Olivier Panis

Olivier Panis, originally from Oullins, Lyon, is a former French Formula One driver. Early in his career, Panis began with karting, progressing through several junior series before moving up to the French Formula 3 series. By 1990, he secured 4th place in the championship and achieved runner-up status the following year.

Nationality	French
Born	Olivier Jean Denis Marie Panis 2 September 1966 Oullins, Lyon, France

After karting, Panis competed in two seasons of F3000. His initial season involved challenges with the Apamotox team’s stubborn Lola car, while the second season saw him racing for the highly viewed DAMS Equipe team. His perseverance paid off when he was crowned champion, setting the stage for his entry into Formula 1 with Ligier.

At 27, Panis joined the French-based Ligier F1 team in 1994. He secured a surprise second-place finish at Hockenheim that season, ending the season 11th overall in the Drivers’ Championship. He continued to impress, securing another unexpected second place at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, despite trailing two laps behind the leader, and finished 8th in the championship.

Panis’s most astonishing triumph came at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, where he drove his way to victory in treacherously wet conditions. It marked Ligier’s first win in 15 years—their last—and was the first French victory in a French car at Monaco in 66 years. However, apart from this win, Panis failed to finish higher than fifth for the remainder of the season.

In 1997, racing for Prost, who had bought Ligier, Panis showed promise, placing third in the championship standings after six races. Unfortunately, a crash in Canada broke his leg, sidelining him for eight races. He returned for the season’s last three races and finished ninth in the championship.

The 1998 season was less successful for Panis, who struggled to score points under Prost’s management. He earned only a single point across the following season, leading to the end of his relationship with the team.

Panis then considered an offer from Williams but opted to test for McLaren instead, which kept his presence in the paddock despite a full-time drive. He joined BAR in 2001, although the team didn’t meet his expectations, finishing 14th for two consecutive seasons.

In 2003, Panis moved to the new Toyota team to provide his experience and mentor his teammate, Cristiano da Matta. Although he improved in qualifying, his overall results mirrored his previous seasons, finishing 14th once again.

Panis continued with Toyota through 2004, his tenth year in Formula One. He announced his retirement in October of that year, effective after the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix. He stayed with Toyota as a test driver through 2005 and 2006, ending his F1 career at age 37, with five podiums and 76 career points from 157 starts.

Olivier Panis Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1994–1999, 2001–2004
Teams	Ligier, Prost, BAR, Toyota
Entries	158 (157 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	5
Career points	76
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1994 Brazilian Grand Prix
First win	1996 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1996 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	2004 Japanese Grand Prix

Olivier Panis Teammates

13 Teammates	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Eric Bernard	13	1994
Johnny Herbert	1	1994
Franck Lagorce	2	1994
Aguri Suzuki	6	1995
Martin Brundle	11	1995
Pedro Diniz	16	1996
Shinji Nakano	10	1997
Jarno Trulli	34	1998	2005
Jacques Villeneuve	34	2001	2002
Cristiano da Matta	28	2003	2004
Ricardo Zonta	16	2004
Ryan Briscoe	5	2004
Ralf Schumacher	1	2005

Race Wins

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1996 Monaco Grand Prix

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
1994	Ligier Gauloises Blondes	Ligier JS39B	Renault RS6 3.5 V10	BRA 11	PAC 9	SMR 11	MON 9	ESP 7	CAN 12	FRA Ret	GBR 12	GER 2	HUN 6	BEL 7	ITA 10	POR DSQ	EUR 9	JPN 11	AUS 5				11th	9
1995	Ligier Gauloises Blondes	Ligier JS41	Mugen Honda MF301 3.0 V10	BRA Ret	ARG 7	SMR 9	ESP 6	MON Ret	CAN 4	FRA 8	GBR 4	GER Ret	HUN 6	BEL 9	ITA Ret	POR Ret	EUR Ret	PAC 8	JPN 5	AUS 2			8th	16
1996	Ligier Gauloises Blondes	Ligier JS43	Mugen Honda MF301HA 3.0 V10	AUS 7	BRA 6	ARG 8	EUR Ret	SMR Ret	MON 1	ESP Ret	CAN Ret	FRA 7	GBR Ret	GER 7	HUN 5	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	POR 10	JPN 7				9th	13
1997	Prost Gauloises Blondes	Prost JS45	Mugen Honda MF301HA/B 3.0 V10	AUS 5	BRA 3	ARG Ret	SMR 8	MON 4	ESP 2	CAN 11 †	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	AUT	LUX 6	JPN Ret	EUR 7			9th	16
1998	Gauloises Prost Peugeot	Prost AP01	Peugeot A16 3.0 V10	AUS 9	BRA Ret	ARG 15 †	SMR 11 †	ESP 16 †	MON Ret	CAN Ret	FRA 11	GBR Ret	AUT Ret	GER 15	HUN 12	BEL DNS	ITA Ret	LUX 12	JPN 11				NC	0
1999	Gauloises Prost Peugeot	Prost AP02	Peugeot A18 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	BRA 6	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP Ret	CAN 9	FRA 8	GBR 13	AUT 10	GER 6	HUN 10	BEL 13	ITA 11 †	EUR 9	MAL Ret	JPN Ret				15th	2
2001	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 003	Honda RA001E 3.0 V10	AUS 7	MAL Ret	BRA 4	SMR 8	ESP 7	AUT 5	MON Ret	CAN Ret	EUR Ret	FRA 9	GBR Ret	GER 7	HUN Ret	BEL 11	ITA 9	USA 11	JPN 13			14th	5
2002	Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR 004	Honda RA002E 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	MAL Ret	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	AUT Ret	MON Ret	CAN 8	EUR 9	GBR 5	FRA Ret	GER Ret	HUN 12	BEL 12 †	ITA 6	USA 12	JPN Ret			14th	3
2003	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF103	Toyota RVX-03 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	MAL Ret	BRA Ret	SMR 9	ESP Ret	AUT Ret	MON 13	CAN 8	EUR Ret	FRA 8	GBR 11	GER 5	HUN Ret	ITA Ret	USA Ret	JPN 10				15th	6
2004	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF104	Toyota RVX-04 3.0 V10	AUS 13	MAL 12	BHR 9	SMR 11	ESP Ret	MON 8	EUR 11	CAN DSQ	USA 5	FRA 15	GBR Ret									14th	6
		Toyota TF104B	Toyota RVX-04 3.0 V10												GER 14	HUN 11	BEL 8	ITA Ret	CHN 14	JPN 14	BRA
2005	Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota TF105	Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BHR	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA TD	GBR	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	BRA	JPN	CHN	–	–

Sources: Wikipedia.com and Historcracing.com