Swansong

In 1979, Jacky Ickx ended his career as a Grand Prix driver at Ligier. He stood in for the injured Patrick Depailler in the very competitive JS11, but could only gain a fifth and sixth place finish, finding the ground effect cars dangerous and disconcerting, ill-suited to his driving style.

The Belgian admitted: “This generation of ground effect Formula One cars were very difficult to drive, and I must say, at this stage of my career, I didn’t have the necessary motivation any more, to push for the last four or five tenths, like my team mate Jacques Laffite did.”

At the 1979 French Grand Prix held at Dijon-Prenois, marked by Renault’s first F1 victory driven by Jean-Pierre Jabouille and the fantastic battle for second place between Villeneuve and Arnoux, Ickx qualified 14th and was forced to retire in the race.

Outside of Formula One, Ickx continued to win races in Can-Am and in sports car series, where he now had decided to concentrate on, exclusively.

Pictures by the excellent Rainer W. Schlegelmilch