Depailler drove the radical six-wheel P34 in ’76 to four 2nd place finishes, but in ’77 with the P34B, could only repeat the feat once. He retired from the ’77 Dutch Grand Prix (pictured) with engine problems.
Photo: Maureen Magee
When he was a kid in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Patrick Depailler’s idol was French motorcycle champion and racing driver Jean Behra. The two were alike in more ways than one, as they shared a living-for-the-moment attitude that didn’t always pay off. Surprisingly, though, Patrick’s devil-may-care lifestyle didn’t really do his motor racing career that much harm in the end. His Formula One career didn’t start too well, though. Ken Tyrrell had invited him to race his team’s third car in a couple of Grands Prix that year, but it didn’t happen. Soon afterward, Patrick broke his leg after falling off a motorbike he was messing about on—so no 1973 Formula One debut.
That might have pissed Ken off for a bit, but he still wanted Depailler to replace the late François Cevert, who had died while practicing for the 1973 USGP at Watkins Glen, and drive for him in 1974. Cevert’s death was a bitter blow, because Ken wanted him to take over from three-times F1 World Champion Jackie Stewart, who was due to retire from the sport.
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