Patrick Depailler

  • Thread starter Thread starter tigermoth737
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tigermoth737

tigermoth737

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FACT0R McFly
I'm very dissapointed to see that everyone has forgotten Patrick Depailler. He was an amazing driver in F1 and was one of the Tyrrell teams most loyal and finest drivers. He was tragically killed in his prime in private testing at the Hockenheimring. He was driving his Alfa Romeo on the fast Ostkurve bend when something on the car broke. His car slammed into the armco barrier and the forces he endured were too much for his body to withstand, he was killed. It is of true belief that if catch-fencing had been installed at the ostkurve then he would have survived. I want some video's of him. I am more then aware that the Project34 website has loads of videos of Patrick, albeit they are all onboard videos, and only of Tyrrell's. Can someone please tell me Where I can find videos of him pushing that bloody inferior Alfa Romeo to the limit, or at least direct me to a dedicated fan site of sorts. Thanks:)
 
tigermoth737
I'm very dissapointed to see that everyone has forgotten Patrick Depailler.
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Considering only a handful of us were alive in 1980, and likely none of us followed F1 racing at that time...I don't think he's forgotten as much as he was just part of another generation of drivers and fans of Grand Prix racing.

Depailler wasn't much of a qualifier, but he'd turn up the wick when the racing began. He took chances with motorcycles, handgliders, even bicycles when he wasn't driving a racing car; unfortunately, his antics nearly cost him his life in 1979, but put him out of racing car until the following year, but with Alfa Romeo. Teams were getting a bit more professional in their attitude towards their drivers' activities when away from an F1 car. It's a pity, because Grand Prix drivers used to drive sports cars, production-based cars, or other specials on the off-F1 race weekends...but this age was coming to an end by the mid-1980s anyhow, with increasing contract demands.

There's many pics of Patrick getting the Tyrrell, Ligier, and Alfa Romeo sideways; he was quite careful in most of his cars, but with the exception of the 1979 Ligier JS9, he never had a 100%-competitive F1 seat. The Tyrrells were good, but not great cars after many aerodynamic changes were made after 1973 season, and the Alfa Romeo team began it's first full year of racind when Depailler came aboard.

But that Ligier, although not quite the budget of the Ferrari and the Renault of the time, and not quite the ground-effect superiority of the Lotus and the Williams of the time, was a surprise as it was quick right out of the box. The first two races were claimed by Ligier, and by the end of the third race, the French outfit was still leading the Contructor's Cup. It's hard to tell what happened; the other teams played catch-up, Ligier lost the wind form their sails after the Monaco round (Depailler's handgliding accident), or the team didn't perform the constant development work to keep up with the big boys. In any case, it was really a case of many opportunites lost.

Depaillier's first win didn't arrive unti the 1978 Monaco GP, and he was driving the 4-wheel Tyrrell, having shaken off the P34 at the end of last year, since it was at the end of it's developmental life. His second, and last win was the 1979 Spanish GP, held at a notorious Jarama circuit which was very much like the Hungaroring; you could only pass predictably in one place...the end of the start-finish straight!

Anyhow, he's another fellow, like Gilles Villeneuve, that I'd wish I'd been able to see him race live...
 
This may seem very sudden but I've managed to make what I feel is a decent tribute to Patrick. I have videos on there that I already had from project34, and I used photos that I found on google. I should have it on Youtube soon
 
Pupik
Considering only a handful of us were alive in 1980, and likely none of us followed F1 racing at that time...I don't think he's forgotten as much as he was just part of another generation of drivers and fans of Grand Prix racing.
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Speak for yourself ;) , although i was only 8at the time, motorsport is like a religion in my family - i had no choice in the matter of being a fan, from grass roots to F1, and i certainly do remember Depailler. Actually i only really remember the death of Depailler, as i do Villeneuve, Peterson and almost Lauda. Its these tragic accidents that stand out as memories of F1 in my childhood. It's sad that people like this are mostly remembered by their tragic deaths.
 
I don't think anyone who's seen the wet lap at Montreal from the Lap Of The Gods DVD could ever forget Depailler. His car control just seemed amazing, powersliding perfectly to the edges of the track. His lap at Long Beach in traffic was extremely impressive too, the amount of aggression in his driving is something not often seen in the modern era of F1. Times and cars have changed, and Depailler might be one of the drivers who couldn't cope with a modern car, but from the footage I've seen of him he was a fantastic GP driver.

edit: Montreal wet lap video, Long Beach video.
 

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