63 replies to this topic

[tyrrellp34]

What was your reaction when you first heard Ken Tyrrell’s decision to take Scheckter and Depailler as 1 and 2 driver for 1974.

After the Stewart – Cevert dream- team from 1973 it must be a big disappointment.

[Megatron]

Peter Revson and Chris Amon would have been better...

[tyrrellp34]

He have had the choice between Depailler and Amon. But elf wanted to have one "F-Frog".

Lucky Depailler...

[Megatron]

Yes, I know the French connection.

[tyrrellp34]

Could you imagine Depailler and Cevert as a good combination for 1974??

Not really...!

[lumepo03]

Ken Tyrrell was in a position to take any driver he wanted and that was without any pressure from elf. Keep in mind that Cevert's place in the team was made possible by the vacancy left by Servoz-Gavin. Elf in no way had anything to do with that decision. I was based soley on the fact that ken had seen francois drive in a F2 race. Ken knew of Jackie's decision to retire at the end of the year and was looking for a replacement to be a team-mate to Cevert. Jody was signed sometime mid-year and when Cevert found out he was less then pleased. I believe that this may have happened around the time of the Canadian GP and may have contributed to Francois taking more risks, so as to show his future team-mate what would be in-store for him. Ken had run Patrick in the French GP in 72 and was happy with his performance. He also had run Peter Revson but the results were not as positive as they had been with Patrick. Chris Amon was not happy with the chassis as it did not suit his driving style. Stewart liked his chassis to be short wheelbased so they would react to his sensitive changes. With Cevert's passing at the end of the year many of the senior drivers had already made their commitments for the following year. Depailler was a driver that was good at testing and pleased Ken, he was available and being French made elf happy. The fact that he only won one race for Team Tyrrell should not deter anyone from the fact he was an excellent driver. Cevert is in the same predicament. Had he lived he would almost certainly have been France's first world champion, with many victories to come. Instead he has 1 victory to his name. Stewart said that in the 73 season, after the German GP, cevert could have passed him at any time but chose to remain behind his team-mate/friend/master.

[tyrrellp34]

I remember Ken Tyrrell's words about this:

>We were impressed with Patrick Depailler's performance in F2 and were keen to sign him for F1<

[Megatron]

Francois was one of my favorites. Talented, good natured, charasmatic, and appreciative of the help Stewart gave him.

However, I will always fell that his place in the team was paved by Elf. I remember watching some documentry on the team and it seems as if that was, in a backhanded way, confirmed.

[lumepo03]

Far from it. Francois seems to have this myth that he waltzed into F1 racing. He came came from a wealthy parisian family. But this is as far as it goes when it comes to money. Francois was a keen motorcyclist, he convinced his mother to buy a small MotoBecane for herself so she could go to do the shopping with ease. He had other ideas for the bike. He raced it as was/is the norm for younsters. Once he found out about cars from a fellow motorcyclist (Jean Pierre Beltoise) he worked any job (selling language course records door to door)so he could pay for his way to the Winfield School. He even stole a tyre from a mini because he did not have any money to buy a replacement tyre for his trailer. Somehow he managed to win the Shell scholarship. A few years later when in F3 he picked up elf sponsorship and raced in F2 with their support. Elf's preffered driver was Beltoise, but Francois was selected by Ken for Team Tyrrell. Sometimes going at such a young age you will forever be remembered as never aging. His brother Charles (petit charles) has his eyes (Jacqueline too) but is bald and never was the driver his brother was. Those were the days of true brotherhood amongst drivers. Just imagine what Team Tyrrell would have been like if Cevert and Peter revson were team-mates. That would have been a dream team talented drivers who were the best looking the sport has ever seen.

[tyrrellp34]

Which brother was "Petit Charles"????

[MaTT2799]

Actually, Ken Tyrrells first choice for 1974 was Roger Williamson and Francois Cevert. I have read in more than one place that Ken had approached Tom Wheatcroft and made serious offers to have Roger in the Tyrrell.

Sadly of course Zanvoort 1973 put this to an end. So it was then supposed to be Depallier and Cevert, but then Cevert died at Watkins Glen.

Emmerson Fittipaldi vetoed Sheckter from being his teammate for 1974 at McLaren, particularly after Sheckter had crashed into Emmo during the 1973 French GP. So Sheckter became free, and Ken Tyrrell signed him up.

[Rediscoveryx]

Yes, I believe the July issue of MotorSport has an article on Wheatcroft where he mentions that Williamson was set to join Tyrrell for 1974.

[mp4]

It's very sad to hear that Emmo was against having Jody as a team mate. Much the same as when Ayrton didn't want Derek Warwick at Lotus (This from a true Senna-head, no less).
What is it about top drivers being scared of some competition? Emmo would have probably been able to hold off Jody.
In the end, Jody did pretty well for himself and I was lucky enough to see him win at Mosport back in 1977. His time at Ferrari was too short, IMO, but as he'd won a championship and had to deal with a crappy car the following year, I can understand why he chose to hang up his helmet.
He never had a serious accident in his career, won 10 races in only about 100 attempts, a championship and retired a better man for his efforts. Not a bad record at all.
Uncle Ken chose well when he decided to take a chance on him. Of course, Ken always had an eye for talent, didn't he?

[tyrrellp34]

I think that depailler was performing very well for his first full season in F1. He had pole in Sweden and also some good races that year.

Concerning Jody and 1979 I think that it was easier for him to take the title after Ligier drop down in mid season. When Depailler crashed at the Puy de dome with his hangglider, Ligier lost his perfect testdriver. When Depailler was fired in Summer of 79 the aerodynamic specialist Robert Choulet left the team to go with Patrick to Alfa.

I remember the words of Niki Lauda after the 79 Monaco Grand Prix: >> I think that the title will get from Scheckter or Depailler, both have been learn from Ken Tyrrell how to manage everything in the right way and now it is time to pu all into action<<

[Vrba]

No doubt about Cevert's qualities as a driver but the very act of his stepping into Formula 1 was certainly arranged by Elf.

Says Rob Walker in contemporary Road & Track (1970) in his Dutch Grand Prix report:
"Elf was trying to place a French F2 driver François Cevert in a place in the Tyrrell left vacant by a Servoz-Gavin's retirement. I hope it won't become a custom for sponsors to press their drivers into teams because I certainly wouldn't want Brooke Bond Oxo, my sponsors, to try to place Tina, their pet chimpanzee in my car. But I must admit François did rather well."

Nice story :-)

Hrvoje

[Ray Bell]

That, Vrba, really makes this quote look a bit strange...

Originally posted by tyrrellp34
I remember Ken Tyrrell's words about this:

>We were impressed with Patrick Depailler's performance in F2 and were keen to sign him for F1<

Of course, Ken was as prone as anyone to but a different slant on issues. He wouldn't want his reputation as a talent scout to be denied, and he wouldn't want people to think that elf were pushing him around.

No doubt he agreed with the choice anyway...

[Vrba]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
That, Vrba, really makes this quote look a bit strange...

My Rob Walker quote is about Cevert, not Depailler.

Hrvoje

[Ray Bell]

Whoops...

But I'm sure the same applied... that different slants would be seen in different statements made.

[Vicuna]

Chris Amon drove a third Tyrrell at the end of '73 but it was another Kiwi Graham McRae who was considered also for Tyrrell for the 1974 season.

As for Jody staying at McLaren alongside Emmo?

Well firstly Denny Hulme was already there.

Secondly, I think you might find that some of McLaren's sponsors were a bit sensitive about having an Afrikaaner on board...

[lumepo03]

Fittipaldi's decision on not having Jody at McLaren was based on the fact that he had lost the title in 1973 because of the convoluted effort that Lotus had with Fittipaldi and Peterson. The 2 driving styles were quite different and this hampered development on the chassis. A look at the Lotus 76 chassis shows that it was a complete flop,when it should have been a success. Develpment work was lacking and it is assumed because of a lack of a good test driver. Peterson was wonderful to watch but this was with a good car or a bad. Problem was if the car was bad he still went for it and the engineers had a problem with feedback on making the car better. Emerson did not want to risk this with a driver like Jody. Devlopment of th M23 was crucial and in order to do battle with Team Tyrrell and Ferrari McLaren had to produce a dominant car. This they did. Tyrrell had to change the type of chassis that they had produced to one that would be a learner vehicle for its 2 rookie drivers. Jody really came on strong in the Tyrrell and under the guidance of Ken. Would this have been the case at McLaren? Who knows. Maybe he would have hurt himself by trying to hard to beat Emerson in the same car or he would have been the perfect team-mate to him. One thing that only Jody could answer is that did Ken mould him to be a better driver then McLaren could have?

There is no doubting that elf wanted a French river in F1. Was Cevert the only one they were pushing on Ken? They had several drivers on retainer and Ken had seen him drive at Crystal Palace against Jackie. The timeline of events probably coincided with him becoming the new driver. My cousin was a part of the elf PR team involved in racing and she spoke highly of Francois but even more so of Ken. She had said that his business was always going to be racing and what was going to be good for the team would be good for the sponsor and not the other way around. She did her job and he did his and everyone was happy. That was until Ken was not happy about getting a Renault turbo engine in the back of a Tyrrell car. He felt that the turbo was going to be a huge error in F1. In the end Ken proved to be right but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Ken ws always held in high esteem at elf. My cousin was to be killed in a light plane crash along with several other elf employees. So any other insights would be from my memories when I was 10 years of age. Emanuel "Manou" Zurini the elf photographer at the time has the most superb photos of Cevert and other elf drivers. I have a few superb elf films of their sports involvement. They really did do some of the most audacious things the sport has ever seen. They dared to be different, different time, different era, that sadly ended on the side of a mountain.

[lumepo03]

I would like to add that of the elf drivers in the later years (80s - 90s)
only 3 have impressed me. I have seen the likes of Hourisgaray/Raphanel/Trolle/Ferte brothers/Alesi/etc... and they are Alain Ferte, Yannick Dalmas, and Dominique Dupuy. Driving with anyone of these guys was exhilerating, but with Dupuy, well "**** me hard".I have always felt that If Dupuy had a proper manager in the Ken Tyrrell mould he would have been a dominant driver in F1. Driving skills are only part of the equation and mangement was the other. Schumacher has been fortunate in both these areas has had Senna. Prost had Marlboro to an extent. Towards the end of the 70's Ken was not as actively involved has he use to be in young up and coming drivers. The last drivers he scooped was Bellof and Alesi. And the Alesi story could have been a different one had Dominique Dupuy had a few more francs to bring to the table.

[tyrrellp34]

I have once asked Ken Tyrrell to compare Depailler with Alesi..... >Unpossible< he said!

[mp4]

A very interesting comment from "lumepo03". I'm not trying to side track the original point of this thread but I do have a quick question. Does anyone know what became of the Ferte brothers? I do recall them doing a lot in Group C.

[Hieronymus]

The choice of Scheckter and Depailler probably caused some doubt at the time,due to their inexperience in F1, but ultimately he had two excellent drivers:

Scheckter - a natural talent that could blow away the best in the business at any time. He was also tough, both physical and mentally.

Depailler - a most dedicated and passionate racing driver, one can ever wish for. He also had great technical skills, as a result from his days as test driver for Alpine.

Depailler himself was very surprised to be announced as Tyrrell's number two in 1974, although he had talks with Tyrrell at the end of 1973, in the hope of getting a seat in the team. Patrick also later admitted that he was a bit "lost" in 1974 - he somehow did not have the confidence to drive to the limit and also the fact that his English was almost non-existant at the time, made it difficult to explain the correct catr set-up, etc.

Comparing Cevert to Depailler : Patrick somehow lived in the François's shadow. Cevert beat him he narrowly in the 1966 Volant Shell. What is interesting though, is that when they both raced in the French F3 Championship the following year (1967) in the same Alpine cars (different teams), Patrick had better results than Cevert. In 1968 Cevert moved to the all-conquering Matra F3 team, while Patrick was still comitted to a three year contract with Alpine. Alpine scaled down their F3 efforts in 1968 and this is where Depailler started to play second fiddle to Cevert. François's career took off, while Patrick had to be satisfied with Alpine's low-keyed effort. Maybe if they were both racing for Matra in '68, it would have been a different story.

[bschenker]

In 1968 Cevert moved to the all-conquering Matra F3 team, while Patrick was still comitted to a three year contract with Alpine.

You’re sure about this. I found Francois Cevert a Bologna in the 1968 with his Tecno F3 for an overhaul in the Tecno factory.

[Hieronymus]

bschenker

Indeed you are correct!I am the fool here (perhaps too early in the morning).

François did one or two F3 races early in 1968 in an Alpine and then competed in a Tecno. This very much nullifies what I had said earlier about Cevert/Depailler.

Cevert's career nevertheless was boosted by his 1968 performances. Seems that Patrick somehow was always loosing out, in a way. If it was not for his Alpine contract in 1968 and 1969, his career would perhaps took off earlier. He had to wait untill 1971 for his first championship title in French F3.

In F2 it was very much the same story. His move to the Pygmee team was a catastrophy in 1970. After that it was yet another few years, before he became European F2 champion in 1974. I guess Patrick was a bit of a slow starter, but eventually reached his goal. If one then looks at his F1 career, he was most probably poised to become World Champion in '79 or even '80, if it was not for the hang glider accident. Ligier was a very good team at the time........

[lumepo03]

Alain Ferte drives in the FIA truck series, I believe Michel has retired from racing and works in the family business in Nevers.

[tyrrellp34]

Both Ferte Brothers are from Never?? Really??

[David M. Kane]

Lumpo03 you are absolutely correct. Cevert was driving very aggressively
at Watkins Glen, it was blatantly obvious and it was scary. Having seen
Cevert several times before it was very, very noticable. He was almost like a madman that weekend.

[tyrrellp34]

I think that in 1973 Scheckter has had some collisions with lots of drivers. When Emmerson Fittipaldi joined McLaren he didn’t want to have him as a team-mate for 1974 after Scheckter kicked him out of the French GP.

A similar situation was happened between Jody Scheckter and Francois Cevert in Cevert’s very last race in Mosport. In one of the fast corners of that track Jody pull over and crashed into Ceverts Tyrrell, who crashed badly into the guard rail. Cevert was hurt and could not walk for almost two weeks. He was sure that Scheckter could have kill him. After that race Scheckter and Cevert have had a big argue because of this incident and when Francois goes together with the Stewart’s to the Bahamas he was still very much upset about that young loony (Cevert’s words). During the holiday with Helen and Jackie Stewart, Francois Cevert was always limping and not sure whether he can drive in Watkins Glen.

But he also enjoy the time between Mosport and the Glen because after Stewart’s retirement he knew that the following year would be his year. In that period of time he thought that Patrick Depailler could maybe be his team-mate for the following season. Sadly Depailler fall of his motorbike in early September and Ken Tyrrell together with his sponsor elf was very upset, because Depailler should have driven the 3rd Tyrrell in Mosport and Watkins Glen that year and now had a broken leg. During the season Ken was looking for a 2nd driver and drivers like Williamson or Revson were the choice.

Back to Cevert. When he came to the Glen, Ken Tyrrell told him that (big surprise) “Sideway” Scheckter would be his mate for 1974. Cevert was furious and told Ken that they never would be friends and he made the wrong decision. Cevert still thought that Patrick Depailler could recover and be able to drive.. but never that Scheckter would be the choice.
The rest is history... 15 minutes before the end of the very last qualifying session Cevert was in front of Scheckter’s McLaren and Lauda’s BRM. Cevert recognise that it is Scheckter and maybe thought that he have to go to the limit and show his future team-mate what he could expect for next year. Lauda saw that Cevert ignore the pitsignal to come in 3 times and than Cevert got killed in the S-corner.

[Ralliart]

tyrrellp34 - What would Lauda (or any other driver) be doing looking at Cevert's pit signals? I don't understand that.

[tyrrellp34]

This would be a good question for "The rat"

[tyrrellp34]

Anyway.. it is a very sad story

[philippe7]

Originally posted by tyrrellp34
Which brother was "Petit Charles"????

An old question from an old thread.....but having finally managed to register to TNF I thought I may bring it back up ( and of course, François was my teenage hero....)

This is all strictly from memory since I don't have any archives at hand , but if the dates are slightly approximate ( which I understand is NOT in line with the "excellence" aims of this forum ! ) the facts are quite clear in my ageing brain....

Charles Cevert, François' younger brother , attended one of the elf-Winfield driving schools , either at Magny-Cours , or Paul Ricard , in 74 or 75......he actually made it to the final of the "volant elf" , but did not win - he came second or third.....he nevertheless managed to put together a small budget and ran one ( or two ? ) seasons in the Formula Renault national championship....not achieving any wins , but still a good front-pack runner .....then ( I remember precisely reading this in an interview he gave to sport-auto ) , he admitted ( probably under "understandable" pressure from his family....) that single seater racing was really too dangerous and that he would feel better with some bodywork around him.....he therefore moved to the french saloon car championship ( in which his brother-in-law JPB was then a front-runner) and achieved great success in the "smaller" class, actually winning the championship in his Escort . This enabled him to move to the larger class with a big-bore Ford Capri , where he did achieve a few successes before pulling down the curtain in the late 70's...

Philippe

[GMiranda]

Hello

 

I discovered this topic while I was searching for informations about the Ferté brothers, two of the most referred drivers when it's discussed which men should have reached F1.

In matter of fact, reminding all of my readings about this question, most of them from MotorSport, Jackie Stewart only told Ken Tyrrell and Charlie Hayes he would retire, so even Cevért only knew very late in the season. For me, Cevért was a great driver and had the potential to become a WC in one or two years, and if he had been alife in 1974 Tyrrell might have carried the momentum from 1973 and continue as a winning team (I know they kept winning and in 1974 Scheckter fought till the last race for the title, but ithen it wasn't the same).

I read in many places Roger Williamson was one of the proposed drivers, but I presume Tom Wheatcroft was intending to arrange a car to build a team around him for his first complete season. And there was another fact - Walter Hayes and Ford also had a word on the matter, as well as Elf. So, with Cevért staying, I seriously think Gerry Birrell - a F2 promise and saloon car top driver with Ford - would be considered for 1974, at least it is widely spoken in many MotorSport articles. However, bot these two chocies were ruined when Birrell and Williamson died that Summer. About Birrell, his commitment and test skills were great too, and he was an upcoming name on single-seaters, even if he was reaching 30.

When Ken Tyrrell lost these two drivers, he should have considered Depailler (who could be occasional third driver in 1974 while vying for the F2 title), Chris Amon, Peter Revson and Jody Scheckter. I don't know if Revson was seriously considered, but entering a third car for Amon wasn't just a benefit given by Uncle Ken, mainly when the Drivers' title was already gained. He wanted a solid driver to rob points to Lotus and, who knows, evaluate him. And Scheckter had those fame of car destroyer after the British GP, because at Paul Ricard it was a hurry move by Fittipaldi that led to his demise. And I agree Fittipaldi should have learned with the intra rivalry between him and Peterson and preferred to have a solid second driver - veteran Denny Hulme - and, while McLaren announed a third car, Hailwood, who was yet finding his ways in F1 after two years and a half with less-competitive machine, wasn't the same menace than a young hotshot as Jody.

I didn't know Cevért had already taken knowledge of Stewart's retirement and Scheckter's contract, because JYS wanted it absolutely secret because of his wife. But the fact is that Cevért was probably proving his skills as team leader at Watkins Glen and died after a mistake, and when Scheckter saw the body, he was never the aggressive driver again, he matured so much on that winter that in 1974 he was one of the most reliable of his era.

Edited by GMiranda, 25 June 2018 - 08:33.

[f1steveuk]

Amon  was entered in the the third car, for the same reason many other teams entered a third car inn North America, money! Both  start and prize money. 

 

I spoke to Ken Tyrrell two or three times about 1973, and Francois was never told, it was one of Ken's few regrets, that he hadn't/couldn't tell him, indeed Jackie wanted to tell him himself, after he had told Helen, which he id he was going to do after the US Grand Prix. Ken was of the opinion it was the reason Francois was trying so hard, and perhaps, had he known, he wouldn't have been pushing quite so hard, nor, for one of the very very  few times, would he have ignored JYS'' sage advice about how to use the gears in the nervous 005/006 .

[Tim Murray]

This related thread may be of interest:

Cevert, Shadow 1974

The first name of Mr Hayes was Walter, not Charlie.

[GMiranda]

This related thread may be of interest:

Cevert, Shadow 1974

The first name of Mr Hayes was Walter, not Charlie.

Oh sorry...... Such stupid mistake I'll correct immediately

[Michael Ferner]

Throughout 1973, Tyrrell probably hoped top sway Stewart's decision to retire, hence his courting of Williamson and Birrell, two drivers with lots of promise but very uncertain potential. Neither, I think, was seriously considered as replacement for JYS, but rather as new No. 2 drivers in case Cevert fled to another team. The same goes for Depailler, who would have been the perfect Cevert replacement to please Elf. Hence, when Fittipaldi became (surprisingly!) available, he couldn't really jump at the chance to sign him, and Emmo opted for McLaren instead. That made Scheckter redundant there, as Fittipladi was obviously preferable as a proven winner and champion, and Tyrrell saw a great opportunity. Unlike Williamson and Birrell, Scheckter not only showed a lot of promise, but had already driven a Formula One car at the sharp end of the field. Yes, he had been a bit wild, but there was no question about his speed, as well as both mental and physical strength - he was very obviously an unpolished diamond, just waiting to be transformed into a winner and champion himself.

Fittipaldi knew all that, hence he didn't want Scheckter to stay on at McLaren - it's ridiculous to think that one single racing incident would lead him to blocking another driver, especially when he knew that it was at least partly his own fault. Cevert knew that Scheckter was a coming man, too, and it's possible that he suddenly realized that staying at Tyrrell wouldn't automatically make him No. 1 there even if JYS did, in fact, retire. I have never seen pictures or even film of the Mosport collision, and while I'm ready to accept that Jody could have been at fault, the fact that Cevert tried to overtake on the outside can be seen as an overambitious move. In any case, it didn't pay off.

To me, the big surprise (in retrospect) was not to see Tyrrell falling off ist own performance standards, but rather how well the team did in 1974! It was the last year ever in which it won more than one race, and the last time ever one of ist drivers was in serious contention for the title. That was mainly Scheckter's contribution, in my opinion. Depailler did very well, too - in fact, I don't see how Cevert could've done much better had he lived. So, in the end, perhaps it was a gamble, but it was one forced upon Tyrrell by circumstance, and it was one that paid off extremely well. One likes to think that JYS would have won as he pleased in 1974, but that is by no means sure, mind you!

[Charlieman]

He wouldn't want his reputation as a talent scout to be denied, and he wouldn't want people to think that elf were pushing him around.

Apologies for the 16 year interval but was Ken Tyrrell really a talent scout? Did he spot drivers who had been ignored by others? Tyrrell were the first team that I ever supported so I'm not trying to knock Ken's reputation. I just want to understand his driver selections.

 

John Surtees was a multiple world champion on two wheels when he drove for Ken. Jackie Stewart was already driving for a professional sports team when offered a single seater. Jacky Ickx was a very bold choice for Formula 2 but he had a good history in saloon car racing and strong connections through his father.

 

In Formula 1, Tyrrell gave career breaks to Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Johnny Servoz-Gavin, Francois Cevert and Patrick Depailler. Three out of four were successful veterans of the informal French national racing driver programme supported by manufacturers and trade sponsors. Cevert was an unsuccessful veteran who made a come back with Tecno and Tyrrell.

 

We can ignore Peter Revson, Chris Amon, Jody Scheckter and Ronnie Peterson because they were known talents. Jean-Pierre Jarier drove for Tyrrell in 1979 but he was an established driver and most of his junior racing career had been funded outside the usual French interests. 

 

Jean-Pierre Jabouille, one of the most underused F1 talents, had an Elf courtesy drive in 1975; I'm not sure how Michel Leclere earned his 1975 end of season seat but he'd driven well in F2. Didier Pironi was the last of the French national racing driver programme to drive for Ken.

 

Between 1959 (when Ken Tyrrell stood down as a driver) and 1979, Tyrrell backed two great outsiders -- Ickx and Cevert. Within a few years, Tyrrell didn't have much choice about drivers but Stefan Bellof looked like an F1 GP winner.

[Michael Ferner]

Beltoise, Servoz-Gavin, Cevert, Depailler, Jabouille, Leclère, Pironi - that was all Elf, not Tyrrell. Though a bit before my time, I give Uncle Ken credit for Stewart and Ickx, and that alone makes him a great talent scout. Brundle, Bellof and Takagi were not bad choices, either. Ah, and Alesi, of course - but wasn't he forced upon him by Camel?

[Charlieman]

Beltoise, Servoz-Gavin, Cevert, Depailler, Jabouille, Leclère, Pironi - that was all Elf, not Tyrrell. 

It wasn't just Elf. Do you remember that cigarette company who backed Ligier from 1975?

 

And the Matras and the Alpines?

[Michael Ferner]

I don't remember Gitanes sponsoring Tyrrell, or Alpine.

[ensign14]

Beltoise, Servoz-Gavin, Cevert, Depailler, Jabouille, Leclère, Pironi - that was all Elf, not Tyrrell. Though a bit before my time, I give Uncle Ken credit for Stewart and Ickx, and that alone makes him a great talent scout. Brundle, Bellof and Takagi were not bad choices, either. Ah, and Alesi, of course - but wasn't he forced upon him by Camel?

 

Think Alesi was simply Ken looking at the F3000 table and seeing who was on top.  Indeed Alesi had been in Marlboro ORECA the year before.  But it's one thing to spot the talent - it's another giving them a chance.  Schumacher was obviously a talent from his Sauber days but only Jordan stepped up. 
 

[Charlieman]

I don't remember Gitanes sponsoring Tyrrell, or Alpine.

I suggested that there was an informal French national racing driver programme.

[dbltop]

I have tried the search engine with no luck. Can anyone tell me where at Mosport did the incident between Scheckter and Cevert happen?

[PCC]

I have tried the search engine with no luck. Can anyone tell me where at Mosport did the incident between Scheckter and Cevert happen?

My recollection is corner 2, but I wouldn't swear to it.

[dbltop]

Thank you PCC. That is definitely not a good place to pass outside.

[Tim Murray]

In their contemporary race reports Pete Lyons in Autosport said it was turn 2, while Alan Henry in Motoring News called it 'the downhill lefthander'.  Scheckter and Cevert had been battling hard, both before and after their pit stops for dry tyres. Both reports agree that the pair went into the corner side by side, with Jody on the inside. After the dust had settled François  obviously felt that the incident was entirely Scheckter's fault, as in spite of his leg injuries he leapt from the Tyrrell and went over to remonstrate with Jody in such a way that he had to be restrained by the marshals.

[GMiranda]

In their contemporary race reports Pete Lyons in Autosport said it was turn 2, while Alan Henry in Motoring News called it 'the downhill lefthander'.  Scheckter and Cevert had been battling hard, both before and after their pit stops for dry tyres. Both reports agree that the pair went into the corner side by side, with Jody on the inside. After the dust had settled François  obviously felt that the incident was entirely Scheckter's fault, as in spite of his leg injuries he leapt from the Tyrrell and went over to remonstrate with Jody in such a way that he had to be restrained by the marshals.

I also read about their tussle, and in Grand Prix (Mike Lang) and Motor Sports it's referred Cevert's instinct was "having a word" with Scheckter