Jacques Laffite

Jacques Laffite was a French racing driver who competed in Formula 1 from 1974 to 1986, one of the most likeable and enduring figures of his era and the driver most closely associated with the rise of the Ligier team. Cheerful and good-natured away from the cockpit but fiercely committed in it, he became a popular standard-bearer for French motorsport throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.

After early outings with Iso Marlboro and a spell at Williams, Laffite's career flourished at Ligier, where he scored the team's first Grand Prix victory at the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix. He went on to take 6 career wins, 33 podium finishes, 7 pole positions and 228 points across 177 starts, twice finishing fourth in the World Championship in 1979 and 1981 as Ligier became a genuine front-running force. His association with the French team, interrupted only by a return to Williams, made him a fixture at the sharp end of the grid for the better part of a decade.

His Formula 1 career ended abruptly with a serious leg injury in a startline accident at the 1986 British Grand Prix, his final race coming on what was then a record-equalling number of Grand Prix starts. Laffite recovered to continue racing in touring cars and later became a respected television commentator in France.

Laffite was a naturally gifted and smooth driver, capable of brilliance in the right machinery and admired for his racecraft and consistency. His warm personality and obvious love of the sport made him one of the most popular drivers of his time, both in the paddock and with the French public. As the man who put Ligier on the Formula 1 map, he holds a special place in the history of French Grand Prix racing.