Patrick Tambay

Patrick Daniel Tambay (; 25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, broadcaster and politician, who competed in Formula One from to . 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 and , 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 , taking his maiden victory four races later at the . 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 , 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

thumb|left|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.

In 1977, winning the Can Am championship with Haas, 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. 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. Later in 1982, he was offered a place with the Scuderia Ferrari after the death of his close friend Gilles Villeneuve. 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, Tambay died on 4 December 2022 at home, at age 73. His son Adrien announced his death.

Racing record

Career summary

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center"

!Season

!Series

!Team

!Races

!Wins

!Poles

!F/Laps

!Podiums

!Points

!Position

!1974

|align=left|European Formula Two

|align=left|Écurie Elf

|10

|11

|7th

!1975

|align=left|European Formula Two

|align=left|March Engineering

|14

|36

|style="background:#DFDFDF"|2nd

!rowspan=2|1976

|align=left|European Formula Two

|align=left|Automobiles Martini

|12

|39

|style="background:#FFDF9F"|3rd

|align=left nowrap|SCCA Continental Championship

|align=left nowrap|Theodore Racing Hong Kong

|21st

!rowspan=3|1977

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Theodore Racing Hong Kong

|18th

|align=left|Can-Am

|align=left|Carl A. Haas Racing

|159

|style="background:#FFFFBF"|1st

|align=left|European Formula Two

|align=left|Ardmore Racing

|NC

!rowspan=2|1978

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Marlboro Team McLaren

Löwenbräu Team McLaren

|15

|14th

|align=left|European Formula Two

|align=left|Chevron Cars

|NC

!1979

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Marlboro Team McLaren

Löwenbräu Team McLaren

|13

|NC

!1980

|align=left|Can-Am

|align=left|Carl A. Haas Racing

|61

|style="background:#FFFFBF"|1st

!rowspan=3|1981

|rowspan="2" style="text-align:left"|Formula One

|align=left|Équipe Talbot Gitanes

|rowspan=2|1

|rowspan=2|19th

|align=left|Theodore Racing Team

|align=left|24 Hours of Le Mans

|align=left|Oceanic Jean Rondeau

|N/A

|DNF

!1982

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Ferrari

|25

|7th

!1983

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Ferrari

|15

|40

|4th

!1984

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Équipe Renault Elf

|15

|11

|11th

!1985

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Équipe Renault Elf

|15

|11

|12th

!1986

|align=left|Formula One

|align=left|Team Haas (USA) Ltd.

|14

|15th

!1989

|align=left|World Sportscar Championship

|align=left|Silk Cut Jaguar

|30

|8th

!2005

|align=left|Grand Prix Masters

|align=left|Team Lixxus

|N/A

|–

!2006

|align=left|Grand Prix Masters

|align=left|Team Lixxus

|N/A

|–

!colspan="10"|

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)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! Pts

! nowrap| Ecurie Elf

! nowrap| Alpine A367

! nowrap| BMW

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BAR

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HOC

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SAL

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| HOC

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MUG

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| KAR

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PER

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HOC

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| VAL

|colspan=4|

! 7th

! 11

! nowrap| March Engineering

! nowrap| March 752

! nowrap| BMW

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| EST

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| THR

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| HOC

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| NÜR

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| HOC

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SAL

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ROU

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MUG

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PER

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SIL

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ZOL

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| NOG

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| VAL

!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd

!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 36

! nowrap| Automobiles Martini

! nowrap| Martini Mk 19

! nowrap| Renault

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| HOC

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| THR

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| VLL

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SAL

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| HOC

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ROU

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| MUG

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PER

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| EST

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| NOG

|style="background:#000000; color:#FFFFFF"| HOC

|colspan=2|

!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd

!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 39

! nowrap| Ardmore Racing

! nowrap| Chevron B40

! nowrap| Hart

| SIL

| THR

| HOC

| NÜR

| VLL

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU

| MUG

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ROU

| NOG

| PER

| MIS

| EST

| DON

! NC

! 0

! nowrap| Chevron Cars

! nowrap| Chevron B42

! nowrap| Hart

| THR

| HOC

| NÜR

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| PAU

| MUG

| VLL

| ROU

| DON

| NOG

| PER

| MIS

| HOC

|colspan=2|

! NC

! 0

!colspan="20"|

Complete Grand Prix Masters results

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

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; "

! Year

! Team

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

| 2005

! nowrap| Team Lixxus

! nowrap| Delta Motorsport GPM

! nowrap| Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| RSA

|colspan=4|

| 2006

! nowrap| Team Lixxus

! nowrap| Delta Motorsport GPM

! nowrap| Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| QAT

|style="background:#ffffff;"| ITA

|style="background:#cfcfff;"| GBR

|style="background:#ffffff;"| MAL

|style="background:#ffffff;"| RSA

!colspan="9"|