Tambay moves to Talbot-Ligier

Patrick Tambay qualified eleventh at the wheel of his Talbot Ligier JS17-Matra (photo above) for the 1981 Dutch Grand Prix held at the Zandvoort circuit. However, the Frenchman’s race didn’t go very far, as he was involved in a collision on the first lap.

Tambay had started the 1981 season in Teddy Yip’s Theodore team, but moved to Ligier alongside Jacques Laffite from the eighth round of the season, replacing Jean-Pierre Jabouille, who was still not fully recovered from his serious accident at the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix. 

The Talbot Ligier Matra JS17 was competitive and allowed Jacques Laffite to win the Austrian and Canadian Grand Prix and finish fourth in the drivers’ championship, behind Nelson Piquet (world champion in his Brabham) and the Williams drivers, Carlos Reutemann and Alan Jones.

Patrick Tambay failed to score any championship points in eight Grand Prix with the blue team, having to settle for the single point scored at Long Beach driving the Theodore. Photo below: Jacques Laffite leads Patrick Tambay during the 1981 Las Vegas Grand Prix.