Patrick Depailler

Patrick Depailler

Depailler at Dijon in 1975
Born	(1944-08-09)9 August 1944 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Died	1 August 1980(1980-08-01) (aged 35) Hockenheim, West Germany
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	French
Active years	1972, 1974–1980
Teams	Tyrrell, Ligier, Alfa Romeo
Entries	95
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	19
Career points	139 (141)[1]
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	4
First entry	1972 French Grand Prix
First win	1978 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1979 Spanish Grand Prix
Last entry	1980 British Grand Prix

Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (French: [patʁik ɑ̃dʁe øʒɛn ʒozɛf dəpaje]; 9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 95 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 2 July 1972. He also participated in several non-championship Formula One races.

Depailler was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme. As a child, he was inspired by Jean Behra. In Formula One, he joined a Tyrrell team that was beginning a long, slow decline, eventually moving to the erratic Ligier team before finally ending up with the revived Alfa Romeo squad in 1980. Depailler was helping to advance this team up the grid when he was killed in a crash at Hockenheim on 1 August 1980, during a private testing session. He was 35 years old at the time.

He won two races, secured one pole position, achieved 19 podiums, and scored a total of 141 championship points. As of 2024^[update], Depailler jointly holds the record with four drivers (Lando Norris, Mika Häkkinen, Jean Alesi and Eddie Irvine) for scoring the most podiums before winning a Grand Prix (15).^[2]