Jean Pierre Jabouille, a legend in Formula One, has died at the age of 80. In 1977, when Renault joined F1, the Frenchman was a big part of it, know his cause of death
The Parisian won the European Formula 2 championship in 1976. From 1975 to 1981, he made 49 F1 starts for Tyrrell. His first full race was the French Grand Prix in 1975. But Jabouille will always be linked to the brand Renault, with which he won most of his grand prix races.
Jean Pierre Jabouille first Renault driver to win F1 cause of death, age, formula one career stats, record, net worth
His cause of death was due to age related ailments with his net worth at $1 million.
In 1979, Jean Pierre Jabouille won the French Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois. This was the first time that Renault had won a Formula 1 race. The win was not only a big deal for Renault, but it was also the first time a turbocharged engine won a grand prix.
Stefano Domenicali:
I am saddened by the news that Jean-Pierre Jabouille has passed away. He gave so much to motorsport and F1 and we cherish his memory and achievements. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time pic.twitter.com/hHuDwdDV0u
— F1 Media (@F1Media) February 2, 2023
Together with teammate Rene Arnoux, Jabouille started the race from the pole, which was the first of three times he did so. Jabouille then pulled away to win by 14 seconds.
The most exciting part of the race was the fight for second place in the last few laps, when Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve raced wheel-to-wheel until the checkered flag. The next year, in the Austrian Grand Prix, Jabouille won his second and last race.
Facing set back after broken leg
He only finished in the top 10 in 10 of his 49 races. His career was then cut short when he broke his leg in the Canadian Grand Prix. After crashing out of the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix while driving for Talbot, he quit F1. Jean Pierre Jabouille also raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours 13 times between 1968 and 1993, with French brands Alpine, Renault, Matra, and Peugeot.
He won four overall podiums. Jabouille stopped driving after the 1993 Le Mans race, where he finished third with Philippe Alliot and Mauro Baldi, giving the Peugeot 905 prototype a historic 1-2-3 finish for Peugeot Sport.
Then, when Jean Todt went to work for Ferrari, Jabouille replaced him as head of Peugeot Sport. He was a key part of the company’s F1 entry as an engine supplier. But he was replaced in 1995 even though he had won several podiums with McLaren in 1994. He then spent all of his time racing sports cars in his home country of France.
Fans mourn the loss of Jean
After news of his death emerged, one fan tweeted: “One of the giants of the early turbo era and that fantastic French partnership with Rene Arnoux at Renault. RIP.”
While a fellow fan added: “RiP Jean Pierre Jabouille… You remain the first and only one Jean Pierre.”
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