Didier Pironi

French racing driver

A title chance lost at Hockenheim

Didier Pironi won Le Mans and three Grands Prix and was leading the 1982 championship for Ferrari when a crash in qualifying ended his career.

Didier Pironi was born in Villecresnes, France, on March 26, 1952. He studied engineering before enrolling at the Winfield Racing School at Paul Ricard, where a scholarship took him into Formula Renault. He won its Eurocup in 1974 and 1976 and placed third in the 1977 European Formula Two championship.

Tyrrell brought him into Formula 1 for 1978, starting at the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix, and that same year he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Renault with Jean Pierre Jaussaud. His first podium came at the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix. A move to Ligier in 1980 alongside Jacques Laffite brought his first win at the 1980 Belgian Grand Prix and fifth place in the championship.

Enzo Ferrari signed him for 1981 as teammate to Gilles Villeneuve. In 1982 Pironi won the San Marino Grand Prix, a race held during the dispute between FISA and FOCA, and later added the Dutch Grand Prix. Pironi was leading the championship when, three months after Villeneuve was killed, he crashed in qualifying for the 1982 German Grand Prix in heavy rain and suffered severe leg injuries. He never raced in Formula 1 again, and Keke Rosberg overtook him to win the title by five points.

Our record shows 70 starts, 3 wins, 4 pole positions, 5 fastest laps and 13 podiums across five seasons, with Tyrrell, Ligier and Ferrari, and second place in the 1982 championship. Pironi later turned to offshore powerboat racing and died in a powerboat accident near the Isle of Wight in 1987.

0 world titles, 3 wins, 4 pole positions, 70 starts.

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