36 replies to this topic

[Viryfan]

Sadly Patrick passed away, he suffered a lot those past few years due to long illness.

May he rest in peace

[GlenWatkins]

RIP Patrick!

[PayasYouRace]

That's sad to hear. His career was a bit before my time but close enough to feel relevant to my formative years of F1 fandom. RIP.

[FLB]

Even if I knew he was ill, this is still a bit of a shock. I've just lost one of my favourite drivers, one who was among those I first saw live at the track. I've always had a fondness for him.

 

 

RIP Monsieur Tambay et merci pour tout! 

[man]

Very sad news. The sight his clean blue and white helmet with that tinted visor in a number 27 Ferrari 126 C3 powering out of Tosa with the Tifosi jumping for joy...brilliant memories and one of my favourite drivers, period. Number 27 is often associated with Ferrari in the 1980's so with the passing of Gilles, Michele and Patrick, that only leaves Nigel. RIP Patrick.

Edited by man, 04 December 2022 - 13:53.

[Victor]

He did such a wonderful job during Ferrari's 1982 fatidic year.

RIP

Edited by Victor, 04 December 2022 - 21:44.

[Thursday]

I always like Tambay, even though I'm not sure why.

I remember his victory at Imola in '83 as much for James Hunt's observation that Italian fans support an Italian car more than an Italian driver (Patrese) as for the scenes of the tifosi going wild with excitement.

[jals99]

RIP

[jonpollak]

A great friend of the Villeneuve family he was always a wonderful personality

RIP
Jp

[solochamp07]

A great friend of the Villeneuve family he was always a wonderful personality
RIP
Jp

Jacques’ (Gilles’ son) godfather, I believe he was. RIP.

[eibyyz]

:-(

[WonderWoman61]

Rest in peace Patrick Tambay.

[Francesc]

RIP May he be with Gilles again.

[IrvTheSwerve]

RIP

[maximilian]

I was a big fan of Tambay as a kid - 1982 was really the first F1 season I started to consciously follow.  So much so that I lobbied my parents to name my as yet unborn baby brother PATRICK.  They relented, but only as a middle name!  So I am very sad to hear this news. 

 

I was SO excited when Tambay joined up with my greatest favorite Derek Warwick at Renault, for what was going to be an absolutely EPIC world championship challenge - but fate would have other plans...

Edited by maximilian, 04 December 2022 - 15:33.

[Pete_f1]

RIP

[steferrari]

RIP.

[pacificquay]

Sad news.

 

Picked up the pieces after Villeneuve and Pironi.

 

And while 73 is no age at all, there’s some comfort he got 40 years more than them.

[thegamer23]

Godspeed Patrick!

[messy]

That’s really sad. He was a very good driver and will forever be remembered for picking up the pieces after Ferrari lost Gilles and Pironi in that horrible 1982 season. Drivers who have won many more Grands Prix than him will never be able to claim such an iconic role in such a huge moment in F1 history. 73 is really no age these days, but I did realise he wasn’t in the best health the last few years sadly. RIP.

[JacnGille]

Sad news

[thegamer23]

 

 

Edited by thegamer23, 04 December 2022 - 20:07.

[ferrarista]

RIP.

[Tarvoke]

RIP

[Secretariat]

RIP

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=x9noeJfmB6w

[MKSixer]

I was devastated to hear this news.  He picked up the disastrous 1982 season which was the first time F1 really ripped my heart out with the death of Giles.  Patrick picked up the pieces, put the team and the tifosi on his back with his ready smile and great attitude in the worst of circumstances.   While he was a professional racing driver, I always thought of him as the definition of a gentleman-racer.  Through sheer happenstance I had the opportunity to correspond with him briefly about a decade ago.  He was always gracious to a racing fan who came of age during the height of his powers.  Though conventional wisdom states that we should never meet our heroes, my correspondence with him was a glimpse into the life of a true gentleman in the sport we all love so much.  

 

Rest In Peace, good Sir.

Edited by MKSixer, 05 December 2022 - 01:24.

[John B]

Sorry to hear this. He contributed to 2 Ferrari WCCs (7th in points in 1982 despite only starting 6 races) and won a couple Can-Am titles in the late 70s.

[klyster]

R.I.P Patrick Tambay

[Nemo1965]

After his last race for Renault in 1985, he showed up at the Beatrice Lola garage (where he was going to drive) with his racingseat and steering wheel in his hand. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘build my car around that.’

Nice, humorous man. Always thought he was too gentle for F1. He himself has said that a bad medical treatment of his back (hernia, what else) ruined his chances in 1982. RIP.

[Viryfan]

Ironically he replaced Gilles in 1982 at Ferrari but in 1987 he replaced Didier Pironi as a TV pundit for Canal + when Didier got killed in his race boat crash which bengan a 30 year career long as a pundit.

[Zoe]

Quelle tristesse. RIP!

 

The clip of the race in Portugal looks like all the other cars on track only had three forward gears....

[Steve99]

1982 was a formative year for me. I had been following F1 from the mid-70's but really got into it in the early 80's when I became a dedicated Rene Arnoux fan. I always thought the combination of Patrick and Rene at Ferrari was perfect. RIP Patrick, and thank you for the memories.

[PlatenGlass]

Very sad news. Although someone looking back on F1 might just see his two wins and see him as not a very important driver, his significance definitely goes way beyond that as people have alluded to. Also I got into F1 in a big way in the 1983 season, so for me he was one of the original big four along with Piquet, Prost and Arnoux.

[Risil]

Very surprised it's only two wins.

 

If there's an emotional history of Grand Prix racing Tambay would have a small but significant place, mostly thanks to his time at Ferrari.

[absinthedude]

Damn....I was sitting down to enjoy a five and a half hour jazz concert when the news reached me. I know that is some people's idea of hell but the music quickly put me in a better mood.

I liked Tambay a lot. Always came across as one of motor racing's nice guys and eventually did get his chance at Ferrari. Nobody watching his win at Imola could fail to be both impressed and emotional at that result....even watching on TV as I was. 

[GlenWatkins]

From motorsport.com:

 

https://motorsport.t...frenchman-in-f1

 

You will have to copy / paste into your browser, I could not get the link to work.  

[Steve99]

Very sad news. Although someone looking back on F1 might just see his two wins and see him as not a very important driver, his significance definitely goes way beyond that as people have alluded to. Also I got into F1 in a big way in the 1983 season, so for me he was one of the original big four along with Piquet, Prost and Arnoux.

 

A great year, remains one of my all time favourites.