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Part 3 : A Change of Luck ___________________________________________________________________________
Tecno had done very well during previous years in the European F2 Championship, with Clay Regazzoni taking the title in 1970. Luciano and Gianfranco Pederzani formed the company in 1962 in Bologna, Italy. They first built karts, which was followed by F3 and F2 cars. The Tecno TF71 of 1971 had a basic tubular chassis. It was fitted with Ford's BDA engines, but this unfortunately proved to be the weak link in the team's armour for that year, due to its unreliability. Patrick's teammates at Tecno were François Cevert and Jean-Pierre Jabouille. On the F3 front, Alpine had acquired a formidable team of technical personnel that included Bernard Dudot (engine design and preparation), Marcel Hubert (aero dynamist) and André de Cortanze (chassis assembling and design). Alpine decided to use a slightly modified version of the Alpine A360 that was used in 1969. It had a space frame and was wider and longer than previous models. The usual nose section looked substantial, but a narrow version was also sometimes seen. The centre section was slim with a high tail. Midriff bulges were there to improve aerodynamic qualities. Unequal length wide-based wishbones were used in the front suspension, with lower wishbones, top links and radius arms at the rear. The powerhouse was a 1600cc Renault R16 engine that produced just over 120 bhp. This was a significant change, since it replaced the 1000cc engines of previous years. The car was further fitted with a 5-speed Hewland Mk8 gearbox. Patrick's teammate at Alpine was once again Jean-Pierre Jabouille. At the end of March, Patrick's 1971 season kicked off at Monthléry for the first race of the French F3 Championship. He set fastest lap, but had to be satisfied with 3rd position behind James Hunt and teammate Jabouille, in a closely contested race. Hunt came over from England to drive his March 713 in this race. Then, 25 April 1971, proved to be the major turning point in Patrick's career. On that particular day he won the Pau Formula 3 race. Gone was all the ill luck that he had to endure in the previous months. The same day he also competed in the GP de Pau F2 race, where he finished in 6th place. Following this turn of luck at Pau, nothing could stop Depailler and he was blowing away the F3 opposition, after that. More victories came his way at the Coupe de Vitesse de l'USA (Monthléry), GP de la Châtre, Tropheé d'Auvergne (Clermont-Ferrand) and also the Coupe de Vitesse Albi. In total he scored six outright victories during the season and in the process also set several pole positions and fastest laps. With his complete domination of the French F3 Championship, he received the honour of being crowned as the "Champion de France - Formula 3". At the end of October he was invited, as the French champion, to compete in the E.R.Hall F3 Trophy race at Brands Hatch. In the final of this race, he crossed the finishing line in 1st place after a tough battle with the likes of Dave Walker, James Hunt, Roger Williamson, Jody Scheckter and Alan Jones. Then the bird of ill omen decided to visit Patrick yet again. He was disqualified following an alleged flag infringement during the race. The race stewards concluded that he had passed a fellow competitor during a yellow flag period. This was quite a controversial decision, considering that this was a Frenchman, "winning" a race in a French car on British soil…. Nevertheless his disappointment was soon forgotten, since Patrick had been duly rewarded for his brilliant performances in the French F3 Championship. This was also a great reward for Alpine that stood by Patrick for all those years. The F2 effort in 1971, on the other hand, brought little success. His highest placing was a 4th place in the first heat of the London Trophy race at Crystal Palace. Apart from the F2 and F3 outings, there was also again an appearance at Le Mans. For this race he joined Guy Ligier in the Ligier JS03 sportscar. This was one of Ligier's earliest attempts in running his own cars in motorsport. The car was fitted with a Cosworth DFV and this was also Patrick's first taste of this engine, which was used by most F1 teams of the time. After numerous technical problems during the race, they did eventually made it to the finish. They were not classified in the final results, due to the fact that they did not complete the minimum race distance that was required. Another win came his way when he and co-driver, Vasset, took victory in the Rallye des Mônts Domes on 17 October near Thiers in central France. In this rally Depailler was behind the wheel of a works Alpine A110 S. This win was again more proof of his skill and versatility as a racing driver and surely a career as Rally driver also seemed a possibility. One positive aspect that came from the disappointment at the F3 race at Brands Hatch in October 1971 was that the F2 entrant John Coombs spotted Patrick's talent. At the time Coombs was already a veteran in motorsport. His career started in the early 1950's as a racing driver, after which he became a team owner and an entrant for many, a well-known racing driver. Patrick was asked by Coombs to drive for his team in the 1972 European F2 championship. For once, Patrick had the prospects of finding himself in a well-managed F2 team, with competitive cars. Elf Petroleum was the team's sponsor for 1972 and this also meant an all-French driver line-up. Depailler's teammates were Jabouille (again) and also François Cevert, when he was not doing F1 duty for Tyrrell at the time. Coombs Racing opted to use two different chassis, namely the March 722 and the Alpine built, Elf 2. Ford BDA engines powered the cars. Patrick's 1972 season started off with a bang. His first F2 race of the year was in the Elf 2 for the Deutschland Trophäe race at the Hockenheimring in mid-April. In the first Heat he qualified in a lowly 13th place on the starting grid, but a spirited drive saw him finishing in 2nd place. In the second Heat he unfortunately had to retire with mechanical problems. His next race was the GP de Pau on 5 May. This time around, he was driving the team's March 722. Heat one and Patrick qualified on Pole. During the 37 lap race he had no trouble to stay in front and in the end he beat second place man, Niki Lauda also in a March 722, by more than 10 seconds. For the Final, which was held over 70 laps, he was again on Pole position. The race turned out to be a terrific battle between Depailler and Peter Gethin, the winner of Heat 2. In the end Patrick was beaten into second place by a mere 0,9 seconds. The 3rd placed man, David Purley, was more than 2 laps adrift. A week later, Patrick was driving for Alpine in the Monaco F3 race. Alpine invited him and Jabouille earlier in the year to drive in a F3 race at Hockenheim and also the Monaco F3 event. It was decided that Patrick would do the Hockenheim race, early in the year, while Jabouille would drive in Monaco. Over the winter, though, Patrick had a bout of viral hepatitis and he could not recover in time for the Hockenheim race. Alpine thus decided to let Jabouille compete in this race. Patrick in return would take Jabouille's place at Monaco. On Saturday, 13 May 1972, Patrick thus found himself behind the wheel of the Alpine A364. During the practice and qualification rounds he was quite sensational and it was no surprise when he set pole position for Heat 1. This heat he won comfortably. The final was held in treacherous conditions. With rain belting down on the circuit, he was controlling the race from the start and was under no serious threat from his fellow competitors. In the end he beat Tony Trimmer into second place, with Colin Vandervell taking third position. Winning the Monaco F3 race was regarded as a major achievement in a racing driver's career, in those days. Not only was it the most prestigious event on the F3 calendar, but most F1 teams also regarded the race as a talent indicator, amongst upcoming drivers. The winner of this race was almost sure to make the grade to F1, eventually. It was thus regarded as the most decisive win in Patrick's career. The whole weekend at Monaco proved to be a joyful occasion for Patrick. The day after his win in the F3 race, his mentor Jean-Pierre Beltoise scored the only Grand Prix win of his illustrious career. In conditions similar to what Depailler had experienced the previous day, Beltoise lead the Monaco GP from start to finish. Following Patrick's F3 win at Monaco, there were immediately plans being made to give him a chance in Formula 1. The key role players in this regard were again François Guiter from Elf and also his F2 team boss, John Coombs. Both these men had close links with Ken Tyrrell. Elf was involved as a sponsor for the Tyrrell F1 team, while Coombs was a personal friend of Ken. Patrick was totally unaware of the discussions that these two men were having with Tyrrell, since he was very much concentrating on his F2 races that followed the excitement of the Monaco weekend. His following three races for John Coombs at Crystal Palace, Hockenheim and Rouen brought no success, mostly due to mechanical failures during the races. During June Patrick was given notice that he would be making his F1 debut at the French GP. Ken Tyrrell was finally persuaded to give the new French star a chance in one of his cars. Patrick was overwhelmed to receive the good news. The fact that he would be making his GP debut in front of his home crowd at Clermont Ferrand, was seen as an additional bonus. The French GP was scheduled for 2 July and only a few days prior to the race, Patrick drove a F1 car for the first time. He was given a few laps in the Tyrrell, so that he could get to grips with the handling and performance of the car. Patrick was given the Tyrrell 004 for the race. This car was built towards the end of 1971 and was mostly use as a spare/test car in '72, with Jackie Stewart driving it in only one race, namely the Monaco GP. At Clermont-Ferrand the two regular Tyrrell drivers, Stewart and François Cevert, were driving the Tyrrell 003 and Tyrrell 002 respectively. During the qualifying and practice runs, Patrick found the power and braking capabilities of the Tyrrell phenomenal. Although he knew the circuit like the back of his hand, it was still an awesome experience to drive a F1 car at full throttle. A major obstacle for Patrick in his preparation for this important event was the fact that his command of the English language was almost non-existing at the time. The service of an interpreter was needed to sort out the communication problems between the Frenchman and his English-speaking team boss and technical personnel. Depailler was nevertheless looking very much forward to his first World Championship Grand Prix. It took him exactly 8 years, since he first competed in a car race, to reach the stage where he would be classified as a Grand Prix racing driver. As always he was up to the challenge and found himself on the 16th position of the starting grid, after the completion of the qualification rounds. Race day turned out to be warm and dry in Clermont-Ferrand. Before the start the teams were all concerned about their tyre choices, due to the rough state of the track surface. Several loose stones usually littered the circuit while the race was in progress and this caused havoc with tyre wear. The correct choice of tyres would therefore be a crucial decision. This in the end proved to be Patrick's Achilles Heel in the race. He was running in midfield for the first couple of laps, after a steady start. Then his tyres began to wear and on the 13th lap he had to pit with a punctured tyre. He rejoined the race in last place, but again showed a useful turn of speed. Then more bad luck strike when the car developed suspension problems and on lap 27 he yet again had to visit the pits with another punctured tyre. Still he carried on. When his teammate Jackie Stewart received the chequered flag at the end of the 38th lap, Patrick had only completed 33 laps and was not classified in the final results for failing to complete the minimum required distance. Ken Tyrrell was however impressed by Patrick's performance in his first Grand Prix and a promise was made that he would give Patrick another chance, later in the year. Following the French GP, Depailler continued with Coombs Racing in F2. A week after Clermont-Ferrand he was at the Österreichring for the Jochen Rindt Memorial Race, where he finished in 5th place. The next two races at Imola and Mantorp Park ended in retirement. After that the Frenchman has another good run. At the GP de Mediterraneo (Enna) he won the second Heat and was classified 2nd overall on Aggregate. This was followed up by a 7th place at the Salzburgring and yet another 2nd place in the final of the Albi Grand Prix. In this race he was extremely quick. Winning the first Heat, pole position and also fastest lap in the final. It was thus only the outright victory that eluded him. Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud had a titanic battle and in the end, Jaussaud's Brabham BT38 was no more than a car's length in front at the chequered flag. Patrick's good performances in the European F2 Championship, meant that he eventually finished 3rd in the overall points classification in 1972. Ken Tyrrell also kept his promise by offering Patrick another drive in the Tyrrell 004. It was for the final Grand Prix of the year at Watkins Glen in the USA. The Tyrrells were in excellent form at this event. Stewart qualified on pole position; Cevert was on the second row and Patrick in a creditable 11th position on the starting grid. Jackie Stewart led from start to finish, while Cevert had an equally fine drive to finish second. Depailler did well too with a steady drive through the field to finish 7th overall. At
the end of the 1972 season, Patrick could look back at a very fruitful
year. He was now well established in international motorsport and
was regarded by many as a driver that would eventually go to greater
heights in the sport. From the start of the season Patrick was continuing his good form of the previous year and he yet again established himself as one of the front-runners in F2. He notched up a few Heat wins, several pole positions and fastest laps during the year. Unfortunately an outright victory still eluded him in a F2 race and he had to be satisfied with no less than four overall second places. These he got at the Deutschland Trophy (Hockenheim), Swedish Gold Cup (Kinnekullering), GP di Lotteria di Monza and the Festspielpreis Salzburg (Salzburgring) races. He again finished in 3rd position in the overall point standings for the championship. During June he also shared a Matra-Simca MS670 with Bob Wollek at Le Mans, where they had to retire with oil pressure problems. With his good performances for Coombs Racing through the year, Ken Tyrrell yet again offered him a drive. It was scheduled for the final two Grands Prix of the year in Canada and the USA respectively. Jackie Stewart was retiring from racing at the end of 1973 and Tyrrell's sponsor, Elf Petroleum, and in particular their boss man, François Guiter was trying to find a French driver to replace Stewart. Patrick was still their top candidate for the job and they were hoping that Cevert and Depailler would be the Tyrrell drivers for 1974. Patrick was looking forward to his drives for Tyrrell, but once again luck was not one of his companions. Early in September he was riding a trails bike in the hills above Clermont-Ferrand, when he well awkwardly after hitting a tree. His lower left leg was broken at two places - a major disaster! Patrick later explained that he was so use to driving his bikes like crazy, but that on this specific occasion he was driving very slowly. This had caused him not to concentrate very hard and it eventually lead to the accident. In the process his chances to drive for Tyrrell in North America was shattered. The men at Elf were not happy to receive the news of Patrick's accident. They thought that his behaviour was irresponsible and that he somehow led them down after they have supported him for so long. Patrick had good reason to be worried after his accident, because he was already 29 years old and the chances of getting an alternative drive in F1 must have been extremely slim. The only consolation for him, during this unhappy ordeal, was that he became the proud father of a baby boy. Michèle Depailler gave birth to their son, Loïc, on the 20th September in the same Clermont-Ferrand hospital where Patrick was recuperating at the time. He was to be the couples' only child. The final Grand Prix of the year at Watkins Glen was marred by a great tragedy. François Cevert, the man that would be leading the Tyrrell team in 1974, was killed during the Saturday practice round. The Tyrrell team was immediately thrown into turmoil, since it suddenly found itself without any drivers for the following season. Cevert was dead and Stewart had quit racing. Patrick was shocked to receive the tragic news of his compatriot and old teammate. This, however, meant that there was again a chance to resume negotiations with Ken Tyrrell with the hope of clinching a permanent place within the team. After Ken decided to sign Jody Scheckter, Elf was again interested in Patrick so that there could be French representation at Team Tyrrell. Ken Tyrrell had a reputation for spotting talented drivers from the minor categories, but he most definitely was not a man that would sign a driver due to sponsor pressure. During the autumn Patrick was following an intensive rehabilitation programme to get him fit and ready for racing again. The prospect of perhaps clinching the vacant seat at Tyrrell was something that spurred him on even further. With the help of several medical experts and Patrick's own positive approach, he was mending quite rapidly. On own initiative he also tried several home made devices to help strengthen his muscles. To improve his neck muscles he created a weighted helmet, which he wore while driving his R8 Gordini during night sorties on the Clermont-Ferrand circuit. A hole was also drilled through the car's clutch pedal and through this he threaded a piece of elastic band. The ends were wound around the steering column. Each day he did one more lap than the previous day to accustom his injured leg to apply more power and force to the pedal. ___________________________________________________________________________ |
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