In the 1980s, French Formula One driver Patrick Tambay won two Grand Prix for Ferrari and on Sunday, his family said that he had died at the age of 73 after a long illness, know who was his wife
Tambay worked for the Theodore, McLaren, and Renault teams. He had Parkinson’s disease and had been sick for a long time. He won his two titles while he was with Ferrari.
Ex-F1 Driver Patrick Tambay Cause Of Death, Obituary, Age, Family, Wife, Stats, Net Worth 2022
We are all truly saddened by the news of the passing of Patrick Tambay. He was one of the true stars of the 80s winning two races with the Scuderia and contributing to winning the Manufacturers’ titles in 1982 and 1983. #RIPPatrick pic.twitter.com/hn6Yeq1kEe
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) December 4, 2022
The first one was at Hockenheim in 1982, and the second was at Imola, the home track of one of the most famous Italian car builders, the following year. His move to Ferrari was caused by a tragedy.
He replaced Gilles Villeneuve after his friend died in an accident at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982. A few weeks later, Didier Pironi, the other Ferrari driver and the leader of the championship at the time, also died in an accident at the German Grand Prix.
Tambay gave credit for his win at Hockenheim, which gave the team’s fans a morale boost at just the right time, to Villeneuve, Pironi, and Enzo Ferrari. He thanked Ferrari for having faith in him.
Tambay was the godfather of Jacques Villeneuve, who won the world title in 1997. Tambay, who was born in Paris, made his F1 debut at the British Grand Prix in 1977, when he was 28 years old, driving for the Theodore team out of Hong Kong.
After that, he had two bad seasons with McLaren, took a break, and came back to racing in 1981, first with Theodore and then with Ligier. After Ferrari, he went to Renault, where he only got three podiums in 1984 and 1985. In his last season, 1986, he got two points with Lola-Haas.
Patrick Tambay Changing His Career Moves
He started in 123 Grand Prix races and finished his career with five pole positions and a best finish of fourth in the world championship in 1983. He switched from F1 to endurance racing, and in 1988 and 1989, he finished third in the Dakar Rally. Also raced in the Le Mans 24 hour race several times, with his best finish being fourth in a Jaguar in 1989.
Before he joined F1, Tambay did well in the now-defunct American Can-Am sports car series, where he won a dozen races and the championships in 1977 and 1978. After he retired, he stayed involved with F1 as a TV commentator and went on to have a successful career in local politics for the conservative Republicans party.
Tambay was born on 25 June 1949 in Paris, France and was previously married to Dominique and Diana. His net worth stood at $2 million.
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