Patrick Depailler
Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler ( born August 9, 1944 in Clermont- Ferrand; † August 1, 1980 in Hockenheim ) was a French racing driver and Formula 1 driver. His career in the highest class of motorsports began 1972. 1980 he had an accident while testing at the Hockenheimring fatal.
Career
Coming from the French Formula 2 was Depailler on July 2, 1972 at the Grand Prix of France in Clermont -Ferrand on a Tyrrell made his debut in Formula 1 He was with the British team alongside François Cevert as the successor of three-time World Champion Jackie Stewart for 1974 provided, however, injured in private motocross riding on the leg and fell out shortly. In its place, the South African Jody Scheckter was committed. By Ceverts fatal accident at the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen in 1973 Depailler came unexpectedly but still his regular place. The Tyrrell team he held over the next five years, the loyalty. The Frenchman drove numerous top rankings in the race and has become an excellent test pilots with high technical expertise.
In the 1976 season, he finished not only five times second place, it was used in the Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji for the first time a Grand Prix victory near, but the American Mario Andretti had to concede defeat in the Lotus. His teammate Scheckter, however, adopted as a World Cup bronze medalist of Tyrrell. In that season the legendary six-wheel Tyrrell (ref. P34 ) was used, in the development Depailler was heavily involved. However, the concept of this race car could not prevail. After an eventful 1977 season on the side of Sweden Ronnie Peterson Frenchman celebrated his first victory in 1978 at the Grand Prix of Monaco and moved end of the season to the French Ligier team.
There he stood in the shadow of his new team-mate Jacques Laffite, who drove with two wins early in the season for the world title. Sharp rivalry drew from the ratio of the two Frenchmen. At the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama Depailler meanwhile, celebrated his second (and last) victory. On Pentecost Sunday 1979, he crashed the kite flying in the vicinity of his home town and pulled numerous fractures in both legs to. After several surgeries and many hours of therapy, he was able to make his comeback at Alfa Romeo in January 1980. The Italian team did not last obliged him because of his abilities as a test pilot. In fact, the car made amazing progress in terms of speed, regular top- 10 finishes in qualifying were often zunichtegemacht by defects.
Depailler but could not reap the fruits of his labor. On 1 August 1980, he suffered a fatal accident while testing at Hockenheim in the East Stand. The cause of the accident was never fully understood. Sanding marks on the asphalt in the input curve indicated a material breach, such as a wishbone or the aerodynamic "Aprons". The East Stand should be secured for the August 10, held the Grand Prix of Germany with additional catch fences. This fencing, however, were at the time of the accident still curled up behind a crash barrier.