Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (March 26, 1952 - August 23, 1987) was a French racing driver, who competed for the Tyrrell, Ligier and Ferrari teams during his career.
One highlight of his career was beating his team-mate Gilles Villeneuve at the death at the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix, angering Villeneuve who refused to ever speak to Pironi again. He was true to his word as Villeneuve was to be killed at the very next race in Belgium, trying to better Pironi's lap time.
Pironi's career also came to an end later that year when he smashed out in qualifying for the German Grand Prix, inducing horrific injuries to both his legs. At that point, he was leading the championship, which was to be eventually won by Keke Rosberg.
Pironi later took up powerboating, which proved to be his downfall when on August 23, 1987 he was killed in an accident in Southampton, England after his boat flipped over, also killing two of his crew members.
A few weeks after the accident, his girlfriend gave birth to twins Didier and Gilles, named in honour of Pironi and Villeneuve.
Career
Before Formula One
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1982 German Grand Prix
Death
Formula One Statistical Overview
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Elf Team Tyrrell | Tyrrell-Cosworth | 7 | 15th | Report |
| 1979 | Team Tyrrell | Tyrrell-Cosworth | 14 | 10th | Report |
| Candy Tyrrell Team | |||||
| 1980 | Equipe Ligier Gitanes | Ligier-Ford Cosworth | 32 | 5th | Report |
| 1981 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 9 | 13th | Report |
| 1982 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 39 | 2nd | Report |
Career Statistics
Template:Statbox
Wins
| No. | Race |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1980 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1982 San Marino Grand Prix |
| 3 | 1982 Dutch Grand Prix |
Career Results
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pts | Pos
Template:1978 Results/16 Template:1979 Results/16 Template:1980 Results/16 Template:1981 Results/16 Template:1982 Results/16 | |||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes
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