Patrick Tambay
![]() | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (August 2007) |
![]() Tambay in 1985 | |
Born | Paris, France | 25 June 1949
---|---|
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Active years | 1977–1979, 1981–1986 |
Teams | Surtees, Theodore, McLaren, Ligier, Ferrari, Renault, Haas Lola |
Entries | 123 (114 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 2 |
Podiums | 11 |
Career points | 103 |
Pole positions | 5 |
Fastest laps | 2 |
First entry | 1977 French Grand Prix |
First win | 1982 German Grand Prix |
Last win | 1983 San Marino Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1986 Australian Grand Prix |
Patrick Daniel Tambay[1] (born 25 June 1949) is a French former racing driver. He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing five pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points. In 2006, he raced in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired Formula One drivers, and continued in the series in 2007.
Career[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Tambay_Renault_RE50_1984_Dallas_F1.jpg/220px-Tambay_Renault_RE50_1984_Dallas_F1.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/1985_European_GP_Tambay.jpg/220px-1985_European_GP_Tambay.jpg)
Early in his career, Tambay was a part of Formula 5000 with the team run by Carl Haas.[2]
In 1977, winning the Can Am championship with Haas,[3] Tambay debuted in Formula One on a one-off basis with Surtees, driving in only one session at the 1977 French Grand Prix before spending the rest of the season with Theodore. The team, in collaboration with Ensign, was running their N177 chassis. The showings proved fruitful as he moved to McLaren to race Formula One full-time for the 1978 and 1979 seasons. In 1980, he returned to Can Am with the Lola team run by Carl Haas, immediately winning early in the season[3] and then winning his second Can-Am championship.
In 1981 he returned to F1, first driving for the Theodore team then finishing the season with Ligier. In 1982, he was offered a place with the Scuderia Ferrari after the death of his close friend Gilles Villeneuve. He won his first Grand Prix at the German Grand Prix that year after Didier Pironi was injured in practice. The German GP was just his fourth race for the Maranello based team. He took his second and last Grand Prix win in 1983 at Imola, in a very emotional victory in front of the Italian faithful when he drove the #27 Ferrari (the car number of Villeneuve) to the win after Riccardo Patrese crashed out of the lead with only 6 laps to go. He was dropped by the team in 1984 in favor of Italian Michele Alboreto. Tambay moved to Renault, and then spent a year reunited with his old boss Carl Haas racing in the Haas Lola F1 team.
In 1987, Tambay formed his own sports promotion company in Switzerland, but gave this up in 1989 to return to racing. In 1989, he drove a Jaguar in the World Sportscar Championship and went on to finish fourth in the Le Mans 24 Hours. He then took up desert raid racing, finishing twice in the top three on the Paris-Dakar. Additionally, he has been noted as involved in ice races and the Tour de Corse jet ski race.
Tambay was briefly involved actively with the Larrousse team, beginning in 1994 as a partnership with friend and business associate Michael Golay. At the end of the 1994 season, however, the company owned by Tambay and Golay ended its involvement with the team.
Since retiring from full-time racing, Tambay has worked as a commentator for French television. He also serves as the deputy mayor of Le Cannet, a suburb of Cannes. He has suffered from Parkinson's disease for several years.[4]
He is godfather to 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. His son Adrien raced in the DTM championship between 2012 and 2016.
Racing record[]
Career summary[]
Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | European Formula Two | Écurie Elf | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 7th |
1975 | European Formula Two | March Engineering | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 36 | 2nd |
1976 | European Formula Two | Automobiles Martini | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 39 | 3rd |
SCCA Continental Championship | Theodore Racing Hong Kong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21st | |
1977 | Formula One | Theodore Racing Hong Kong | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18th |
Can-Am | Carl A. Haas Racing | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1st | |
European Formula Two | Ardmore Racing | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
1978 | Formula One | Marlboro Team McLaren | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 14th |
European Formula Two | Chevron Cars | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC‡ | |
1979 | Formula One | Marlboro Team McLaren | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
1980 | Can-Am | Carl A. Haas Racing | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1st |
1981 | Formula One | Equipe Talbot Gitanes | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19th |
Theodore Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
24 Hours of Le Mans | Oceanic Jean Rondeau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF | |
1982 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 25 | 7th |
1983 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari | 15 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 40 | 4th |
1984 | Formula One | Equipe Renault Elf | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11th |
1985 | Formula One | Equipe Renault Elf | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 12th |
1986 | Formula One | Team Haas (USA) Ltd. | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15th |
1989 | World Sportscar Championship | Silk Cut Jaguar | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 8th |
2005 | Grand Prix Masters | Team Lixxus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | – |
2006 | Grand Prix Masters | Team Lixxus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | – |
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points.
Complete European Formula Two Championship 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 | Pos. | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Ecurie Elf | Alpine A367 | BMW | BAR 10 |
HOC 5 |
PAU Ret |
SAL 4 |
HOC Ret |
MUG NC |
KAR Ret |
PER Ret |
HOC 4 |
VAL 4 |
7th | 11 | ||||
1975 | March Engineering | March 752 | BMW | EST Ret |
THR 2 |
HOC Ret |
NÜR 2 |
PAU Ret |
HOC Ret |
SAL 15 |
ROU 2 |
MUG Ret |
PER Ret |
SIL 4 |
ZOL 2 |
NOG 1 |
VAL Ret |
2nd | 36 |
1976 | Automobiles Martini | Martini Mk 19 | Renault | HOC 3 |
THR 3 |
VAL 2 |
SAL 3 |
PAU Ret |
HOC 3 |
ROU Ret |
MUG 3 |
PER Ret |
EST 16 |
NOG 1 |
HOC DSQ |
3rd | 39 | ||
1977 | Ardmore Racing | Chevron B40 | Hart | SIL | THR | HOC | NÜR | VAL | PAU Ret |
MUG | ROU Ret |
NOG | PER | MIS | EST | DON | NC | 0 | |
1978 | Chevron Cars | Chevron B42 | Hart | THR | HOC | NÜR | PAU 6 |
MUG | VAL | ROU | DON | NOG | PER | MIS | HOC | NC | 0‡ |
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
Complete Formula One World Championship 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 | WDC | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Team Surtees | Surtees TS19 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | MON | BEL | SWE | FRA DNQ |
18th | 5 | ||||||||
Theodore Racing Hong Kong | Ensign N177 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | GBR Ret |
GER 6 |
AUT Ret |
NED 5 |
ITA Ret |
USA DNQ |
CAN 5 |
JPN Ret | ||||||||||||
1978 | Marlboro Team McLaren | McLaren M26 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 6 |
BRA Ret |
RSA Ret |
USW 12 |
MON 7 |
BEL | ESP Ret |
SWE 4 |
FRA 9 |
GBR 6 |
GER Ret |
AUT Ret |
NED 9 |
ITA 5 |
USA 6 |
CAN 8 |
14th | 8 | |
1979 | Marlboro Team McLaren[a] | McLaren M28 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG Ret |
RSA 10 |
USW Ret |
ESP 13 |
NC | 0 | |||||||||||||
McLaren M26 | BRA Ret |
BEL DNQ |
||||||||||||||||||||
McLaren M28B | MON DNQ |
|||||||||||||||||||||
McLaren M28C | FRA 10 |
GBR 7 |
||||||||||||||||||||
McLaren M29 | GER Ret |
AUT 10 |
NED Ret |
ITA Ret |
CAN Ret |
USA Ret |
||||||||||||||||
1981 | Theodore Racing Team | Theodore | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | USW 6 |
BRA 10 |
ARG Ret |
SMR 11 |
BEL DNQ |
MON 7 |
ESP 13 |
19th | 1 | ||||||||||
Equipe Talbot Gitanes | Ligier JS17 | Matra MS81 3.0 V12 | FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
AUT Ret |
NED Ret |
ITA Ret |
CAN Ret |
CPL Ret |
||||||||||||
1982 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 126C2 | Ferrari 021 1.5 V6 t | RSA | BRA | USW | SMR | BEL | MON | DET | CAN | NED 8 |
GBR 3 |
FRA 4 |
GER 1 |
AUT 4 |
SUI DNS |
ITA 2 |
CPL DNS |
7th | 25 | |
1983 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 126C2/B | Ferrari 021 1.5 V6 t | BRA 5 |
USW Ret |
FRA 4 |
SMR 1 |
MON 4 |
BEL 2 |
DET Ret |
CAN 3 |
4th | 40 | |||||||||
Ferrari 126C3 | GBR 3 |
GER Ret |
AUT Ret |
NED 2 |
ITA 4 |
EUR Ret |
RSA Ret |
|||||||||||||||
1984 | Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RE50 | Renault EF4 1.5 V6 t | BRA 5 |
RSA Ret |
BEL 7 |
SMR Ret |
FRA 2 |
MON Ret |
CAN WD |
DET Ret |
DAL Ret |
GBR 8 |
GER 5 |
AUT Ret |
NED 6 |
ITA Ret |
EUR Ret |
POR 7 |
11th | 11 | |
1985 | Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RE60 | Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t | BRA 5 |
POR 3 |
SMR 3 |
MON Ret |
CAN 7 |
DET Ret |
12th | 11 | |||||||||||
Renault RE60B | Renault EF15 1.5 V6 t | FRA 6 |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
AUT 10 |
NED Ret |
ITA 7 |
BEL Ret |
EUR 12 |
RSA | AUS Ret |
|||||||||||
1986 | Team Haas (USA) Ltd. | Lola THL1 | Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t | BRA Ret |
ESP 8 |
SMR Ret |
15th | 2 | ||||||||||||||
Lola THL2 | Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6 t | MON Ret |
BEL Ret |
CAN DNS |
DET | FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER 8 |
HUN 7 |
AUT 5 |
ITA Ret |
POR NC |
MEX Ret |
AUS NC |
24 Hours of Le Mans results[]
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Renault Alpine A442 | S 3.0 |
135 | DNF | DNF |
1977 | ![]() |
![]() |
Renault Alpine A442 | S 3.0 | 158 | DNF | DNF |
1981 | ![]() |
![]() |
Rondeau M379-Ford Cosworth | 2 +2.0 |
41 | DNF | DNF |
1989 | ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Jaguar XJR-9LM | C1 | 380 | 4th | 4th |
Notes[]
- ^ McLaren entered round 4 as "Löwenbräu Team McLaren".
References[]
- ^ FIA Year Book of Automobile Sport 1979. Patrick Stephens Ltd. white p. 44. ISBN 0-85059-320-4.
- ^ Glick, Shav (14 April 1985). "For Carl Haas, It's a Working Weekend : The Only Fun in Racing Is Winning, Says the Man Who Runs Andretti's Team". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. ProQuest 292117161.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Potter, Steve (29 June 1980). "Can Am Struggling in Revival". The New York Times. p. A.9. ProQuest 423943182.
- ^ Arron, Simon (August 2016). "Patrick Tambay interview". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
Bibliography[]
- Burbi, Massimo; Tambay, Patrick (2016). 27: Patrick Tambay – The Ferrari Years. Evro Publishing. ISBN 978-1910505120.
- 1949 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Paris
- French racing drivers
- French Formula One drivers
- Surtees Formula One drivers
- Ensign Formula One drivers
- McLaren Formula One drivers
- Theodore Formula One drivers
- Ligier Formula One drivers
- Ferrari Formula One drivers
- Renault Formula One drivers
- Haas Lola Formula One drivers
- European Formula Two Championship drivers
- Grand Prix Masters drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- Dakar Rally drivers
- World Sportscar Championship drivers