Jean-Pierre Jabouille, the engineer

Jean-Pierre Jabouille (1942-2023) was a French racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grand Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault’s turbocharged programme, that he partly initiated, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabouille also raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Alpine, Matra, Sauber, and Peugeot, and collecting four third overall finishes in 1973, 1974, 1992 and 1993. “The great blond” was one of the last of a breed of Formula One drivers, who were also engineers.

Not long ago, Jean-Pierre Jabouille recalled the difficult beginnings of the Renault V6 turbo engine: “The turbo-lag was enormous, a few seconds, which made the car impossible to drive, with a rear end that lacked grip,… we were four seconds off the pace! I had to conduct many test sessions to gradually resolve the problem, and persuade my guys we also needed a chassis accordingly. Marcel Hubert thought me the finesses of aerodynamics, and it fascinated me. I was like a fish in the water in the design department.”

Jabouille the engineer, but also an excellent race car driver, found glory, and was the first one to impose the turbo technology, when he won the 1979 French Grand Prix in Dijon, in his Renault (picture below). A major figure of our sport has gone, at the age of 80.