''Depailler Car Crashes'', New York Times, 1 June 1974, Page 23.
5. ''People in Sports'', New York Times, 8 April 1976, Page 52.
6. ''Scheckter Wins in Six-Wheeler'', [[Los Angeles Times]], 14 June 1976, Page F8.
7. ''IROC'', Los Angeles Times, 21 September 1978, F10.
8. "British Stamp Car's Alain de Cadenet to debut at Riverside", ''Los Angeles Times'', 10 October 1978, Page D11.
9. ''Ickx Joins Peterson at Lotus'', New York Times, 2 December 1973, Page 296.
10. ''Depailler Gains Pole in Sweden'', New York Times, 9 June 1974, Page 214.
11. ''Handicapping '75 Driver Title Race'', New York Times, 5 January 1975, Page S15.
12. ''E. Fittipaldi Victor in Grand Prix'', New York Times, 13 January 1975, Page 53.
13. ''Scheckter Takes Grand Prix'', New York Times, 2 March 1975, Page 187.
14. ''Lauda, in 'Training Car', Paces Qualifying at Glen'', New York Times, 4 October 1975, Page 22.
15. ''Lauda Wins Brazil Grand Prix'', New York Times, 26 January 1976, Page 34.
16. ''Regazzoni Takes Coast Race Pole'', New York Times, 28 March 1976, Page 175.
17. ''Regazzoni Drives a Ferrari To Grand Prix West Victory'', New York Times, 29 March 1976, Page 52.
18. ''Lauda to Start on Pole Today'', New York Times, 30 May 1976, Page 129.
19. ''Lauda Triumphs Again in Monaco Grand Prix'', New York Times, 31 May 1976, Page 24.
20. ''Hunt Winner as Ferraris Fall Out'', Los Angeles Times, 5 July 1976, Page D8.
21. ''Canadian Race Taken By Hunt'', Los Angeles Times, 4 October 1976, Page D7.
22. ''Hunt, Andretti Both Win in Fog'', Los Angeles Times, 25 October 1976, Page D7.
23. ''Reutemann Ferrari Wins Brazil Race'', Los Angeles Times, 24 January 1977, Page E7.
24. ''Hunt Still Savoring World Title: Lauda Wins the Pole'', Los Angeles Times, 3 April 1977, Page D1.
25. ''Lauda's Switch Sparks Shuffle'', Los Angeles Times, 9 December 1977, Page OC15.
26. ''Andretti Wins Shortened Argentine Grand Prix'', Los Angeles Times, 16 January 1978, Page D14.
27. ''Peterson Wins South Africa Race on Last Turn of Last Lap'', Los Angeles Times, 5 March 1978, Page C6.
28. ''It's A Big Day for Reutemann and Long Beach'', Los Angeles Times, 3 April 1978, Page D1.
29. ''Depailler Scores First Grand Prix Win'', Los Angeles Times, 8 May 1978, Page E5.
30. ''Andretti Sets Some High Goals'', Los Angeles Times, 18 January 1979, Page D11.
31. ''Ligier setting GP world on its ear'', Los Angeles Times, 2 April 1979, Page H14.
32. "Capsule look at Formula One series action so far this year", ''Los Angeles Times'', 2 April 1979, Page H27.
33. ''Laffite Two for Two With Victory in Brazil'', Los Angeles Times, 5 February 1979, Page D5.
34. ''A Tire Gamble Gives Canada's Villeneuve Win'', Los Angeles Times, 4 March 1979, Page E8.
35. ''Depailler Wins Spanish Grand Prix'', [[Washington Post]], 30 April 1979, Page D6.
36. ''Scheckter Wins Monaco Pole'', Washington Post, 27 May 1979, Page D8.
37. near his hometown of Clermont-Ferrand. His heel was also critically injured. The race team was receiving financial support from the French government, which specified that his replacement also be French; his replacement was the French-speaking Belgian veteran [[Jacky Ickx]].''Motor Sports'', Washington Post, 24 June 1979, Page A1.
38. (1979-08-17). "Rally & Racing: Depåsnack". Specialtidningsförlaget AB.
39. ''Depailler Resigned To Sideline Status'', Washington Post, 30 August 1979, Page C13.
40. ''Depailler Dies in Accident'', [[Washington Post]], 2 August 1980, Page C4.
41. (2010-08-01). "30 years today: The death of Depailler".
42. (2015-08-01). "August 1st, 1980: The day we lost Patrick Depailler".
43. "Virtualrc.com". Virtualrc.com.
44. "Patrick Depailler Results". Motorsport Stats.
45. "Patrick Depailler". [[Motor Sport (magazine).
46. "Patrick Depailler, France". racingsportscars.com.
47. "Patrick Depailler". [[Automobile Club de l'Ouest]].
48. Diepraam, Mattijs. (18 January 2019). "World Championship points systems". 8W.
49. Small, Steve. (2000). "Grand Prix Who's Who". Travel Publishing.