Photo: Harald Bischoff / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Patrick Depailler belongs to that romantic, perilous era of Formula One I can't help being drawn to. A two-time Grand Prix winner across the 70s, he raced with the all-in flair of someone who, fittingly, idolized Jean Behra as a kid. His 1978 Monaco win for Tyrrell is the one I treasure, a genuinely deserved breakthrough. But his story carries real weight: he died testing for Alfa Romeo at Hockenheim in 1980, a stark reminder of how lethal the sport then was. French, Clermont-Ferrand born, not American. A driver remembered as much for his daring as his results.
Overview
Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler (French pronunciation: [patʁik ɑ̃dʁe øʒɛn ʒozɛf dəpaje]; 9 August 1944 – 1 August 1980) was a French racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980. Depailler won two Formula One Grands Prix across eight seasons. Depailler was born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme. As a child, he was inspired by Jean Behra.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Patrick Depailler
- Name (Japanese)
- パトリック・デパイユ
- Reading
- ぱとりっく・でぱいゆ
- Born
- August 9, 1944 – August 1, 1980
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Monkey
- Origin
- Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- motorcycle racer / racing automobile driver / Formula One driver
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Motorcycle racer — see all → · Racing automobile driver — see all → · More people from France →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.