Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Jean-Pierre Jabouille
Born	Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (1942-10-01) 1 October 1942 Paris, France
Died	2 February 2023(2023-02-02) (aged 80)
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, engineer
Years active	1967–1990s
Known for	Formula One racing driver; Renault's pioneering turbocharged engine development

Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (1 October 1942 – 2 February 2023) was a French racing driver and engineer who competed in Formula One between and . He achieved two Grand Prix victories during Renault's pioneering turbocharged era in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Over the course of 55 Formula One Grand Prix starts, Jabouille claimed two wins. Additionally, he raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the late 1960s through the early 1990s, representing teams such as Alpine, Matra, Sauber, and Peugeot. He secured four overall third-place finishes at Le Mans in 1973, 1974, 1992, and 1993.

Early and personal life

Jabouille was born on 1 October 1942 in Paris during the period of Nazi occupation in France.

Career

Jabouille began his motorsport career in French Formula Three in 1967, finishing second to François Cevert in 1968 while also maintaining his own vehicle. In 1969, he joined Alpine as a development driver, competing intermittently in Formula Two and sports car events. Partnering with Matra, he achieved third place at the Le Mans 24 Hours in both 1973 and 1974. The same year, he won the Formula neo race at Hockenheim and finished runner-up in the European 2-litre championship driving for Alpine. Jabouille made his initial Formula One appearances in 1974 but failed to qualify an Iso–Marlboro at the 1974 French Grand Prix and a Surtees at the 1974 Austrian Grand Prix.

In 1975, after parting ways with Alpine, Jabouille secured support from Elf to develop his own chassis for Formula Two. He finished second to Jacques Laffite that season and made his full Grand Prix debut with the factory Tyrrell team, finishing twelfth at the 1975 French Grand Prix. Concentrating on Formula Two in 1976, he claimed the championship title.

Formula One

Renault signed Jabouille to spearhead development of their new 1.5-litre turbocharged engine for the 1977 season. The RS01 made its debut at the 1977 British Grand Prix, but this groundbreaking turbo engine initially suffered from fragility and significant turbo lag, particularly hindering performance on tighter circuits. Leveraging his engineering expertise, Jabouille persisted with improvements to the RS01, leading to noteworthy qualifying results in 1978, including Renault’s first points finish with a fourth place at the fuel-demanding 1978 United States Grand Prix East held at Watkins Glen International, where fuel efficiency was a critical challenge for the Renault turbo.

In 1979, Renault expanded to a two-car lineup by adding René Arnoux. Jabouille earned Renault’s maiden Formula One pole position at the 1979 South African Grand Prix and secured their first victory at the home event, the 1979 French Grand Prix, marking the debut win for a turbocharged engine in Formula One history. He also took pole positions at both the 1979 German Grand Prix and the 1979 Italian Grand Prix, but ongoing reliability problems restricted his points tally to that single victory.

During the 1980 season, Jabouille added two more pole positions and won the 1980 Austrian Grand Prix. However, a suspension failure caused a serious crash at the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, resulting in a broken leg shortly after he had signed with Ligier for 1981. Due to injuries, he missed the first two races of that year; after struggling to qualify subsequently, he retired from racing mid-season. Transitioning into management roles, he joined Ligier’s team leadership in 1982 and later oversaw their collaboration with Curb Racing for participation in the 1984 CART series.

Sportscars

In the mid-1980s, Jabouille made a return to competitive racing through participation in the French Supertouring Championship. He then collaborated with Peugeot on their sports car initiative at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, securing third-place overall in both 1992 and 1993. Following this, in 1994, he took over from Jean Todt as the head of Peugeot Sport. However, his tenure was marred by unsuccessful Formula One engine supply agreements with McLaren and Jordan, which ultimately resulted in his departure in 1995. Afterward, Jabouille managed his own sports car racing team within the ISRS series.

Death

Jabouille passed away on 2 February 2023 at the age of 80.

Career summary

align=left Renault Elf Sport Calberson rowspan=2 1 rowspan=2 00 rowspan=2 N/A rowspan=2 4th align=left Renault Elf Sport N/A DNF - !1979 Formula One Equipe Renault Elf 14 1 4 00 9 13th !19801800Formula OneEquipe Renault Elf1312019th-!1981181Formula OneEquipe Talbot Gitanes30NC-!1987World Touring Car ChampionshipBastos Racing Team10NC-!198924 Hours of Le MansTeam Sauber Mercedes11N/A5th-!19901990 World Sportscar ChampionshipPeugeot Talbot Sport20NC-!1991199124 Hours of Le MansPeugeot Talbot Sport11N/A DNF-!1992199224 Hours of Le MansPeugeot Talbot Sport11N/A3rd-!1993199324 Hours of Le MansPeugeot Talbot Sport11N/A3rd

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1968	European Formula Two	Matra Sports	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Société des Automobiles Alpine	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1969	24 Hours of Le Mans	Société des Automobiles Alpine	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1970	European Formula Two	Constructions Mécaniques Pygmée	2	0	0	0	0	2	16th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Equipe Matra-Simca	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1971	European Formula Two	Equipe Tecno Elf	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
1972	European Formula Two	Elf John Coombs	8	0	0	0	1	7	14th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Équipe Matra-Simca Shell	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1973	European Formula Two	Elf John Coombs	5	0	0	0	0	3	24th
	24 Hours of Le Mans	Équipe Matra-Simca Shell	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	3rd
1974	European Formula Two	Ecurie Elf	7	1	1	3	3	20	4th
	World Sportscar Championship	Équipe Gitanes	2	0	0	0	1	0	NC
	Formula One	Frank Williams Racing Cars	0	0	0	0	0	NC |-		Team Surtees	0	0	0	0	-	rowspan=3 1975	European Formula Two	Ecurie Elf	13	1	1	3	3	24	5th
		World Sportscar Championship	Elf Alpine-Renault	4	1	2	1			2	0	NC
Formula One	Elf Tyrrell Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
rowspan=3 1976	European Formula Two	Ecurie Elf	12	3	4	1	6	53	style="background:#FFFFBF"|1st
World Sportscar Championship	Elf Alpine-Renault	4	0	0	0	1	0	NC
24 Hours of Le Mans	Renault Sport	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
rowspan=2 1977	Formula One	Equipe Renault Elf	4	0	0	0	0	0	NC
24 Hours of Le Mans	Équipe Renault Elf	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
rowspan=3 1978	Formula One	Equipe Renault Elf	14	0	0	0	0	3	17th
24 Hours of Le Mans

Full European Formula Two Championship results

(legend) (Races shown in bold denote pole position; those in italics represent fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Power unit	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pos.	Points
Template:F2	Matra Sports	Matra MS7	Cosworth FVA	HOC	THR	JAR	PAL	TUL	ZAN	PER	HOC 9	VAL									NC	0
Template:F2	Constructions Mécaniques Pygmée	Pygmée MDB15	Cosworth FVA	THR DNQ	HOC	BAR 11	ROU DNQ	PER 8	TUL	IMO DNQ	HOC DNS										16th	2

|- Template:... |- |}

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Vehicle	Category	Laps completed	Pos.	Class Pos.
1968	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Société des Automobiles Alpine	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean Guichet	Alpine A220-Renault-Gordini	P 3.0L	185	DNF	DNF
1969	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Société des Automobiles Alpine	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrick Depailler	Alpine A220/69-Renault-Gordini	P 3.0L	209	DNF	DNF
1970	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Equipe Matra Sports-Simca	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrick Depailler Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Tim Schenken	Matra-Simca MS650	P 3.0L	70	DNF	DNF
1972	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Equipe Matra Sports-Simca Royal Dutch Shell Shell sponsorship	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall David Hobbs	Matra-Simca MS660C	S 3.0L	278	DNF	DNF
1973	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Equipe Matra Sports-Simca Shell team	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Matra-Simca MS670B	S 3.0L	331	3rd	3rd
1974	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Gitanes Équipe Gitanes	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall François Migault	Matra-Simca MS670C	S 3.0L	324	3rd	3rd
1976	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Renault Sport	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrick Tambay Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall José Dolhem	Renault Alpine A442	S 3.0L	135	DNF	DNF
1977	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Renault Sport Équipe Renault Elf	Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Derek Bell	Renault Alpine A442	S +2.0L	257	DNF	DNF
1978	= Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Renault Sport Equipe Renault Elf Sport Calberson	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Guy Fréquelin Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean Ragnotti {{flagicon{FRA}}} José Dolhem	Renault Alpine A442A	S +2.0L	358	4th	4th
	{{flagicon{FRA}}} Equipe Renault Elf Sport	{{flagicon{FRA}}} Patrick Depailler	Renault Alpine A443	S +2.0L	279	DNF	DNF
1989	{{flagicon{DEU}}} Team Sauber Mercedes	{{flagicon{FRA}}} Jean-Louis Schlesser {{flagicon{FRA}}} Alain Cudini	Sauber C9-Mercedes	C1	378	\5th	\5th
1991	\ align= " left " >{{ flagicon { FRA } }} Peugeot Talbot Sport	\ align= " left " >{{ flagicon { ITA } }} Mauro Baldi < br >{{ flagicon { FRA } }} Philippe Alliot	\ align= " left " > Peugeot 905	\ C1	\22	\DNF	\DNF
1992	\ Peugeot Talbot Sport	\ Mauro Baldi < br > Philippe Alliot	\ Peugeot 905 Evo 1B	\ C1	\345	\ 3rd	\ 3rd
1993	\ Peugeot Talbot Sport	\ Mauro Baldi < br > Philippe Alliot	\ Peugeot 905 Evo 1B	\ C1	\367	\ 3rd	\ 3rd

Comprehensive Formula One Results

(key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position)

Year	Team	Car Model	Power Unit	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC Position	Points
1974	Frank Williams Racing Cars	Iso–Marlboro FW	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	NED	FRA DNQ	GBR	GER							NC	0
	Team Surtees	Surtees TS16													AUT DNQ	ITA	CAN	USA
1975	Elf Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell 007	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	NED	FRA 12	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	USA				NC	0

Year	Team	Car Model	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	WDC Position	Points
1977	Equipe Renault (Elf)	Renault RS01	Renault-Gordini EF1 V6 turbocharged, 1.5L	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	AUT	NED Ret	ITA Ret	USA Ret	-	1978	Equipe Renault (Elf)	RS01 with EF1 V6 turbocharged engine	ARG	BRA	RSA Ret	USW Ret	MON 10	style="background:#CFCFFF;" :BEL {{small :NC}} :style="background:#CFCFFF;" :ESP {{small :13}} ...	- rowspan=2| 79	Equipe Renault	RS01	EF1 V6 turbocharged engine ...	13th	9
RS10 ...	[[French GP Win by Turbo Car, Renault RS10, F1 Turbo Engine History, Renault Turbo Engine Development, French GP Victory, Renault Gordini EF1 V6 Turbocharged Engine, Renault F1 Turbocharged Engines, F1 Turbo Engine Development, French GP, France, F1 Race, Renault F1, Renault F1 Turbo Engine History, Renault Gordini EF1 V6 Turbocharged Engine History, F1 Turbo Engine History, Turbocharged Engine History, Renault Turbo Engine History, Renault F1 Turbocharged Engines Development, French GP First Win by a Turbo Car ]] Winner ...

1980 | nowrap | Equipe Renault / Elf Aquitaine | nowrap | Renault RE20 | nowrap | EF1 V6 turbocharged power unit | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | ARG Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | BRA Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | RSA Retired | style="background:#CFCFFF;" | USW Finished 10th | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | BEL Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | MON Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | FRA Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | GBR Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | GER Retired | style="background:#FFFFBF;" | AUT Victory | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | NED Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | ITA Retired | style="background:#EFCFFF;" | CAN Retired |

8th place

9 Points

1981

nowrap | Equipe Ligier Talbot Gitanes

nowrap | Ligier JS17

nowrap | Matra MS81 V12

USW

BRA

style="background:#FFCFCF;" | ARG DNQ

style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SMR NC

style="background:#EFCFFF;" | BEL Retired

style="background:#FFCFCF;" | MON DNQ

style="background:#EFCFFF;" | ESP Retired

FRA

GBR

GER

AUT

NED

ITA

CAN

CPL

colspan=2| NC

0 Points