Jacques Laffite facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Jacques Laffite
Laffite in 2015
Born	Jacques-Henri Laffite (1943-11-21) 21 November 1943 (age 81) Paris, Nazi-occupied France
Spouse(s)	Bernadette Cottin (m. 1977⁠–⁠1992) Florence Gericot (m. 1993)
Children	2, including Margot
Relatives	Jean-Pierre Jabouille (brother-in-law) Arnaud Tsamere (son-in-law)

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	French
Active years	1974–1986
Teams	Frank Williams, Ligier, Williams
Entries	180 (176 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	6
Podiums	32
Career points	228
Pole positions	7
Fastest laps	7
First entry	1974 German Grand Prix
First win	1977 Swedish Grand Prix
Last win	1981 Canadian Grand Prix
Last entry	1986 British Grand Prix


24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1972–1974, 1977–1978, 1990, 1993–1994, 1996
Teams	Ligier, Renault, Mirage, Porsche, Venturi, Larbre, McLaren
Best finish	8th (1974)
Class wins	0

Jacques-Henri Laffite (born November 21, 1943) is a famous French former racing driver. He also worked as a sports broadcaster. He raced in Formula One from 1974 to 1986. During his 13 seasons, Laffite won six big Formula One races.

Born and raised in Paris, Jacques Laffite started his racing training in 1968. He learned to drive at the Winfield Racing School in France. Before joining Formula One, he raced twice in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. His first Formula One race was the 1974 German Grand Prix.

He first raced for Frank Williams' team in 1974 and 1975. In 1975, he achieved his first podium finish in Germany. That same year, he won the European Formula Two Championship. In 1976, he moved to the French Ligier team. He earned several podiums and his first pole position in Italy.

The next year, 1977, was special for Laffite. He won his first Formula One race at the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix. After a season without wins in 1978, Ligier built a very competitive car, the JS11. In 1979, Laffite won the first two races of the season. This included a "grand slam" at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He finished fourth in the championship that year. He also finished fourth in 1980 and 1981, winning several races.

In 1982, he had a tough year with many retirements. He then moved to the Williams team. After two years without wins, he returned to Ligier in 1985. He earned several podium finishes that season. Sadly, in 1986, he had a serious crash at the 1986 British Grand Prix. He broke both of his legs, which ended his Formula One career. He had achieved six wins, seven pole positions, seven fastest laps, and 32 podiums.

After his injury, new safety rules were made for Formula One cars. These rules, starting in 1988, made sure drivers' feet were behind the front axle. This helped make racing safer. Outside of Formula One, Laffite also won races in other championships. He raced in touring cars and the German DTM series. He competed in nine 24 Hours of Le Mans races. After retiring from racing, he became a TV commentator for TF1, a French network.

Early Life and Start in Racing
Formula One Career Highlights
Life After Formula One
Images for kids
Racing record
- Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Other Racing Achievements
See also

Early Life and Start in Racing

Jacques-Henri Laffite was born in Paris on November 21, 1943. He went to a private school called Cours Hattemer. In 1968, he began his training as a racing driver. He attended the Winfield Racing School in France. This was where he learned the skills to become a professional racer.

Formula One Career Highlights

Laffite started his Formula One journey in 1974. He joined Frank Williams' Iso–Marlboro team. The next year, he continued with the same team, which was then called Williams. He achieved a great result by finishing second at the 1975 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring track.

Laffite's 1979 Ligier JS11 being demonstrated at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Laffite demonstrating the Ligier JS19 chassis at the 1982 Pau Grand Prix

In 1976, Laffite joined the French Ligier team. He scored 20 points and got a pole position at the 1976 Italian Grand Prix. The next two seasons were a bit challenging. But he still managed to win his first Grand Prix race. This happened at Anderstorp in the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix.

The 1979 season started with a bang for Laffite. He won the first two races! He even fought for the World Championship title until the very end. However, he finished fourth overall with 36 points. The following two seasons were similar. He again finished fourth in the Championship twice. He also won three more races during these years. In 1982, he had a tough time, finishing 17th with only 5 points.

In the early 1980s, Laffite also raced in Australia. These were non-championship races called the Australian Grand Prix. In 1981, he crashed in qualifying but managed to start the race. He finished second in 1982 behind Alain Prost. In 1983, he came in third. For these races, he drove a Ralt RT4 car.

His results in 1983 and 1984 were not much better. He moved back to England to race for Williams again. He scored 11 and 5 points in those seasons. Even in his forties, Laffite returned to Ligier in 1985. He earned three podium finishes that year. These were in Great Britain, Germany, and Australia. He scored a total of 16 points. In 1986, he scored 14 points and two more podiums early in the season.

However, his career ended suddenly at the 1986 British Grand Prix. He broke both legs in a crash at Brands Hatch. He retired from Formula One after this. He finished his career tied with Graham Hill for the most Grand Prix starts, at 176. He is known as the most successful driver in Ligier's history. He achieved six of their nine wins.

Life After Formula One

Jacques Laffite recovered from his injuries. He later raced in touring cars. In 1987, he finished 17th in the first World Touring Car Championship. He drove an Alfa Romeo 75 for Alfa Corse. He also raced for three seasons in the German DTM series.

He is now a television commentator for the French network TF1. He is well-known for his excited reactions during races. For example, in 1997, he famously reacted strongly when Michael Schumacher collided with Jacques Villeneuve.

In October 2008, at 64 years old, he tested a Renault R27 Formula One car. This happened at the Circuit Paul Ricard track.

Laffite has two daughters, Camille and Margot. Margot is also a sports journalist who covers Formula One. Jacques Laffite loves golf and is a part-owner of the Dijon-Bourgogne Golf course. He also has a property in Creuse, France, near Aubusson. He loves the area for its fishing and nature.

Images for kids

Laffite in 2015

Racing record

Jacques Laffite had a long and successful racing career. Here are some of his key achievements:

1974 European Formula Two: 3rd place
1975 European Formula Two: 1st place (Champion!)
1975 World Sportscar Championship: 3 wins
1976 Formula One: 7th place, 1 pole position, 3 podiums
1977 Formula One: 10th place, 1 win, 2 podiums
1978 Formula One: 8th place, 3 podiums
1979 Formula One: 4th place, 2 wins, 4 pole positions, 6 podiums
1979 BMW M1 Procar Championship: 1 win
1980 Formula One: 4th place, 1 win, 1 pole position, 5 podiums
1981 Formula One: 4th place, 2 wins, 1 pole position, 7 podiums
1982 Formula One: 17th place, 1 podium
1983 Formula One: 11th place
1984 Formula One: 14th place
1985 Formula One: 9th place, 3 podiums
1986 Formula One: 8th place, 2 podiums (career ended due to injury)
1987 World Touring Car Championship: 17th place
1990 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft: 7th place, 1 win, 3 podiums
1991 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft: 11th place, 2 pole positions, 3 podiums
1992 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft: 13th place

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1972	Automobiles Ligier	Pierre Maublanc	Ligier JS2-Maserati	S 3.0	195	DNF	DNF
1973	Automobiles Ligier	Guy Ligier	Ligier JS2-Maserati	S 3.0	24	DSQ	DSQ
1974	Automobiles Ligier	Alain Serpaggi	Ligier JS2-Maserati	S 3.0	310	8th	5th
1977	Renault Sport	Patrick Depailler	Renault Alpine A442	S +2.0	289	DNF	DNF
1978	Grand Touring Cars Inc.	Vern Schuppan Sam Posey	Mirage M9-Renault	S +2.0	293	10th	5th
1990	Joest Porsche Racing	Henri Pescarolo Jean-Louis Ricci	Porsche 962C	C1	328	14th	14th
1993	Jacadi Racing	Michel Maisonneuve Christophe Dechavanne	Venturi 500LM-Renault	GT	210	DNF	DNF
1994	Larbre Compétition	Jacques Alméras Jean-Marie Alméras	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	GT2	94	DNF	DNF
1996	Team Bigazzi SRL	Steve Soper Marc Duez	McLaren F1 GTR-BMW	GT1	318	11th	9th