Confidence
Guy Ligier (picture above) had good reasons to feel confident that his two drivers, Patrick Depailler and Jacques Laffite, will perform well during the 1979 Formula One season.
It was the first time, since he launched the Ligier F1 team in 1976, that Guy secured enough budget, mainly from cigarette brand Gitanes and petroleum company ELF, to field a second car so he hired, highly rated, Patrick Depailler, who he lured away from Tyrrell.
The deal with engine supplier Matra ceased end of 1978 and Ligier built a Cosworth-powered wing-car, the Ligier JS11. The single-seater designed by Gérard Ducarouge was right away very competitive and began the season with back to back wins for Jacques Laffite in Argentina and in Brazil. They seemed unbeatable.
However, the JS11 faced serious competition when Williams and Ferrari introduced aerodynamically improved cars, and besides one win in Spain for Depailler (picture below), the rest of the season was less successful for the French team. Jody Scheckter and Ferrari won the Drivers’ and Constructors titles. The JS11 remains, in my eyes, one of the prettiest cars in racing history.