Patrick Daniel Tambay (French pronunciation: [pa.tʁik da.njɛl tɑ̃.bɛ]; 25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice.[1]
Patrick Tambay | |
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Tambay in 1983 | |
Born | Patrick Daniel Tambay 25 June 1949 Paris, France |
Died | 4 December 2022 Paris, France | (aged 73)
Nationality | ![]() |
Relatives | Adrien Tambay (son) |
Formula One World Championship career | |
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 |
He gained training as a racing driver at Winfield Racing School in France in 1971. Between 1977 and 1981, he raced for an assortment of teams including Surtees, Theodore, Ligier, and McLaren with mixed results; he additionally won two Can Am championships under Carl Haas in 1977 and 1980. Tambay was hired by Scuderia Ferrari after his close friend Gilles Villeneuve died during the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix; he took his maiden victory four races later in Germany. His second and final victory came the following year in emotional circumstances at Imola. In 1984, Tambay moved to Renault and ended his F1 career at Haas Lola.
Tambay competed in various forms of motorsport following his departure from Formula One, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the World Sportscar Championship, and the Dakar Rally.
Racing career
editEarly 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. This partnership proved fruitful, and Tambay moved to McLaren to race Formula One full-time for the 1978 and 1979 seasons.[4] In 1980, he returned to Can Am with the Lola team run by Carl Haas, immediately winning early in the season and then winning his second Can-Am championship.[3]
In 1981 he returned to F1, first driving for the Theodore team then finishing the season with Ligier.
In 1982, he was offered a drive with Arrows by team boss Jackie Oliver to replace the injured Marc Surer in the season-opening South African Grand Prix. He arrived at the track and, when faced with the ongoing turmoil and the possibility of a drivers' strike, he soon left and did not take part in the race.[5] Later in 1982 he was offered a place with the Scuderia Ferrari after the death of his close friend Gilles Villeneuve.[4] He won his first Grand Prix at the German Grand Prix that year after Didier Pironi was injured in qualifying, in his fourth race for Ferrari. He took his second and last Grand Prix win in 1983 at Imola; driving with Villeneuve's #27, he won after Riccardo Patrese crashed near the end of the race.[4] 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.[4]
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 rally raiding, finishing twice in the top three on the Paris-Dakar.[4] Additionally, he was involved in ice races and the Tour de Corse jet ski race.
Later life and death
editAfter retiring from full-time racing, Tambay worked as a commentator for French television. He also served as the deputy mayor of Le Cannet, a suburb of Cannes.[6] He was the godfather to 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, while his son Adrien raced in the DTM championship between 2012 and 2016. After suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years,[7] Tambay died on 4 December 2022, at age 73. His son Adrien announced his death.[4][8]
Racing record
editCareer summary
edit‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points.
Complete European Formula Two Championship results
edit(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‡ | ||
Source:[9]
|
‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points
Complete Formula One World Championship results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
24 Hours of Le Mans results
editYear | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Renault Sport | Jean-Pierre Jabouille José Dolhem |
Renault Alpine A442 | S 3.0 |
135 | DNF | DNF |
1977 | Équipe Renault Elf | Jean-Pierre Jaussaud | Renault Alpine A442 | S 3.0 | 158 | DNF | DNF |
1981 | Oceanic Jean Rondeau | Henri Pescarolo | Rondeau M379-Ford Cosworth | 2 +2.0 |
41 | DNF | DNF |
1989 | Silk Cut Jaguar Tom Walkinshaw Racing |
Jan Lammers Andrew Gilbert-Scott |
Jaguar XJR-9LM | C1 | 380 | 4th | 4th |
Source:[9]
|
Complete Grand Prix Masters results
edit(key) Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap.
Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Team Lixxus | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 | RSA 11 |
||||
2006 | Team Lixxus | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 | QAT 11 |
ITA C |
GBR 11 |
MAL C |
RSA C |
Source:[9]
|
Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | Carl A. Haas Racing | Lola T333CS | Chevrolet V8 | MTR | LAG | WGL 1 |
ROA 4 |
MDO 1 |
MOS 1 |
CTR 1 |
SON 1 |
RIV 1 |
1st | 159 | |
1980 | Carl A. Haas Racing | Lola T530 | Chevrolet V8 | SON 1 |
MDO 1 |
MOS 1 |
WGL 1 |
ROA | BRA 1 |
CTR 1 |
ATL 4 |
LAG 18 |
RIV 3 |
1st | 61 |
Explanatory notes
editCitations
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Potter, Steve (29 June 1980). "Can Am Struggling in Revival". The New York Times. p. A.9. ProQuest 423943182.
- ^ a b c d e f Benson, Andrew (4 December 2022). "Former Formula 1 Ferrari driver Patrick Tambay dies aged 73". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Arron, Simon (August 2016). "Patrick Tambay: 'You could've been world champion'". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ "Two-time Grand Prix winner Patrick Tambay passes away". formula1.com. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Arron, Simon (August 2016). "Patrick Tambay interview". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Patrick Tambay, ancien pilote de F1, est mort". lequipe.fr (in French). 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Patrick Tambay Statistics Database". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "Can-Am – final positions and tables". World Sports Racing Prototypes. 2 October 2005. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
General and cited references
edit- Burbi, Massimo; Tambay, Patrick (2016). 27: Patrick Tambay – The Ferrari Years. Evro Publishing. ISBN 978-1910505120.