Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille (1 October 1942 – 2 February 2023) was a French racing driver and engineer, who competed in Formula One from to . Jabouille won two Formula One Grands Prix across seven seasons.

Jabouille raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabouille also raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, driving for Alpine, Matra, Sauber, and Peugeot and collecting four third-place overall finishes in 1973, 1974, 1992, and 1993.

Early and personal life Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille was born on 1 October 1942 in Paris, then occupied by Nazi Germany. He was of Creusois descent through his father, Robert Jabouille (1899–1967), an architect for the City of Paris who co-designed the current (third) Pont de Grenelle and the Allée des Cygnes. Jabouille briefly studied fine arts at the Sorbonne before turning to motorsport, and went on to qualify as an engineer.

He met his future racing partner and brother-in-law Jacques Laffite as a child, at a roller-skating rink in Paris, when Jabouille was twelve and Laffite eleven. In 1974, Jabouille married Geneviève Cottin; the couple divorced in 1997. Three years later, Laffite married Geneviève's sister, Bernadette Cottin.

Career

Jabouille first made his mark in French Formula Three in 1967, and continued in 1968, maintaining the car himself on his way to the runner up spot behind François Cevert. For 1969, he was contracted as a development driver by Alpine, having several disjointed runs in Formula Two and sports cars. In 1973, he co-drove a Matra to third at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and repeated this feat in 1974, when he also won the Formula neo race at Hockenheim, and finished as runner-up in the European 2-litre series for Alpine. He also made his first appearances in Formula One, failing to qualify an Iso–Marlboro at the French Grand Prix, and a Surtees at the Austrian Grand Prix.

1975 saw Jabouille sever his ties with Alpine, and gain Elf backing to make his own Formula Two chassis. He finished runner-up to Jacques Laffite, but finally made his full Grand Prix debut, finishing 12th in a works Tyrrell at the French Grand Prix. For 1976, he concentrated on Formula Two, finally winning the title.

Formula One Jabouille was signed up by Formula One team Renault to develop their new 1.5l turbocharged engine for 1977. The RS01 car debuted at the 1977 British Grand Prix, but initially the turbo engine (a first for Formula One) was fragile and suffered from severe turbo lag, making it difficult to drive on tight circuits. However, Jabouille, who was an engineer by trade persevered and developed the RS01 throughout, recording several notable qualifying positions in 1978, and landed the marque's first points with fourth place at the United States Grand Prix East at Watkins Glen, a circuit particularly tough on fuel consumption- one of the Renault turbo's biggest weaknesses.

1979 saw Renault expand to run a second car for René Arnoux. Jabouille secured Renault's first Formula One pole at the South African Grand Prix, and then won their first victory, fittingly at the French Grand Prix, also from pole. This was the first victory for a turbocharged car in Formula One. He took two more poles, at the German and Italian Grands Prix, but poor reliability meant the win was his only score.

In 1980, Jabouille took two more poles and another win at the Austrian Grand Prix. A suspension failure in the Canadian Grand Prix caused a sizeable accident, which left him with a broken leg, just after he had signed with Ligier for 1981. His injuries saw him sit out the first two races of the 1981 season, but it soon became clear he was not fully fit, failing to qualify for two of his four attempts, at which point he decided to retire from Formula One. Subsequently, he stayed with Ligier and became team manager in 1982. In 1984, he transferred to Ligier's joint entry with Curb Racing in the 1984 CART series, as team manager.

Sportscars Jabouille returned to racing in the mid-1980s, driving in the French Supertouring Championship before joining Peugeot to help develop their sports car programme at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This culminated in third places for the marque in both the 1992 and 1993 races. In 1994, he succeeded Jean Todt as director of Peugeot Sport, but unsuccessful seasons for Peugeot as engine suppliers in Formula One with McLaren and Jordan saw him sacked in 1995. Following that, he ran his own sports car team in the ISRS.

Death Jabouille died on 2 February 2023 at the age of 80.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Pts. 1974 Frank Williams Racing Cars Iso–Marlboro FW Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER NC 0 Team Surtees Surtees TS16 AUT ITA CAN USA 1975 Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 007 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA NC 0 1977 Equipe Renault Elf Renault RS01 Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t ARG BRA RSA USW ESP MON BEL SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN JPN NC 0 1978 Equipe Renault Elf Renault RS01 Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN 17th 3 1979 Equipe Renault Elf Renault RS01 Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t ARG BRA RSA USW 13th 9 Renault RS10 ESP BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA 1980 Equipe Renault Elf Renault RE20 Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t ARG BRA RSA USW BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA 8th 9 1981 Equipe Talbot Gitanes Ligier JS17 Matra MS81 3.0 V12 USW BRA ARG SMR BEL MON ESP FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN CPL NC 0