Rene Arnoux was among the many French drivers in the late ’70s and early ’80s who were predicted to become France’s first Formula 1 champion.
| Nationality | French |
|---|---|
| Born | René Alexandre Arnoux 4 July 1948 Pontcharra, Isère, France |
After debuting with Surtees in 1978, Renault quickly signed Arnoux to partner with Jean-Pierre Jabouille in their temperamental turbo cars. He claimed his first two victories in Brazil and South Africa, leading the 1980 championship after three rounds. However, he fell to sixth place overall, scoring only 11 more points throughout the rest of the season.
In 1981, Alain Prost joined as his teammate, significantly impacting Arnoux’s confidence with his speed. Arnoux retaliated in 1982 by defying team orders and winning the 1982 French Grand Prix, refusing to yield to Prost.
Having become an unsustainable pairing at Renualt, Arnoux moved to Ferrari for the 1983 season, where remained a championship contender until the final round of the season, the 1983 South African Grand Prix, where he retired.
Michele Alboreto outperformed Arnoux in 1984 at Ferrari and was mysteriously fired in 1985. Arnoux then joined Jacques Laffite at Ligier in 1986, but the team quickly declined, and he scored just one point with the Megatron engine in 1987. The 1988 season was similarly disappointing with Judd engines, and Arnoux developed a reputation for blocking when being lapped, a theme that persisted through his final season in 1989.
Beyond F1, Arnoux took part in the Grand Prix Masters championship for ex-F1 drivers in 2006 and 2007.
Rene Arnoux Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1978–1989 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Martini, Surtees, Renault, Ferrari, Ligier |
| Entries | 165 (149 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 7 |
| Podiums | 22 |
| Career points | 181 |
| Pole positions | 18 |
| Fastest laps | 12 |
| First entry | 1978 South African Grand Prix |
| First win | 1980 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1983 Dutch Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1989 Australian Grand Prix |
Rene Arnoux Teammates
| 10 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beppe Gabbiani | 2 | 1978 | |
| Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 29 | 1979 | 1980 |
| Alain Prost | 31 | 1981 | 1982 |
| Patrick Tambay | 15 | 1983 | |
| Michele Alboreto | 17 | 1984 | 1985 |
| Jacques Laffite | 9 | 1986 | |
| Philippe Alliot | 7 | 1986 | |
| Piercarlo Ghinzani | 15 | 1987 | |
| Stefan Johansson | 16 | 1988 | |
| Olivier Grouillard | 16 | 1989 |
Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1980 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1980 South African Grand Prix |
| 3 | 1982 French Grand Prix |
| 4 | 1982 Italian Grand Prix |
| 5 | 1983 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 6 | 1983 German Grand Prix |
| 7 | 1983 Dutch 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 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Automobiles Martini | Martini MK23 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA DNQ | USW | MON DNPQ | BEL 9 | ESP | SWE | FRA 14 | GBR WD | GER DNPQ | AUT 9 | NED Ret | ITA | NC | 0 | ||
| Durex Team Surtees | Surtees TS20 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | USA 9 | CAN Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RS01 | Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t | ARG Ret | BRA Ret | RSA Ret | USW DNS | ESP 9 | BEL Ret | 8th | 17 | ||||||||||
| Renault RS10 | Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t | MON Ret | FRA 3 | GBR 2 | GER Ret | AUT 6 | NED Ret | ITA Ret | CAN Ret | USA 2 | |||||||||||
| 1980 | Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RE20 | Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t | ARG Ret | BRA 1 | RSA 1 | USW 9 | BEL 4 | MON Ret | FRA 5 | GBR NC | GER Ret | AUT 9 | NED 2 | ITA 10 | CAN Ret | USA 7 | 6th | 29 | ||
| 1981 | Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RE20B | Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t | USW 8 | BRA Ret | ARG 5 | SMR 8 | BEL DNQ | 9th | 11 | |||||||||||
| Renault RE30 | Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t | MON Ret | ESP 9 | FRA 4 | GBR 9 | GER 13 | AUT 2 | NED Ret | ITA Ret | CAN Ret | CPL Ret | 9th | 11 | ||||||||
| 1982 | Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RE30B | Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6 t | RSA 3 | BRA Ret | USW Ret | SMR Ret | BEL Ret | MON Ret | DET 10 | CAN Ret | NED Ret | GBR Ret | FRA 1 | GER 2 | AUT Ret | SUI 16 | ITA 1 | CPL Ret | 6th | 28 |
| 1983 | Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 126C2B | Ferrari 021 1.5 V6 t | BRA 10 | USW 3 | FRA 7 | SMR 3 | MON Ret | BEL Ret | DET Ret | CAN 1 | GBR 5 | 3rd | 49 | |||||||
| Ferrari 126C3 | Ferrari 021 1.5 V6 t | GER 1 | AUT 2 | NED 1 | ITA 2 | EUR 9 | RSA Ret | ||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 126C4 | Ferrari 031 1.5 V6 t | BRA Ret | RSA Ret | BEL 3 | SMR 2 | FRA 4 | MON 3 ‡ | CAN 5 | DET Ret | DAL 2 | GBR 6 | GER 6 | AUT 7 | NED 11 | ITA Ret | EUR 5 | POR 9 | 6th | 27 |
| 1985 | Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 156/85 | Ferrari 031 1.5 V6 t | BRA 4 | POR | SMR | MON | CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | BEL | EUR | RSA | AUS | 17th | 3 |
| 1986 | Équipe Ligier | Ligier JS27 | Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t | BRA 4 | ESP Ret | SMR Ret | MON 5 | BEL Ret | CAN 6 | DET Ret | FRA 5 | GBR 4 | GER 4 | HUN Ret | AUT 10 | ITA Ret | POR 7 | MEX 15 | AUS 7 | 10th | 14 |
| 1987 | Ligier Loto | Ligier JS29B | Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4 t | BRA | SMR DNS | BEL 6 | MON 11 | DET 10 | 19th | 1 | |||||||||||
| Ligier JS29C | Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4 t | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN Ret | AUT 10 | ITA 10 | POR Ret | ESP Ret | MEX Ret | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | |||||||||
| 1988 | Ligier Loto | Ligier JS31 | Judd CV 3.5 V8 | BRA Ret | SMR DNQ | MON Ret | MEX Ret | CAN Ret | DET Ret | FRA DNQ | GBR 18 | GER 17 | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA 13 | POR 10 | ESP Ret | JPN 17 | AUS Ret | NC | 0 |
| 1989 | Ligier Loto | Ligier JS33 | Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 | BRA DNQ | SMR DNQ | MON 12 | MEX 14 | USA DNQ | CAN 5 | FRA Ret | GBR DNQ | GER 11 | HUN DNQ | BEL Ret | ITA 9 | POR 13 | ESP DNQ | JPN DNQ | AUS Ret | 23rd | 2 |
Sources: Wikipedia.com
