1. Didier Joseph Louis Pironi was a French racing driver and offshore powerboat racer, who competed in Formula One from 1978 to 1982.
25 Facts About Didier Pironi
1. 2.
In endurance racing, Didier Pironi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 with Renault.
3.
Didier Pironi retained his seat at Tyrrell the following season, achieving his maiden podium at the Belgian Grand Prix.
4.
Didier Pironi ultimately lost the title by five points to Keke Rosberg.
5.
Didier Pironi retired from racing with three wins, four pole positions, five fastest laps and 13 podiums in Formula One.
6.
Outside of Formula One, Didier Pironi entered four editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1976 to 1980, winning in 1978 alongside Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, driving the Renault Alpine A442B.
7.
Didier Pironi was a race-winner in the BMW M1 Procar Championship.
8.
Didier Pironi is the half-brother and first cousin of Jose Dolhem.
9.
Didier Pironi began studying as an engineer and earned a degree in science, but entering the family construction business fell by the wayside following his enrollment at the Winfield Racing School at Paul Ricard, graduating with a prestigious Volant Shell Competition Scholarship as the best student of 1972.
10.
Didier Pironi became Formula France champion in 1974, taking the Super Renault championship title in 1976 and winning the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix Formula Three support race in 1977.
11.
Didier Pironi signed with Tyrrell and made his F1 debut at the Argentine GP on 15 January 1978.
12.
Didier Pironi's performance piqued Enzo Ferrari's interest in the Frenchman's services, which he secured for 1981.
13.
Villeneuve was furious with Didier Pironi and vowed never to say another word to him.
14.
Didier Pironi mentioned a technical reason as to why the two Ferraris were swapping places so often during the San Marino race.
15.
Didier Pironi went off the circuit slightly and Didier passed.
16.
In 2007, former Marlboro marketing executive John Hogan disputed the claim that Didier Pironi had gone back on a prior arrangement with Villeneuve.
17.
Didier Pironi observed first hand the death of Riccardo Paletti in the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, the young Italian rookie ploughing into Pironi's stalled Ferrari on the starting grid.
18.
The "new-spec" Goodyear rain tyres proved to be very successful, with Didier Pironi lapping up to 2.5 seconds faster than newly recruited teammate Patrick Tambay driving the sister Ferrari.
19.
Didier Pironi survived, but multiple fractures to both of his legs meant he never raced again in Formula 1.
20.
At this point, he was leading with 39 points in the championship, ahead of Watson and Keke Rosberg, but Didier Pironi was relegated to runner-up as Rosberg passed him to become World Champion.
21.
In 1986, after he was able to walk with both legs unaided, it looked as if Didier Pironi would make a comeback when he tested for the French AGS team at Circuit Paul Ricard, and subsequently the Ligier JS27 at Dijon-Prenois.
22.
Didier Pironi proved that he was still fast enough to be competitive, but coming back to F1 was not truly practical due to the extent of his injuries.
23.
When it appeared that it would be impossible to return to Formula 1, Didier Pironi decided to turn to offshore powerboat racing instead.
24.
On 23 August 1987, Didier Pironi was killed in an accident in the Needles Trophy Race near the Isle of Wight, that took the life of his two crew members: journalist Bernard Giroux and his old friend Jean-Claude Guenard.
25.
In 2014 Gilles Didier Pironi joined Mercedes AMG Petronas as an engineer.