| Didier Pironi | |
|---|---|
Nationality  French |
|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Active years | 1978 - 1982 |
| Teams | Tyrrell, Ligier, Ferrari |
| Races | 72 (70 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podium finishes | 13 |
| Career points | 101 |
| Pole positions | 4 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| First race | 1978 Argentine Grand Prix |
| First win | 1980 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1982 Dutch Grand Prix |
| Last race | 1982 German Grand Prix |
Didier Pironi (26 March 1952, Villescresnes, Val-de-Marne - 23 August 1987, Southampton, UK) was a racing driver from France. The FIA Super Licence is a qualification allowing the Licence holder to take part in Formula One Grands Prix as a driver This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The 1978 Formula One season included the 29th FIA Formula One World Championship which commenced on January 15, 1978, and ended on October The 1982 Formula One season was the 33rd FIA Formula One World Championship season Lower Formulae (1958 - 1967 Tyrrell Racing first came into being in 1958 running Formula Three cars for Ken Tyrrell and local stars Ligier is a French Automobile maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier. Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing The Formula One World Drivers' Championship (WDC is awarded by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ( FIA) to the most successful Formula One The term " pole position " comes from the Horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race The 1978 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 15 January 1978 at Buenos Aires. Results from the 1980 Formula One Belgian Grand Prix held at Zolder on May 4, 1980. Results from the 1982 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix held at Circuit Zandvoort on July 3, 1982 Classification Results from the 1982 Formula One German Grand Prix held at Hockenheimring on August 8, 1982. Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Val-de-Marne is a French department, named after the Marne River, located in the Île-de-France region, at the west of Paris Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, motor racing or car racing) is a Motorsport involving Racing Cars It This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. During his career he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, mostly driving for Tyrrell and Ferrari, and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 driving a Renault Alpine A442B. Lower Formulae (1958 - 1967 Tyrrell Racing first came into being in 1958 running Formula Three cars for Ken Tyrrell and local stars Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, The 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 46th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on June 10 and 11, 1978. The Renault Alpine A442 is a sports prototype Racing car, designed and built by Alpine, but funded and powered by Alpine's owners Renault, specifically
Contents |
Career
Initially Pironi began studying as an engineer, but this fell by the wayside following his enrollment at the Paul Ricard driving school. The Paul Ricard Circuit is a Motorsport Race track built at Le Castellet, near Marseille, France, in 1969 with finance from the He was awarded the Pilot Elf sponsorship bursary in 1972, with the French national oil company funding his early career, mostly in Renault-powered vehicles. This is about the company for other uses see Renault (disambiguation. Benefiting from this same Elf sponsorship, to promote young French motorsport talent, that bequeathed the likes of Patrick Tambay and Alain Prost to Formula One, Didier Pironi made his top-flight debut on January 15, 1978. Elf Aquitaine was a French Oil company which merged with TotalFina to form TotalFinaElf. Patrick Tambay (born 25 June 1949 in Paris) is a French Racing driver. Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE (born 24 February 1955 is a French racing driver This was with Ken Tyrrell's team which, despite being British, had a strong working relationship with Elf, dating back to the late 1960s. Ken Tyrrell ( May 3, 1924 &ndash August 25 2001) was a British Auto racing driver and The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In the same year, Pironi was part of the massive Renault squad tasked with winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans ( 24 Heures du Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually since near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, Partnering Jean-Pierre Jaussaud in the team's second car, the unusual "bubble roof" A442B, he won the race by four laps from the rival Porsche 936s. Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (born June 3, 1937 in Caen) is a French former racing driver more famous for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans The Renault Alpine A442 is a sports prototype Racing car, designed and built by Alpine, but funded and powered by Alpine's owners Renault, specifically The Porsche 936 was a Racing car introduced in 1976 by Porsche as a delayed successor to the Porsche 917, which was retired by the factory after 1971
Two seasons with the underfinanced Tyrrell team demonstrated enough promise for Guy Ligier to sign Pironi to his rather erratic eponymous French team in 1980, a season in which Didier recorded his first victory, in the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, as well as several podium finishes. Lower Formulae (1958 - 1967 Tyrrell Racing first came into being in 1958 running Formula Three cars for Ken Tyrrell and local stars Guy Ligier (born 12 July 1930) is a French former rugby player and Racing driver. The 1980 Formula One season included the 31st FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on January 13, 1980, and ended on The Belgian Grand Prix is an Automobile race, part of the Formula One World Championship The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlaemen, is an undulating 4 Indeed, such were Pironi's performances that as early as the second race of the season, Enzo Ferrari expressed an interest in the Frenchman's services, which he secured for 1981. Enzo Anselmo "the Commendatore" Ferrari ( February 20, 1898 &ndash August 14, 1988) was an Italian car driver and entrepreneur The 1981 Formula One season included the 32nd FIA Formula One World Championship season which commenced on March 15, 1981, and ended
Teamed with Gilles Villeneuve, Pironi was rather shaded in his first season with Ferrari, though Villeneuve welcomed the Frenchman and treated him as an equal. Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve ( Gilles Villeneuve ʒil vilnœv ( January 18, 1950 &ndash May 8, 1982) was a Canadian Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing For someone so preoccupied with becoming the first French driver to win the Formula One title, the events of this year may have played a role in the turbulent and unhappy 1982 campaign. The 1982 Formula One season was the 33rd FIA Formula One World Championship season Establishing a fine rapport with the senior members of the team, Pironi arguably exploited this good relationship in the aftermath of the notorious San Marino race where he is widely thought to have duped Villeneuve into conceding victory by giving the impression that he would follow his Canadian team-mate through the final lap, only to unexpectedly power past him into the Tosa hairpin. The 1982 San Marino Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. Pironi's friendship with senior members in the team resulted in his dubious story of "engine problems" for both cars gaining widespread currency, much to Villeneuve's chagrin. The Canadian would be killed in qualifying at the following Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, and his furious state of mind is often considered a contributory cause to his accident. The 1982 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on May 9, 1982.
With a fast, reliable car, the title looked to be Pironi's for the taking, but the Frenchman's own state of mind underwent severe stress due to several factors. Widespread antipathy was directed toward him in the wake of the Zolder tragedy, since he was criticized for reneging on his relationship afforded by Villeneuve. There was also the breakdown of his marriage, and he observed at first hand the death of Riccardo Paletti in the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, the young Italian ploughing into Pironi's stalled Ferrari on the starting grid. Riccardo Paletti ( 15 June 1958, Milan - 13 June 1982, Montreal, Canada) was an Italian Motor Results from the 1982 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 13, 1982. Some of these events may have resulted in the over-confidence and arrogance that team members are reported to have observed in Pironi's behaviour at subsequent events, including an absolute certainty that he would win the title. In such a mindset, he unnecessarily lapped a drenched Hockenheim during a practice session at the German Grand Prix at high speed. Results from the 1982 Formula One German Grand Prix held at Hockenheimring on August 8, 1982. Passing Derek Daly's Williams, Pironi, unsighted, smashed into the back of Alain Prost's Renault, triggering a violent accident which bore some similarity to that suffered by Villeneuve. Derek Daly (born March 11, 1953 in Dundrum, Dublin) is a former Racing driver from the Republic of Ireland. Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967 1970s and 1980s 1977 Renault first involvement in Formula One was made by the Renault Sport subsidiary Pironi survived, but injuries to his legs meant he never raced again. At this point, he was leading with 39 points in the championship, ahead of Watson (30) and Rosberg (27), but Pironi was relegated to runner-up as Rosberg passed him to become World Champion with 44 points.
In his Formula One career Didier Pironi won 3 races, achieved 13 podiums, and scored a total of 101 championship points. He also secured 4 pole positions. The term " pole position " comes from the Horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole
Death
In 1986 it looked as if Pironi would make a comeback when he tested for the French AGS team. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives ("AGS" or Gonfaron Sports Cars) was a small French racecar constructor who competed in various racing categories Although he proved that he was still fast enough to be competitive in Formula One, Pironi decided to turn to powerboat racing instead. On August 23, 1987, Pironi was killed in an accident near the Isle of Wight, that also took the life of his two crew members: journalist Bernard Giroux and his old friend Jean-Claude Guenard. The Isle of Wight is an English Island and county in the English Channel between three and five miles (8 km from the south coast of the
Some weeks after Pironi's death his girlfriend gave birth to twins. She decided to name them "Didier" and "Gilles".
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Yr | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Elf Team Tyrrell | Tyrrell 008 | Cosworth V8 | ARG 14 |
BRA 6 |
RSA 6 |
USW Ret |
MON 5 |
BEL 6 |
ESP 12 |
SWE Ret |
FRA 10 |
GBR Ret |
GER 5 |
AUT Ret |
NED Ret |
ITA Ret |
USA 10 |
CAN 7 |
15th | 7 |
| 1979 | Team Tyrrell | Tyrrell 009 | Cosworth V8 | ARG Ret |
BRA 4 |
RSA Ret |
USW DSQ |
ESP 6 |
11th | 14 | |||||||||||
| Candy Tyrrell Team | BEL 3 |
MON Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR 10 |
GER 9 |
AUT 7 |
NED Ret |
ITA 10 |
CAN 5 |
USA 3 |
|||||||||||
| 1980 | Equipe Ligier Gitanes | Ligier JS11/15 | Cosworth V8 | ARG Ret |
BRA 4 |
RSA 3 |
USW 6 |
BEL 1 |
MON Ret |
FRA 2 |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
AUT Ret |
NED Ret |
ITA 6 |
CAN 3 |
USA 3 |
5th | 32 | ||
| 1981 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 126CK | Ferrari V6 | USW Ret |
BRA Ret |
ARG Ret |
SMR 5 |
BEL 8 |
MON 4 |
ESP 15 |
FRA 5 |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
AUT 9 |
NED Ret |
ITA 5 |
CAN Ret |
LVS 9 |
13th | 9 | |
| 1982 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 126C2 | Ferrari V6 | RSA 18 |
BRA 6 |
USW Ret |
SMR 1 |
BEL DNS |
MON 2 |
USE 3 |
CAN 9 |
NED 1 |
GBR 2 |
FRA 3 |
GER DNS |
AUT |
SUI |
ITA |
LVS |
2nd | 39 |
External links
| Preceded by Jacky Ickx Hurley Haywood Jürgen Barth |
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1978 Jean-Pierre Jaussaud Didier Pironi |
Succeeded by Klaus Ludwig Bill Whittington Don Whittington |
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