Patrick Tambay

Patrick Daniel Tambay ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, broadcaster and politician, who competed in Formula One from Template:F1 to Template:F1. Tambay won two Formula One Grands Prix across nine seasons.

Born and raised in Paris, Tambay gained training as a racing driver at the Winfield Racing School in 1971. Between Template:F1 and Template:F1, he raced for an assortment of teams including Surtees, Theodore, Ligier and McLaren with mixed results; he additionally won two Can-Am titles under Carl Haas in 1977 and 1980. Tambay was hired by Ferrari after the death of Gilles Villeneuve in Template:F1, taking his maiden victory four races later at the Template:F1GP. His second and final victory came the following season in San Marino, finishing the season a career-best fourth in the World Drivers' Championship. In Template:F1, Tambay moved to Renault, before ending his Formula One career at Haas Lola, having achieved two wins, five pole positions, two fastest laps and 11 podiums.

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

File:Tambay Renault RE50 1984 Dallas F1.jpg

Tambay at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix where, like many others, he retired after hitting a wall.

Early in his career, Tambay was a part of Formula 5000 with the team run by Carl Haas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1977, winning the Can Am championship with Haas,<ref name="NYT Can Am">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="BBCobit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="NYT Can Am"/>

In 1981 he returned to F1, first driving for the Theodore team then finishing the season with Ligier.

File:1985 European GP Tambay.jpg

Tambay during practice for the 1985 European Grand Prix

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later in 1982 he was offered a place with the Scuderia Ferrari after the death of his close friend Gilles Villeneuve.<ref name="BBCobit"/> 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.<ref name="BBCobit"/>

Despite finishing 4th in the Template:F1 World Championship (with team mate René Arnoux finishing 3rd enabling Ferrari to win the Constructors' Championship), Tambay was dropped by the Scuderia at the end of 1983 in favor of Italian Michele Alboreto. Tambay then moved from one factory team to the other in Formula One at the time, Renault who had finished 2nd in the 1983 Constructors' Championship and 2nd in the Drivers' with fellow Frenchman Alain Prost. Unfortunately for Tambay, after 1983 the factory Renault teams fortunes would go on the downslide and he would spend a somewhat fruitless two seasons before Renault pulled the plug on its factory team with his best results over the Template:F1 and Template:F1 seasons being a single pole position and subsequent 2nd place in the 1984 French Grand Prix at Dijon.

For what would prove to be his final season in Formula One, Tambay was then reunited with his old boss Carl Haas racing in the Haas Lola F1 team in Template:F1 where he spent an even more fruitless season alongside Template:F1 World Champion, Australian driver Alan Jones despite Haas having exclusive use of the new Cosworth designed and built Ford TEC V6 turbo engine. Tambay's best result driving either the underpowered Hart engined Lola THL1 or the Ford powered Lola THL2 (which itself was somewhat underpowered compared to its rivals from BMW, Honda, Renault, Ferrari and TAG-Porsche) was a lone 5th place in the THL2 in the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring (Jones having an equally hard time of it in 1986, finished 4th). Although he regularly out-qualified his former World Championship winning team mate, his 2 points in Austria would be Tambay's only points of the 1986 season and thus his last scored in Formula One. With the loss of the lucrative sponsorship from American company Beatrice Foods in mid-1986, Carl Haas shut his Formula One team down at the end of the season and Tambay, unable to find a competitive drive to continue in Template:F1, retired from the sport.<ref name="BBCobit"/>

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.<ref name="BBCobit"/> Additionally, he was involved in ice races and the Tour de Corse jet ski race.

Later life and death

After 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tambay died on 4 December 2022, at age 73. His son Adrien announced his death.<ref name="BBCobit"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 Löwenbräu Team McLaren	15	0	0	0	0	8	14th
	European Formula Two	Chevron Cars	1	0	0	0	0	0	NCTemplate:Smallsup
1979	Formula One	Marlboro Team McLaren Löwenbräu 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	Équipe Talbot Gitanes	8	0	0	0	0	1	19th
		Theodore Racing Team	6	0	0	0	0
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Oceanic Jean Rondeau	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1982	Formula One	Ferrari	6	1	0	0	3	25	7th
1983	Formula One	Ferrari	15	1	4	1	5	40	4th
1984	Formula One	Équipe Renault Elf	15	0	1	1	1	11	11th
1985	Formula One	Équipe 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	–
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Template:Smallsup 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	Template:Tooltip	Pts
Template:F2	Ecurie Elf	Alpine A367	BMW	BAR Template:Small	HOC Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	SAL Template:Small	HOC Template:Small	MUG Template:Small	KAR Template:Small	PER Template:Small	HOC Template:Small	VAL Template:Small					7th	11
Template:F2	March Engineering	March 752	BMW	EST Template:Small	THR Template:Small	HOC Template:Small	NÜR Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	HOC Template:Small	SAL Template:Small	ROU Template:Small	MUG Template:Small	PER Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	ZOL Template:Small	NOG Template:Small	VAL Template:Small	2nd	36
Template:F2	Automobiles Martini	Martini Mk 19	Renault	HOC Template:Tooltip	THR Template:Small	VLL Template:Small	SAL Template:Small	PAU Template:Small	HOC Template:Tooltip	ROU Template:Small	MUG Template:Small	PER Template:Small	EST Template:Small	NOG Template:Small	HOC Template:Small			3rd	39
Template:F2	Ardmore Racing	Chevron B40	Hart	SIL	THR	HOC	NÜR	VLL	PAU Template:Small	MUG	ROU Template:Small	NOG	PER	MIS	EST	DON		NC	0
Template:F2	Chevron Cars	Chevron B42	Hart	THR	HOC	NÜR	PAU Template:Small	MUG	VLL	ROU	DON	NOG	PER	MIS	HOC			NC	0Template:Smallsup
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Template:Smallsup 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	Template:Tooltip	Pts
1977	Durex Team Surtees	Surtees TS19	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA Template:Small									18th	5
	Theodore Racing Hong Kong	Ensign N177	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8										GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	JPN Template:Small
1978	Marlboro Team McLaren	McLaren M26	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	RSA Template:Small	USW Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL	ESP Template:Small	SWE Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small				14th	8
	Löwenbräu Team McLaren																	USA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small
1979	Löwenbräu Team McLaren	McLaren M28	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8				USW Template:Small														NC	0
	Marlboro Team McLaren			ARG Template:Small		RSA Template:Small		ESP Template:Small
		McLaren M26			BRA Template:Small				BEL Template:Small
		McLaren M28B								MON Template:Small
		McLaren M28C									FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small
		McLaren M29											GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	USA Template:Small
1981	Theodore Racing Team	Theodore TY01	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	USW Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	ARG Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	MON Template:Small	ESP Template:Small											19th	1
	Équipe Talbot Gitanes	Talbot Ligier JS17	Matra MS81 3.0 V12								FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	CPL Template:Small
1982	Ferrari	Ferrari 126C2	Ferrari 021 1.5 V6 t	RSA	BRA	USW	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	CAN	NED Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	SUI Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CPL Template:Small		7th	25
1983	Ferrari	Ferrari 126C2/B	Ferrari 021 1.5 V6 t	BRA Template:Small	USW Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	DET Template:Small	CAN Template:Small										4th	40
		Ferrari 126C3										GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	RSA Template:Small
1984	Équipe Renault Elf	Renault RE50	Renault EF4 1.5 V6 t	BRA Template:Small	RSA Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	DET Template:Small	DAL Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	POR Template:Small		11th	11
1985	Équipe Renault Elf	Renault RE60	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t	BRA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	DET Template:Small												12th	11
		Renault RE60B	Renault EF15 1.5 V6 t							FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	NED Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	RSA	AUS Template:Small
1986	Team Haas (USA) Ltd.	Lola THL1	Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t	BRA Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	SMR Template:Small															15th	2
		Lola THL2	Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6 t				MON Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	DET	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	POR Template:Small	MEX Template:Small	AUS Template:Small
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24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1976	Template:Flagicon Renault Sport	Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Jabouille Template:Flagicon José Dolhem	Renault Alpine A442	S 3.0	135	DNF	DNF
1977	Template:Flagicon Équipe Renault Elf	Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Renault Alpine A442	S 3.0	158	DNF	DNF
1981	Template:Flagicon Oceanic Jean Rondeau	Template:Flagicon Henri Pescarolo	Rondeau M379-Ford Cosworth	2 +2.0	41	DNF	DNF
1989	Template:Flagicon Silk Cut Jaguar Template:Flagicon Tom Walkinshaw Racing	Template:Flagicon Jan Lammers Template:Flagicon Andrew Gilbert-Scott	Jaguar XJR-9LM	C1	380	4th	4th
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Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results

(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 Template:Small	ROA Template:Small	MDO Template:Small	MOS Template:Small	CTR Template:Small	SON Template:Small	RIV Template:Small		1st	159
1980	Carl A. Haas Racing	Lola T530	Chevrolet V8	SON Template:Small	MDO Template:Small	MOS Template:Small	WGL Template:Small	ROA	BRA Template:Small	CTR Template:Small	ATL Template:Small	LAG Template:Small	RIV Template:Small	1st	61
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Complete Grand Prix Masters results

(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 Template:Small
2006	Team Lixxus	Delta Motorsport GPM	Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8	QAT Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	MAL Template:Small	RSA Template:Small
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General and cited references

• Template:Cite book