1980 Belgian Grand Prix: Pironi's Star on the Rise

April 15, 2014 by Jeremy McMullen

Following the outstanding performance in the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans that resulted in victory for Renault, its only victory in the 24 hour race, Didier Pironi would be considered a man to watch. On the 4th of May, 1980, in just his second season in Formula One, he would prove why.

He had to be careful to let the tactics play out. This would not be easy as the sister-car drew far away into the distance. It was the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans and Renault was still to crack the reliability and performance of the almighty Porsches. But Renault had a plan, they just needed their cars and drivers to hold to that plan perfectly.

The newer version of the Renault-Alpine, the A443 would be the rabbit. Didier Pironi and his co-driver Jean-Pierre Jaussaud would be behind the wheel of one of one of the A442Bs. The two could not be pulled in by the team's tactics. They needed to run their own race, one of speed, but also, of intense focus on reliability.

The rabbit would work to perfection last until late in the race. This drew the Porsches out into a fight they didn't want. Ultimately, the tactics would work. The Porsches would be fast but would be in trouble. Pironi and Jaussaud would show patience beyond their years. They would not be sucked into the fight and would, instead, remain consistent with one eye on the car. The result would be obvious. Traversing the last lap of the circuit, Pironi and Jaussaud would enjoy a five lap advantage over the first of two factory Porsches. Pironi and Jaussaud would be all by themselves against two powerful factory Porsches and would end up beating them all to take Renault's one and only victory at Le Mans.

The victory at Le Mans made it abundantly clear there was something special about Didier Pironi. He had risen the lower ranks of open-wheel racing very quickly with a couple of championships to his credit. This would help Didier to capture the attention of none other than Ken Tyrrell, who, would offer Pironi his first drive in Formula One the same year as his remarkable and dominant performance at Le Mans.

Tyrrell's signing Pironi to drive for his team just six years after he had earned sponsorship backing from Elf proved there was a good deal of potential in the then 25 year old Frenchman.

Pironi would make Tyrrell look like a genius as he would take his Tyrrell 008 to four points-paying finishes in his first six races of the 1978 season. The following year, Pironi would stand on the podium for the first time at Zolder. He had finished the Belgian Grand Prix in 3rd place, a tremendous result for the sophomore driver. But what most didn't realize, there would be something to Didier and Zolder, and he would make that point the following season.

Tyrrell's star had declined following the 1973 season. Jackie Stewart would retire at the end of the year and then there would be the tragic death of Francois Cevert that would bring the season to a premature end for both. Cevert was tipped to be a World Champion in the making, but his death would throw everything of certainty within Tyrrell into a tail-spin.

Jody Scheckter would come to drive for the team and would provide at least one victory in the next three seasons. Patrick Depailler would add one during Pironi's freshman campaign. So, in spite of the frantic moments at the end of the 1973 season, Tyrrell was still one of the strongest teams in the Formula One paddock. However, that strength would begin to wane. Frequent troubles with financing would hurt the teams development and competitiveness. Didier would take over as the team's number one driver in 1979, and, despite a couple of 3rd places, there would be really very little to celebrate.

But Didier would do what he could with Tyrrell's cars and it would have an impact. Not only would his freshman season surprise, but his fight and determination in an inadequate car in his second season would show just what the Frenchman was capable of doing. It would be enough for Guy Ligier.

Guy Ligier's Equipe Ligier had shown promise as well. The team would earn a victory in just its second season and then would score three in 1979. The team's car was the JS11. It was designed by Gerard Ducarouge, a designer that had an aeronautical engineering background who had worked for Nord Aviation.

Ducarouge was certainly successful. He would not only lead the design of the Matra MS10 and MS80 that would take Jackie Stewart to the 1969 Formula One World Championship, but he would also be at the heart of Matra's string of success at Le Mans. Ducarouge understood ground effects quite well and had proven it with Ligier's victories in 1979. Ligier was a team on the rise just like Pironi. Leaving Tyrrell made sense.

After a retirement in the Argentine Grand Prix, the first round of the World Championship in 1980, Didier would turn things around and would begin experiencing a good run of success. It would start with a 4th place in the Brazilian Grand Prix. This would be followed with a podium result in South Africa. Pironi would slip a little in the United States West Grand Prix, but it would still be a points-paying finish. So, following the race, Didier found himself in 4th place in the championship standings and only 10 points behind Rene Arnoux, the leader at the time.

It was time to head to Europe for the start of the Formula One season there. Heading to Europe meant the first stop the championship would be heading to a place that seemed near and dear to Pironi's heart—Zolder.

In 1978, Pironi scored points in Zolder. The following year, he would improve upon his performance from the previous season and would stand on the podium for the first time. It appeared every time Pironi too that next step to the next level Zolder would be the place where it all began.

For the man born just to the southeast of Paris, there was just something to the Circuit Zolder located a short distance from the Netherlands. And, in the updated Ligier, the Frenchman would fly around the circuit in practice ending up 2nd on the grid beside the Williams of Alan Jones.

If there was any question as to the affinity Pironi had for Zolder he would answer it right at the start of the race, for, when the light turned green, he would get the better start off the grid and would be into the lead by the first corner. Jones would give chase but he would have the second Ligier of Jacques Lafitte right there in which to contend.

At the completion of the first lap it would be Pironi, in just his third season in Formula One, leading the way for the first time in a Formula One race with Jones following along in 2nd place ahead of the second Ligier. The race would become rather processional early on as a result of the nature of the circuit. This meant the majority of the changes in the leaderboard would come as a result of attrition. This would be the case as Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Jochen Mass would be very early retirements in the 72 lap race. Then, one-by-one, and at somewhat close intervals, competitors began to fall by the wayside, but, Pironi would remain on course and in the lead looking every bit like a wily old veteran as he not only held off, but extended his advantage over Jones in 2nd place.

Over 70,000 would be on hand to watch Pironi circulate in the lead appearing a championship contender in every way. Approaching lapped traffic, Didier would remain cool and calm, despite more than a couple of times where the traffic forgot to look in their mirrors, knowing he had been stretching out his lead consistently over Jones.

As Pironi soldiered on in the lead of the race, Nelson Piquet, the championship leader, would throw himself out into the catch-fencing. This would have considerable championship consequences if things were to remain as they were following the Brazilian's retirement.

Tick…tick…tick, the laps would continue to go away and Pironi would remain there at the head of the field. Encouraged by his teammate, Jacques Laffite would turn up the pace setting the fastest lap of the race. However, with only about 6 laps remaining in the race, the Frenchman would come into the pits with problems that would end up costing him 3rd place. Ligier's hopes would be entirely with the 28 year old leading the way.

As the last lap got underway, it was obvious there was no hope for Jones except for late mechanical troubles. Pironi would utterly dominate the whole of the race. Though it would be just the first race in which he ever led, Didier would look as if he had done it dozens of times before. Keeping cool and calm in the car, it was understandable why he would be considered a potential World Champion. And, as he crossed the line in a little under one hour and 39 minutes, Pironi would be firmly in the championship picture finishing 47 seconds ahead of Jones and climbing to within 4 points of the championship leader Rene Arnoux.

Pironi and the Ligier were beginning to come on strong; if only the remainder of the season could have been filled with races at Zolder. As it turned out, Didier would suffer a terrible stretch in which a 2nd place in the French Grand Prix would be the only finish he would manage to see out of six possible races. This severely hampered his chances at the championship, but the victory at Zolder and a couple of pole-positions at Monaco and Brands Hatch would be all Enzo Ferrari needed to see.

Didier Pironi's star was on the rise in 1980. It would continue to rise when he made the move to Scuderia Ferrari. Unfortunately, in 1982, the world would also witness the death of one of its greatest stars, as well as, the death of Pironi's championship aspirations.

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