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Jacques Laffite

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 14 min
For the banker and politician, see Jacques Laffitte.

Jacques Laffite
Laffite in 2015
Born
Jacques-Henri Laffite

(1943-11-21) 21 November 1943 (age 81)
Paris, Nazi-occupied France
Spouses
Bernadette Cottin
​
​
(m. 1977⁠–⁠1992)​
Florence Gericot
​
(m. 1993)​
Children2, including Margot
Relatives
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityFrance French
Active years1974–1986
TeamsFrank Williams, Ligier, Williams
Entries180 (176 starts)
Championships0
Wins6
Podiums32
Career points228
Pole positions7
Fastest laps7[a]
First entry1974 German Grand Prix
First win1977 Swedish Grand Prix
Last win1981 Canadian Grand Prix
Last entry1986 British Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1972–1974, 1977–1978, 1990, 1993–1994, 1996
TeamsLigier, Renault, Mirage, Porsche, Venturi, Larbre, McLaren
Best finish8th (1974)
Class wins0

Jacques-Henri Laffite (French pronunciation: [ʒak ɑ̃.ʁi la.fit]; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from 1974 to 1986. Laffite won six Formula One Grands Prix across 13 seasons.

Born and raised in Paris, Laffite trained as a racing driver with the Winfield Racing School at Magny-Cours in 1968. Laffite twice entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ligier before making his Formula One debut at the 1974 German Grand Prix with Frank Williams. Laffite remained at Frank Williams through the 1975 season, scoring his maiden podium at the German Grand Prix and winning the European Formula Two Championship with Martini. He moved to Ligier in 1976, taking several podiums amongst his maiden pole position in Italy. Laffite retained his seat the following season, taking his maiden win at the Swedish Grand Prix. After a winless season in 1978, Ligier constructed the highly-competitive JS11 in response to the ground effect era. Laffite won the opening two rounds of the 1979 season—including a grand slam at the Brazilian Grand Prix—but ultimately finished the championship in fourth after suffering eight retirements. Laffite again finished fourth in the 1980 and 1981 championships, losing out on the latter by six points to Nelson Piquet and taking several wins across both. Laffite failed to finish 11 of 15 Grands Prix in 1982, leaving for Williams at the end of the season. After two winless seasons with Williams, amongst further reliability issues, Laffite returned to Ligier in 1985, scoring several podiums. At the 1986 British Grand Prix, Laffite was seriously injured in a multi-car collision that broke both of his legs. He subsequently retired from Formula One, having achieved six wins, seven pole positions, seven fastest laps and 32 podiums.

Outside of Formula One, Laffite was a race-winner in the World Sportscar Championship with Kauhsen, as well as in the BMW M1 Procar Championship with BMW. He competed in the World Touring Car Championship in 1987 with Alfa Corse, and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft from 1990 to 1992. Laffite entered nine editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1972 to 1996 across multiple classes. Upon retiring from motor racing, Laffite was a presenter for TF1 from 1997 to 2012.

Early years

[edit]

Jacques-Henri Laffite was born in Paris on 21 November 1943. He attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school.[4] He was trained as a racing driver in 1968 at Winfield Racing School in France.

Formula One career

[edit]

Laffite debuted in Formula One in 1974 for Frank Williams' Iso–Marlboro team. The following year he raced for the same team, now named Williams, scoring a second place in the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

Laffite's 1979 Ligier JS11 being demonstrated at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Laffite demonstrating the Ligier JS19 chassis at the 1982 Pau Grand Prix

In 1976 Laffite moved to the French Ligier team, scoring 20 points and a pole position at the Italian Grand Prix. The next two seasons were transitional, although he managed to win his first Grand Prix at Anderstorp in the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix.

The 1979 season opened with Laffite winning the first two races. He fought for the World Championship title until the last races, but eventually placed only fourth, with 36 points. The following two seasons were similar, with two more fourth places in the Championship and a further three victories. In 1982, however, Laffite finished only 17th in the final classification, with only 5 points scored.

During the early 1980s, Laffite also made three end of season trips to Australia to race in the non-championship Australian Grand Prix. He failed to finish his first race in 1981 (he was lucky to start after his car hit the wall on the outside of the last turn of the short (1.609 km (1.000 mi)) Calder Park Raceway in qualifying, but his local crew were able to repair it for the race). He finished second to fellow Frenchman Alain Prost in 1982, and third behind Brazilian Roberto Moreno and Australian John Smith in 1983. In all of his pre-Formula One AGP drives, Laffite drove a Formula Pacific or Formula Mondial Ralt RT4 powered by a 1.6-litre Ford I4 engine.

Results in the next two seasons were not much better, when he moved back to England, again to race for Williams (11 and 5 points, respectively). Now in his forties, Laffite returned to Ligier in 1985: in that season he was on the podium three times (Great Britain, Germany and Australia), for a total of 16 points. In 1986 he scored 14 points including two more podium finishes in the first half of the season, but he broke both legs in a crash at the start of the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and thereafter retired from Formula One, ending his career tied with Graham Hill for the most Grand Prix starts at 176. He was the most successful driver in Ligier's history, having taken six of their nine wins.

As a result of Laffite's injuries, new safety rules were enforced from the 1988 season that stated that in all cars the driver's feet must be behind the front axle line.

Post-Formula One career

[edit]

Laffite recovered from his injuries and later raced in touring cars, finishing 17th in the inaugural World Touring Car Championship driving an Alfa Romeo 75 for Alfa Corse as well as racing three seasons in the German-based DTM series.

He is now a television commentator for the French network TF1, best known for his reaction to the incident at the 1997 European Grand Prix in which Michael Schumacher collided with Jacques Villeneuve, and Laffite reacted with curse words on live television.

Laffite made his 2007 FIA GT3 European Championship debut at the 2008 Bucharest City Challenge, driving for AutoGT Racing Team. [5]

In October 2008, at the age of 64, he tested a Renault R27 F1 car at the Paul Ricard circuit.[6]

Laffite has two daughters: Camille and Margot, a sports journalist of Formula One on Canal+. He is also golf enthusiast, is a shareholder of Dijon-Bourgogne Golf.

Also deeply attached to the Creuse for Golf Fisheries and nature, he has a property in Creuse near Aubusson.

Racing record

[edit]

Career summary

[edit]
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1972 24 Hours of Le Mans Automobiles Ligier 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1973 24 Hours of Le Mans Automobiles Ligier 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DSQ
1974 European Formula Two BP Racing France 10 1 1 1 5 31 3rd
Formula One Frank Williams Racing Cars 5 0 0 0 0 0 NC
24 Hours of Le Mans Automobiles Ligier 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 8th
1975 European Formula Two Automobiles Martini 14 6 5 4 7 60 1st
Formula One Frank Williams Racing Cars 10 0 0 0 1 6 12th
World Sportscar Championship Willi Kauhsen Racing Team 3 3 0 0 3 60 NC
1976 Formula One Ligier Gitanes 16 0 1 1 3 20 7th
World Sportscar Championship Equipe Renault Elf 4 0 3 0 1 15 NC
European Formula Two Fred Opert Racing 2 0 0 1 2 0 NC‡
Willi Kauhsen Racing Team 1 0 0 0 0
1977 Formula One Ligier Gitanes 17 1 0 1 2 18 10th
European Formula Two Fred Opert Racing 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
24 Hours of Le Mans Renault Sport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1978 Formula One Ligier Gitanes 16 0 0 0 2 19 8th
European Formula Two Maublanc Racing Services 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
24 Hours of Le Mans Grand Touring Cars Inc. 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 10th
1979 Formula One Équipe Ligier Gitanes 15 2 4 2 6 36 4th
BMW M1 Procar Championship BMW Motorsport 4 1 1 0 2 35 7th
1980 Formula One Équipe Ligier Gitanes 14 1 1 1 5 34 4th
BMW M1 Procar Championship BMW Motorsport 6 0 1 0 1 37 9th
1981 Formula One Équipe Talbot Gitanes 15 2 1 1 7 44 4th
1982 Formula One Équipe Talbot Gitanes 15 0 0 0 1 5 17th
1983 Formula One TAG Williams Team 13 0 0 0 0 11 11th
1984 Formula One Williams Grand Prix Engineering 16 0 0 0 0 5 14th
1985 Formula One Équipe LigierÉquipe Ligier Gitanes 15 0 0 1 3 16 9th
1986 Formula One Équipe Ligier 9 0 0 0 2 14 8th
1987 World Touring Car Championship Alfa Corse 6 0 0 0 0 86 17th
1990 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Bigazzi M Team 21 1 0 3 3 107 7th
24 Hours of Le Mans Joest Porsche Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 14th
1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Snobeck S.A. 21 0 2 1 3 81 11th
1992 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft MS Racing 23 0 0 1 0 43 13th
1993 24 Hours of Le Mans Jacadi Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1994 24 Hours of Le Mans Larbre Compétition 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
1996 24 Hours of Le Mans Team Bigazzi SRL 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 11th
2007 FIA GT3 European Championship AutoGT Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 22nd
2008 FIA GT3 European Championship AutoGT Racing 7 0 0 0 0 0 29th
2013 Eurocup Mégane Trophy Oregon Team 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC†

‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

[edit]
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1972 France Automobiles Ligier France Pierre Maublanc Ligier JS2-Maserati S 3.0 195 DNF DNF
1973 France Automobiles Ligier France Guy Ligier Ligier JS2-Maserati S 3.0 24 DSQ DSQ
1974 France Automobiles Ligier France Alain Serpaggi Ligier JS2-Maserati S 3.0 310 8th 5th
1977 France Renault Sport France Patrick Depailler Renault Alpine A442 S +2.0 289 DNF DNF
1978 United States Grand Touring Cars Inc. Australia Vern Schuppan
United States Sam Posey 		Mirage M9-Renault S +2.0 293 10th 5th
1990 Germany Joest Porsche Racing France Henri Pescarolo
France Jean-Louis Ricci 		Porsche 962C C1 328 14th 14th
1993 France Jacadi Racing France Michel Maisonneuve
France Christophe Dechavanne 		Venturi 500LM-Renault GT 210 DNF DNF
1994 France Larbre Compétition France Jacques Alméras
France Jean-Marie Alméras 		Porsche 911 Carrera RSR GT2 94 DNF DNF
1996 Italy Team Bigazzi SRL United Kingdom Steve Soper
Belgium Marc Duez 		McLaren F1 GTR-BMW GT1 318 11th 9th

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 BP Racing France March 742 BMW M12 BAR
Ret 		HOC
10 		PAU
2 		SAL
1 		HOC
2 		MUG
Ret 		KAR
3 		PER
7 		HOC
18 		VAL
3 		3rd 31
1975 Automobiles Martini Martini Mk 16 BMW M12 EST
1 		THR
1 		HOC
Ret 		NÜR
1 		PAU
1 		HOC
1 		SAL
NC 		ROU
Ret 		MUG
Ret 		PER
1 		SIL
Ret 		ZOL
Ret 		NOG
Ret 		VAL
2 		1st 60
1976 Fred Opert Racing Chevron B35 BMW HOC THR VAL SAL PAU
2 		HOC ROU MUG PER EST NOG
2 		NC 0‡
Willi Kauhsen Racing Team March 762 Hart HOC
Ret
1977 Fred Opert Racing Chevron B40 Hart SIL THR HOC
7 		NÜR VAL PAU
10 		MUG ROU NOG
Ret 		PER MIS EST DON NC 0
1978 Maublanc Racing Services March 782 BMW THR HOC NÜR PAU
11 		MUG VAL ROU DON NOG
Ret 		PER MIS HOC NC 0

‡ 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)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Pts
1974 Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso–Marlboro FW Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER
Ret 		AUT
NC 		ITA
Ret 		CAN
15 		USA
Ret 		NC 0
1975 Frank Williams Racing Cars Williams FW02 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG
Ret 		BRA
11 		RSA
NC 		ESP 12th 6
Williams FW04 MON
DNQ 		BEL
Ret 		SWE NED
Ret 		FRA
11 		GBR
Ret 		GER
2 		AUT
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		USA
DNS
1976 Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS5 Matra MS73 3.0 V12 BRA
Ret 		RSA
Ret 		USW
4 		ESP
12 		BEL
3 		MON
12 		SWE
4 		FRA
14 		GBR
DSQ 		GER
Ret 		AUT
2 		NED
Ret 		ITA
3 		CAN
Ret 		USA
Ret 		JPN
7 		7th 20
1977 Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS7 Matra MS76 3.0 V12 ARG
NC 		BRA
Ret 		RSA
Ret 		USW
9 		ESP
7 		MON
7 		BEL
Ret 		SWE
1 		FRA
8 		GBR
6 		GER
Ret 		AUT
Ret 		NED
2 		ITA
8 		USA
7 		CAN
Ret 		JPN
5 		10th 18
1978 Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS7 Matra MS76 3.0 V12 ARG
16 		BRA
9 		USW
5 		8th 19
Ligier JS7/9 Matra MS78 3.0 V12 RSA
5 		BEL
5 		SWE
7
Ligier JS9 MON
Ret 		ESP
3 		FRA
7 		GBR
10 		GER
3 		AUT
5 		NED
8 		ITA
4 		USA
11 		CAN
Ret
1979 Équipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS11 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG
1 		BRA
1 		RSA
Ret 		USW
Ret 		ESP
Ret 		BEL
2 		MON
Ret 		FRA
8 		GBR
Ret 		GER
3 		AUT
3 		NED
3 		ITA
Ret 		CAN
Ret 		USA
Ret 		4th 36
1980 Équipe Ligier Gitanes Ligier JS11/15 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG
Ret 		BRA
Ret 		RSA
2 		USW
Ret 		BEL
11 		MON
2 		FRA
3 		GBR
Ret 		GER
1 		AUT
4 		NED
3 		ITA
9 		CAN
8 		USA
5 		4th 34
1981 Équipe Talbot Gitanes Talbot Ligier JS17 Matra MS81 3.0 V12 USW
Ret 		BRA
6 		ARG
Ret 		SMR
Ret 		BEL
2 		MON
3 		ESP
2 		FRA
Ret 		GBR
3 		GER
3 		AUT
1 		NED
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		CAN
1 		CPL
6 		4th 44
1982 Équipe Talbot Gitanes Talbot Ligier JS17B Matra MS81 3.0 V12 RSA
Ret 		BRA
Ret 		USW
Ret 		SMR BEL
9 		DET
6 		CAN
Ret 		17th 5
Talbot Ligier JS19 MON
Ret 		NED
Ret 		GBR
Ret 		FRA
14 		GER
Ret 		AUT
3 		SUI
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		CPL
Ret
1983 TAG Williams Team Williams FW08C Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA
4 		USW
4 		FRA
6 		SMR
7 		MON
Ret 		BEL
6 		DET
5 		CAN
Ret 		GBR
12 		GER
6 		AUT
Ret 		NED
Ret 		ITA
DNQ 		EUR
DNQ 		11th 11
Williams FW09 Honda RA163-E 1.5 V6 t RSA
Ret
1984 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Williams FW09 Honda RA163E 1.5 V6 t BRA
Ret 		RSA
Ret 		BEL
Ret 		SMR
Ret 		FRA
8 		MON
8 		CAN
Ret 		DET
5 		DAL
4 		14th 5
Williams FW09B Honda RA164E 1.5 V6 t GBR
Ret 		GER
Ret 		AUT
Ret 		NED
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		EUR
Ret 		POR
14
1985 Équipe Ligier Ligier JS25 Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t BRA
6 		POR
Ret 		SMR
Ret 		MON
6 		9th 16
Équipe Ligier Gitanes CAN
8 		DET
12 		FRA
Ret 		GBR
3 		GER
3 		AUT
Ret 		NED
Ret 		ITA
Ret 		BEL
11 		EUR
Ret 		RSA AUS
2
1986 Équipe Ligier Ligier JS27 Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t BRA
3 		ESP
Ret 		SMR
Ret 		MON
6 		BEL
5 		CAN
7 		DET
2 		FRA
6 		GBR
Ret 		GER HUN AUT ITA POR MEX AUS 8th 14

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

[edit]

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

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1987 Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 75 MNZ JAR
Ret 		DIJ
ovr:9
cls:5
 		NUR
ovr:9
cls:7
 		SPA
ovr:12
cls:9
 		BNO
ovr:10
cls:8
 		SIL
ovr:10
cls:8
 		BAT CAL WEL FJI 17th 86

* Overall race position shown. Registered WTCC points paying position may differ.

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results

[edit]

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

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos. Pts
1990 Bigazzi M Team BMW M3 Sport Evo ZOL
1
6 		ZOL
2
4 		HOC
1
Ret 		HOC
2
DNS 		NÜR
1
3 		NÜR
2
Ret 		AVU
1
4 		AVU
2
Ret 		MFA
1
7 		MFA
2
Ret 		WUN
1
14 		WUN
2
Ret 		NÜR
1
1 		NÜR
2
8 		NOR
1
8 		NOR
2
Ret 		DIE
1
18 		DIE
2
4 		NÜR
1
2 		NÜR
2
6 		HOC
1
14 		HOC
2
5 		7th 107
1991 Snobeck S.A. Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo2 ZOL
1
21 		ZOL
2
Ret 		HOC
1
5 		HOC
2
9 		NÜR
1
5 		NÜR
2
6 		AVU
1
15 		AVU
2
21 		WUN
1
4 		WUN
2
5 		NOR
1
13 		NOR
2
8 		DIE
1
3 		DIE
2
Ret 		NÜR
1
3 		NÜR
2
3 		ALE
1
DNS 		ALE
2
DNS 		HOC
1
12 		HOC
2
12 		BRN
1
13 		BRN
2
Ret 		DON
1
5 		DON
2
7 		11th 81
1992 MS Racing Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo2 ZOL
1
9 		ZOL
2
14 		NÜR
1
18 		NÜR
2
10 		WUN
1
8 		WUN
2
6 		AVU
1
9 		AVU
2
4 		HOC
1
7 		HOC
2
6 		NÜR
1
11 		NÜR
2
9 		NOR
1
11 		NOR
2
11 		BRN
1
Ret 		BRN
2
13 		DIE
1
18 		DIE
2
8 		ALE
1
10 		ALE
2
8 		NÜR
1
Ret 		NÜR
2
Ret 		HOC
1
Ret 		HOC
2
DNS 		13th 43

Complete Grand Prix Masters results

[edit]

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

Year Team Chassis Engine 1
2005 Team GMF Delta Motorsport GPM Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 RSA
Ret

Other results

[edit]
  • 800 km of Dijon: 1st, 1975
  • 1000 km of Monza: 1st, 1975
  • 1000 km of Nürburgring: 1st, 1975
  • 500 km of Monza: 1st, 1988 (class win)
  • 500 km of Nürburgring: 1st, 1988 (class win)
  • 3 hours of Zhuhai: 1st, 1994

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The fastest lap at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix was initially credited to Masahiro Hasemi. This was a measurement mistake and, several days later, Fuji Speedway issued a press release to correct the fastest lap holder of the race to Laffite.[1] This press release was promptly made known in Japan, and the Japan Automobile Federation and Japanese media corrected the record.[2][3] This correction was not made well known outside Japan; thus, Hasemi is credited with the fastest lap in many record books.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ i-dea archives (14 January 2006), '76 F1イン・ジャパン (1976 F1 World Championship in Japan), Auto Sport Archives 日本の名レース100選 (The 100 Best races in Japan) (in Japanese), vol. 001, San-eishobo Publishing Co., Ltd., p. 77, ISBN 978-4-7796-0007-4, archived from the original on 13 December 2010, retrieved 16 December 2010
  2. ^ "Motorsport competition results: 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan" (in Japanese). Japan Automobile Federation. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Archive: 1976 F1 World Championship in Japan" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports News. 25 October 1976. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Quelques Anciens Celebres". Hattemer. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  5. ^ Petr Gabriel (2008), Gétéčka 2007 - Boj až do konce (Fight to a finish) (in Czech and English), Albert Boskovice, p. 103, ISBN 978-80-7326-130-6, archived from the original on 5 December 2021, retrieved 5 December 2021
  6. ^ "Jacques Laffite tests Renault F1 car". ESPN F1.com. 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Critérium de Formule Renault
Champion
1972 		Succeeded by
Christian Debias
Preceded by Monaco Formula Three
Race Winner
1973 		Succeeded by
Preceded by French Formula Three
Champion
1973 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European Formula Two
Champion
1975 		Succeeded by
Records
Preceded by
Graham Hill
179 entries, 176 starts
(1958 – 1975)
 Most Grand Prix entries
180 entries, 176 starts
(1974 – 1986),
180th entry at the 1986 British GP 		Succeeded by
Riccardo Patrese
257 entries (256 starts),
181st entry at the 1989 Mexican GP
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Laffite
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