Patrick Depailler

Patrick Depailler was a French racing driver, born in Clermont-Ferrand on 9 August 1944, who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980 and won two Grands Prix across eight seasons. He drove for Tyrrell, spent 1979 with Ligier and joined the revived Alfa Romeo team in 1980. His first win came at the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix in a Tyrrell-Ford, and he won the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama for Ligier. Over his career he took one pole position, four fastest laps and 19 podiums, and he jointly holds the record for the most podiums before a first Grand Prix win, fifteen. A hang gliding accident in June 1979 broke both his legs and cost him part of that season. He was killed on 1 August 1980 when a suspension failure threw his Alfa Romeo into the barrier during testing at Hockenheim.