Greatest Racecar? Jacques Laffite’s 1981 Talbot Ligier

I feel that 1981 was a year where I could have won the F1 World Championship, but we gave silly points away and were not intelligent enough to pick up enough to win the title. The car, Talbot Ligier-Matra JS17, once developed, was the greatest racecar I had driven. Remember, 1981 was the year side skirts on the car had to be lifted. There had to be a gap between the side of the car and the road when it was stationary. All the teams in Formula One decided to make two types of spring, this was not in the rules, but there was some ambiguity and a loophole that could be used. These springs would allow the ride height of the car to lower when the car was at speed and rise when it stood still. When the FIA officials checked the cars before they went out on track they were legal, and when they returned from the track they were legal; everyone was happy. Guy Ligier wanted to use just one spring, he thought the other teams would be told to remove the second spring as the cars did not conform to the regulations. The cars were prepared for Argentina. The only person available to test the springs was Guy himself. Just think about this: he weighed 85 kilos and I, 56 kilos. He tested the car at either Ricard or Clermont-Ferrand, it’s not important. What was important, and of no use, he fitted springs for his weight. When I drove, the car was always far too high. The car was quick enough and could have gone faster, but the aerodynamics did not work as we lost top end speed. We eventually got the problem sorted out, even with the one spring. After the American races at the beginning of the year we went racing in Europe, that’s when the real season starts. My car was great; I was a regular podium finisher, winning in Austria and again in Canada.

If I’d had better luck I’d have won more races. For example, I had a good race in Jarama. Jarama would have been better if it had not have been for Villeneuve. I was on the front row, in pole position. The track was such that the car would roll downhill from the grid spot. A usual trick was to put a stone under a wheel; this would be enough to hold the car.