Jacques Laffite
Jacques-Henri Laffite | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 21, 1943 Paris, France |
| Occupation(s) | Racing driver, commentator |
| Years active | 1974–1986 (Formula One) |
| Known for | Formula One racing driver with six Grand Prix victories |
Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a retired French racing driver and commentator who participated in Formula One between and , achieving six Grand Prix victories throughout a 13-season career.
Originating from Paris, Laffite honed his racing skills at the Winfield Racing School located in Magny-Cours in 1968. Prior to his Formula One debut at the 1974 German Grand Prix with Frank Williams, he competed twice in the 24 Hours of Le Mans representing Ligier. He remained with Frank Williams until , where he earned his initial podium finish at the and claimed the 1975 European Formula Two Championship title driving for Martini. In , Laffite transitioned to Ligier, where he secured multiple podiums and recorded his first pole position at the 1976 Italian Grand Prix. Continuing with Ligier in , he notched his inaugural Grand Prix victory at the .
After an unfruitful season in , Ligier introduced the competitive Ligier JS11 tailored for the ground effect era. Laffite won the opening two races of , including a grand slam at the , but concluded the year fourth overall due to eight retirements. He replicated fourth place finishes in both and championships, narrowly losing out on the latter by six points to Nelson Piquet, while adding several wins to his record.
The season saw Laffite fail to finish in 11 of 15 races, prompting a move to Williams for two seasons marked by mechanical unreliability and no victories. Returning to Ligier in , he achieved multiple podium placements before a severe crash at the 1986 British Grand Prix ended his Formula One tenure. Laffite retired with a record comprising six wins, seven pole positions, seven fastest laps, and 32 podiums.
Outside Formula One, Laffite claimed victories in the World Sportscar Championship driving for Kauhsen and triumphed in the BMW M1 Procar Championship with BMW. In 1987, he competed in the World Touring Car Championship with Alfa Corse, followed by participation in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft from 1990 through 1992. Throughout his career, he entered nine editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans between and across various categories. Upon retiring from active racing, Laffite served as a presenter for TF1 from 1997 until 2012.
Early years
Jacques-Henri Laffite was born on 21 November 1943 in Paris. He attended the private institution Cours Hattemer and pursued racing training at France’s Winfield Racing School in 1968.
Formula One career
Laffite’s Formula One debut occurred during the 1974 season, driving for Frank Williams’ team, then known as Iso–Marlboro. In 1975, now with the renamed Williams, he secured a second-place finish at the German Grand Prix held at the Nürburgring circuit.
In , Laffite joined the French outfit Ligier, accumulating 20 points along with a pole position at the Italian Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix victory came at the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix held in Anderstorp.
The 1979 campaign commenced strongly with wins in the opening two races. Laffite remained a contender for the World Championship until late in the season but ultimately finished fourth overall with 36 points. Subsequent seasons maintained consistent results, including two further fourth-place championship finishes and three additional race wins. However, by 1982, his performance declined, ending up seventeenth with five points.
During the early 1980s, Laffite also took part in non-championship events such as the Australian Grand Prix, finishing second in 1982 and third in 1983 while driving a Ford I4-powered Ralt RT4 featuring a 1.6-litre engine.
He returned to Williams for two seasons, scoring 11 points then five points respectively. Back at Ligier in , he earned three podiums—at Great Britain, Germany, and Australia—totaling 16 points. In , prior to a crash that resulted in broken legs during the British Grand Prix, he had accumulated 14 points along with two podium finishes. Upon retirement, he was tied with Graham Hill for most Grand Prix starts (176) and remains Ligier’s most successful driver with six victories.
Following his accident, new safety measures were implemented starting from , mandating that drivers’ feet be positioned behind the front axle line.
Career after Formula One
Following his recovery from injuries, Laffite continued his racing career in touring cars, securing 17th place in the first-ever 1987 World Touring Car Championship behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 75 for Alfa Corse. He also participated in the German Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series over three seasons.
Subsequently, he moved into broadcasting, serving as a commentator for the French channel TF1. He provided live coverage during the 1997 European Grand Prix incident involving Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve.
In 2008, Laffite made his entry into the FIA GT3 European Championship, competing at the Bucharest City Challenge with AutoGT Racing Team. At 64 years old, he conducted a test drive of a Renault R27 Formula One car at the Paul Ricard circuit.
Laffite is a father to two daughters, one of whom is Margot Laffite, a Formula One journalist working for Canal+. He has a strong passion for golf and holds shares in Dijon-Bourgogne Golf. Additionally, he owns property near Aubusson in Creuse, demonstrating his connection to that region.
Career summary
(Formula One)| (Equipe Talbot Gitanes)| (15)| (0)| (0)| (0)| (1)| (5)| (17th) (Formula One)| (TAG Williams Team)| (13)| (0)| (0)| (0)| (0)| (11)| (11th) (Formula One)| (Williams Grand Prix Engineering)| (16)| (0)| (0)| (0)| (0)| (5)| (14th) (Formula One)| (Equipe Ligier Gitanes)| (15)| (0)| (0)| (1)| (3)| (16)| (9th) (Formula One)| (Equipe Ligier)| (9)| (0)| (0)| (0)| (2)| (14)| (8th) (World Touring Car Championship ) | (Alfa Corse ) | (6 ) | (0 ) | (0 ) | (0 ) | (0 ) | (86 ) | (17th ) (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/24 Hours of Le Mans ) (Bigazzi M Team/Joest Porsche Racing ) (21/1 ) (1/ ۰ ) (۰/۰ ) (۳/۰ ) (۳/۰ ) (۱۰۷/N/A ) (۷th/۱۴th ) (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft ) (Snobeck S.A.) (21 ) (۰ ) (۲ ) (۱ ) (۳ ) (۸۱ ) (۱۱th ) (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft ) (MS Racing ) (23 ) (۰ ) (۰ ) (۱ ) (۰ ) (۴۳ ) (۱۳th ) (24 Hours of Le Mans ) Jacadi Racing 1 ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ N/A DNF Larbre Compétition ٰ۱ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ N/A DNF Team Bigazzi SRL ٰ۱ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ N/A ٰ۱۱th FIA GT3 European Championship AutoGT Racing ٰ۶ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۲۲nd FIA GT3 European Championship AutoGT Racing ٰ۷ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۲۹th Eurocup Mégane Trophy Oregon Team ٰ۱ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ ٰ۰ NC†| 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 / World Sportscar Championship | (Frank Williams Racing Cars / Willi Kauhsen Racing Team) | (10 / 3) | (0 / 3) | (0 / 0) | (0 / 0) | (1 / 3) | (6 / 60) | (12th / NC) | |
| 1976 | (Formula One / World Sportscar Championship / European Formula Two) | (Ligier Gitanes / Equipe Renault Elf / Fred Opert Racing & Willi Kauhsen Racing Team) | (16 / 4 / 3) | (0 / 0 / 0) | (1 / 3 / 0) | (1 / 0 / 1) | (3 / 1 / 2) | (20 / 15 / 0) | (7th / NC / NC‡) |
| 1977 | (Formula One / European Formula Two / 24 Hours of Le Mans) | (Ligier Gitanes / Fred Opert Racing / Renault Sport) | (17 / 3 / 1) | (1 / 0 / 0) | (0 / 0 / 0) | (1 / 0 / 0) | (2 / 0 / 0) | (18 / 0 / N/A) | (10th / NC / DNF) |
| 1978 | (Formula One/European Formula Two/24 Hours of Le Mans) | (Ligier Gitanes/Maublanc Racing Services/Grand Touring Cars Inc.) | (16/2/1) | (0/0/0) | (0/0/0) | (0/0/0) | (2/0/0) | (19/0/N/A) | (8th/NC/10th) |
| (Formula One/BMW M1 Procar Championship) | (Ligier Gitanes/BMW Motorsport) | (15/4) | (2/1) | (4/1) | (2/0) | (6/2) | (36/35) | (4th/7th) | |
| (Formula One/BMW M1 Procar Championship) | (Ligier Gitanes/BMW Motorsport) | (14/6) | (1/0) | (1/1) | (1/0) | (5/1) | (34/37) | (4th/9th) | |
|
(Equipe Talbot Gitanes)| (15)| (2)| (1)| (1)| (7)| (44)| (4th) |
Graded drivers were not eligible to score points in the European Formula Two Championship
Full 24 Hours of Le Mans Results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Vehicle | Category | Laps Completed | Overall Position | Class Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automobiles Ligier | Pierre Maublanc | Ligier JS2-Maserati | S 3.0 | 195 | DNF | DNF | ||
| Automobiles Ligier | Guy Ligier | Ligier JS2-Maserati | S 3.0 | 24 | DSQ | DSQ | ||
| Automobiles Ligier | Alain Serpaggi | Ligier JS2-Maserati | S 3.0 | 310 | 8th | 5th | ||
| Renault Sport | Patrick Depailler | Renault Alpine A442 | S +2.0 | 289 | DNF | DNF | ||
| Grand Touring Cars Inc. | Vern Schuppan Sam Posey |
Mirage M9-Renault | S +2.0 | 293 | 10th | 5th | ||
| Joest Racing Porsche Racing | Henri Pescarolo Jean-Louis Ricci |
Porsche 962C | C1 | 328 | 14th | 14th | ||
| Jacadi Racing | Michel Maisonneuve Christophe Dechavanne |
Venturi Automobiles 500LM-Renault | GT | 210 | DNF | DNF | ||
| Larbre Compétition | Jacques Alméras Jean-Marie Alméras |
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | GT2 | 94 | DNF | DNF | ||
| Team Bigazzi SRL | Steve Soper Marc Duez |
McLaren F1 GTR-BMW in motorsport | GT1 | 318 | 11th | 9th |
Complete European Formula Two Championship Results
(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Bold denotes pole position; italics indicate fastest lap)
| 'BAR Ret' | 'HOC 10' | 'PAU 2' | 'SAL' 1 | 'HOC' 2 | 'MUG Ret' | 'KAR' 3 | 'PER'7 | 'HOC'18 | 'VLL'3 | colspan=4 | | '3rd' | '31' | |||||||||||||
| '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' | 'VLL'2 |
Complete Formula One World Championship Results
(Template:F1 driver results legend 2#key) (Races in bold signify pole position; races in italics denote fastest lap)
{{F1}|1975}} Williams Ambrozium H7 Racing| Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | "WDC" | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Williams Racing Cars | "Iso–Marlboro" FW series FW model | "Ford Cosworth DFV" V8, capacity:3.0L | 1974 Argentine Grand Prix | 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix | 1974 South African Grand Prix | 1974 Spanish Grand Prix | 1974 Belgian Grand Prix | 1974 Monaco Grand Prix | 1974 Swedish Grand Prix | 1974 Dutch Grand Prix | 1974 French Grand Prix | 1974 British Grand Prix | 1974 German Grand Prix (Retired) |
1974 Austrian Grand Prix (Not Classified) |
1974 Italian Grand Prix (Retired) |
1974 Canadian Grand Prix (15th) |
1974 United States Grand Prix (Retired) |
NC (Not Classified) |
0 points | ||
|
Williams FW02 |
Ford Cosworth DFV V8, capacity:3.0L |
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1975 Argentine Grand Prix |
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1975 Brazilian Grand Prix |
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1975 South African Grand Prix |
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12th |
6 | ||||||||||||||
|
Williams FW04 |
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1975 Monaco Grand Prix |
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1975 Belgian Grand Prix (continued similarly for remaining races)... |
Complete World Touring Car Championship Results
(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Bold marks pole position; italics mark fastest lap)
| align=nowrap Alfa Corse | align=nowrap Alfa Romeo 75 |
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1987 Jarama 4 Hours |
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1987 Burgundy 500 |
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1987 Nürburgring Touring Car GP |
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1987 Spa 24 Hour |
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1987 Grand Prix Brno |
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1987 WTCC Silverstone |
17th |
86 |
|---|
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft Results
(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Bold indicates pole position; italics denote fastest lap)
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ZOL Race1 |
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ZOL Race2 |
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HOC Race1 |
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HOC Race2 |
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NÜR Race1 |
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NÜR Race2 |
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AVU Race1 |
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AVU Race2 |
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MFA Race1 |
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MFA Race2 |
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WUN Race1 |
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WUN Race2 |
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NÜR Race1 (italics) |
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NÜR Race2 |
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NOR Race1 |
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NOR Race2 |
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DIE Race1 |
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DIE Race2 |
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NÜR Race1 |
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NÜR Race2 |
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HOC Race1 |
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HOC Race2 |
!7th | 107 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21st ZOL Race1 | Retired ZOL Race2 | 5th HOC Race1 | 9th HOC Race2 | 5th NÜR Race1 | 6th NÜR Race2 | 15th AVU Race1 | 21st AVU Race2 | 4th WUN Race1 | 5th WUN Race2 | 13th NOR Race1 | 8th NOR Race2 | 3rd DIE Race1 (bold) | Retired DIE Race2 | 3rd NÜR Race1 (bold) | 3rd NÜR Race2 (italics) | DNS ALE Race1 | DNS ALE Race2 | 12th HOC Race1 | 12th HOC Race2 | !11th | 81 | ||
|
9 ZOL race1 || 14 ZOL race2 || 18 NÜR race1 || 10 NÜR race2 || 8 WUN race1 || 6 WUN race2 || 9 AVU race1 (italics) || 4 AVU race2 || 7 HOC race1 || 6 HOC race2 || 11 NÜR race1 || 9 NÜR race2 || 11 NOR race1 || 11 NOR race2 || Ret BRN race1 || 13 BRN race2 || 18 DIE race1 || 8 DIE race2 || 10 ALE race1 || 8 ALE race2 || Ret NÜR race1 || Ret NÜR race2 || Ret HOC race1 || DNS HOC race2 || |
!13th | 43 |
Complete Grand Prix Masters results
(legend) Events shown in bold denote pole positions, while those in italics represent fastest laps.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Team GMF | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5 V8 | RSA Ret |
| Template:Center | ||||
Additional achievements
- Winner of the 800 km of Dijon, 1975
- First place at the 1000 km of Monza, 1975
- Victorious at the 1000 km of Nürburgring, 1975
- Class victory at the 500 km of Monza, 1988
- Class winner at the 500 km of Nürburgring, 1988
- Champion of the 3 hours of Zhuhai, 1994
See also
References
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- French racing drivers
- French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- French Formula One drivers
- Ligier Formula One drivers
- Williams Formula One drivers
- Formula One race winners
- European Formula Two Championship drivers
- French Formula Three Championship drivers
- Racing drivers from Paris
- 1943 births
- Living people
- Grand Prix Masters drivers
- Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- World Touring Car Championship drivers
- World Sportscar Championship drivers
- 24 Hours of Spa drivers
- Oreca drivers
- Team Joest drivers
- Larbre Compétition drivers
- BMW M drivers
- Porsche Carrera Cup France drivers