Top 100 F1 Drivers: 65-61

It's been a while since I last put together an installment of this, but with Uni finished I can hopefully get this to a close soon! Let's pick up where we left off... at number 65....

65. Richie Ginther (USA) 53 Starts, 1 Race Win, 130.7 F-Points

Richie Ginther spent the early part of his career alongside eventual world champion Phil Hill. Both grew up in California and Ginther helped to maintain Hill’s cars before beginning to enter events himself. After being drafted to the military, Ginther returned to race in an Austin Healey, while also getting opportunities to drive Ferraris. In 1957 and 1958 Ginther’s Sports Car career peaked with a number of successes in various events, but the following year the difficulty of participating in the sport was beginning to show.

In 1960 Ginther began to dabble in Formula One with the Ferrari team. In his third race in Monza, Ginther led the race for a number of laps before being overtaken by Phil Hill and eventually settling for second place. His performances had been good enough to see him retain a permanent place in the Ferrari team for 1961. In his first race of the season Ginther ran Stirling Moss close for victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, despite being Ferrari’s third driver. He had a decent season following this early charge, with two more podiums leaving him in fifth place of the World Championship.

Ginther made the move to BRM for the 1962 season, but the car was rarely good enough to bring home significant results. The American did manage to come in behind teammate Graham Hill to secure a 1-2 for BRM at the Italian Grand Prix, but this was an unlikely spark in a difficult season. Despite this, Ginther remained at BRM for 1963 and was duly rewarded for his loyalty.

1963 saw Ginther achieve five podium finishes and take third place in the World Championship, just behind Graham Hill. While he was unable to make the breakthrough that would see him take his first victory, the paddock recognised Ginther as a tremendous team player and his work in testing and developing the cars was invaluable. 

After a moderately successful 1964 with two further podiums, Ginther decided to move to the relatively new Honda F1 team. His services were mainly brought in to help develop the car, but Ginther managed to surprise the F1 world when he stormed into the lead of the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, and led to the chequered flag. It was Honda’s first victory in Formula One, and Ginther’s champagne moment.

His career began to wind down following this victory. In 1966 he drove a few races for both Cooper and Honda. A broken collarbone suffered in a crash while leading the Italian Grand Prix did not deter Ginther from seeing the season out, but in 1967 he finally decided he’d had enough. While attempting to qualify for the Indy 500, Ginther’s fuel line broke, spraying gasoline down his back. This incident sparked memories of being burned earlier in his life, and caused him to retire on the spot. Ginther left the racing world, and lived with his family until dying of heart failure in 1989, aged 59.

64. Patrick Tambay (France) 113 Starts, 2 Race Wins, 140.7 F-Points

French driver Patrick Tambay was a popular figure in the paddock during his racing career. With effortless charm he was able to win over the crowds during a career that lasted nine seasons. Tambay began by competing in Formula 5000, before a move to CanAm that saw him win the 1977 championship in the series. The impression left by this success was enough to get him a place in the Ensign team midway through the 1977 season. Tambay was able to make a quick impact, scoring a handful of points before the end of the year.

Tambay's potential was recognised by the McLaren team, who signed the Frenchman up for their 1978 campaign. However, the McLaren proved to have a very poor year, with both Tambay and his esteemed teammate James Hunt only managing sporadic points finishes. Hunt departed the team, but Tambay continued in the hope that 1979 would be an improved showing. This was not the case though, as Tambay did not manage to score any points all season. This was made worse by the fact that his new colleague John Watson had worked up a tally of 15 points, meaning Tambay had little hope of another season at McLaren.

Tambay moved back to CanAm in 1980 and regained his form by winning the championship for a second time. It was enough to secure his return to F1 with the Theodore racing team. Despite finishing sixth in his first race of 1981, Tambay was unable to get much out of the ailing car, and transferred to Ligier halfway through the season. This was an even worse move though, as the Frenchman's Ligier retired in every single Grand Prix.

Tambay began 1982 without a drive, but a twist of fate would soon change this. Gilles Villeneuve was killed during qualifying of the Belgian Grand Prix, and after running just one car for a few races, Ferrari offered Tambay the opportunity to see out the season with them. Tambay accepted, and on his second race for Scuderia took his first podium at the British Grand Prix. 

Two races later, Tambay found himself on the top step of the podium. His teammate Didier Pironi had taken pole position for the German Grand Prix, but a practice accident meant that Tambay's fellow Frenchman withdrew from the race and never entered another Grand Prix. Piquet led away at a wet Hockenheim, but a collision with Eliseo Salazar forced the Brazilian to retire, meaning Tambay was able to lead home to the chequered flag.

Another podium at Italy did enough to convince Ferrari to keep Tambay for the 1983 season, giving him a chance to shine once more. He took his second career victory in front of the Tifosi at the San Marino Grand Prix. It was a highly emotional day for Tambay, who topped an all-French podium and dedicated his win to Gilles Villeneuve. Midway through the season, and having taken his fourth podium of the year at the British Grand Prix, Tambay was in genuine contention for the title. However, performance slipped and two wasted pole positions in Germany and Austria meant he quickly fell out of the Championship race.

1983 was Tambay's most successful year, having finished fourth in the Championship. Ferrari nevertheless decided to replace him with Michele Alboreto, so the Frenchman teamed up with Renault for 1984. Results were promising at first, with a second place finish at his home Grand Prix of Dijon offering him plenty of reason to celebrate. However, the Renault team struggled to keep up and Tambay was unable to score many more points that season.

Things stayed rather the same in 1985. Tambay managed two third place finishes at Portugal and San Marino, but there was little else to cheer about. Tambay had one last throw of the Formula One dice with Lola in 1986, but the car was uncompetitive. It seemed his time in F1 was up, but the Frenchman continued to race in other outlets. He competed in Le Mans, he tried his hand at desert raid racing and more recently has been involved in Grand Prix Masters events. He is also a commentator for French television.

63. Elio de Angelis (Italy) 108 Starts, 2 Race Wins, 146.7 F-Points

Elio de Angelis' rise to prominence began when he started karting aged 14. He finished second in the world championship of 1975, and took the European title in 1976. With insiders aware of his potential, he was thrown straight into a Formula Three seat aged 19 and it took just three races before de Angelis had scored his first victory. He won the Italian F3 title and made a brief move in Formula Two, which was unsuccessful. Undeterred, de Angelis dropped back into Formula Three and with victory in Monaco, was offered a test drive for the Shadow F1 team.

Elio de Angelis decided to drive for Shadow in 1979, with his father paying for his seat in the team. Though this became a part of his reputation, his performances soon wiped away the doubters as he dragged the ailing car to some impressive finishes. This was topped off with a fourth place at the final race of the season in the United States, prompting Lotus to snap him up for their 1980 campaign.

Shadow sued de Angelis for breaking his contract, but the Italian would have no regrets as his Lotus career got off to a fantastic start. In just his second Grand Prix for the team, de Angelis very nearly became the youngest ever winner of a Grand Prix when he took second in Brazil. Though he did not manage another podium in 1980, de Angelis had easily trumped his World Champion teammate Mario Andretti and was beginning to look like a future Formula One star.

The Lotus continued to struggle in 1981, but de Angelis was still able to make the most out of the car. Despite one rather embarrassing incident in which he was disqualified for ignoring yellow flags for ten laps, de Angelis scored points on eight occasions and once again beat a top teammate in Nigel Mansell (albeit Mansell's F1 career was still in its infancy at this point).

1982 continued in a similar vein for de Angelis up until the Austrian Grand Prix. Having qualified in a decent seventh, de Angelis soon found himself in the battle for victory along with Prost, Piquet and Patrese. However, all three of his opponents suffered problems with their cars that allowed de Angelis to take the lead. Closing him down was Keke Rosberg, and in the final few laps the two cars were wing-to-wing. The Italian went wide into the final corner and Rosberg dived down the inside, but de Angelis crossed the line 0.05 seconds before the Finn, taking an astonishing first victory.

1983 was severely disappointing for de Angelis. With only one finish in the points, it became the first season in F1 that the Italian had been beaten by his teammate, as Nigel Mansell showed a little bit more consistency. It was important for de Angelis that he stepped up his game in 1984, and he certainly did. The Italian scored a podium at the first race of the season in Brazil, having taken pole position, and went on to score a further three podiums that season. As well as this, de Angelis was rarely outside of the points and finished third in the World Championship, having demonstrated superb consistency to outscore Mansell once more.

In 1985 de Angelis was joined by another up-and-coming young star by the name of Ayrton Senna. As Senna began to spread his wings, the pressure was on de Angelis to match him for results. The Italian took his second career victory in the San Marino Grand Prix, albeit it was a messy affair in which Prost took the chequered flag before being disqualified for an underweight car. Elio was also disqualified for the same reason, but then reinstated to put him on top of the Championship standings. A podium at the following race in Monaco would prove to be de Angelis' last in 1985, as he stuck to a more consistent role while Senna gunned for victory. At the end of the season, de Angelis was only five points behind Senna but the Italian felt the team had been favouring his new rival and decided to leave Lotus after six seasons competing for them.

In 1986 de Angelis joined Brabham in the hope that he could help develop the teams car and rescue their declining fortunes. However, just four races after his debut for the team, de Angelis crashed during testing at the Paul Ricard circuit. Though the impact of the crash only caused minor injuries to the Italian, the car caught fire and a lack of marshalling meant that there was a long delay before he could be extricated. Elio de Angelis died of smoke inhalation the next day, aged 28.

62. Tony Brooks (Great Britain) 38 Starts, 6 Race Wins, 147.7 F-Points

Despite only competing in a handful of races by today's terms, Tony Brooks proved himself to be one of the top competitors in Formula One during the late 50s. Brooks was known as "The Racing Dentist", due to his father's profession and the fact that Brooks himself nearly followed suit. However, in 1952 he took up racing and by 1955 he was taking part in Formula Two events. With his reputation building, Brooks secured his first season in Formula One after taking victory at a non-championship event in Sicily - an event which he attended, despite it coinciding with his final dentistry exams.

Brooks was signed by BRM for the 1956 season, but things did not get off to a smooth start. In his first race at Silverstone, Brooks suffered a broken jaw after a heavy collision threw him out of the car. With BRM offering Brooks little in the way of opportunities to drive the car, the Brit switched to Vanwall for the 1957 season and results began to improve. He took a second-place finish at Monaco in his debut for the team, and instantly topped that with a victory shared with Stirling Moss at Silverstone in his second race.

Brooks would go on to top a successful 1957 with a superb 1958, where he drove with Vanwall to three race victories in Belgium, Germany and France. Poor reliability throughout the year cost him a shot at the title, but a very respectable third in the Driver's Championship captured the interest of Ferrari, who signed him up for 1959. Brooks impressed once again with two further race victories and a podium, leaving him in third place in the World Championship with one race remaining. Brooks had an outside shot at the title, but would have to win the race to secure it.

It wasn't to be, as Brooks could only manage third place and that allowed Cooper's Jack Brabham to take the crown. Brooks decided to sign for Cooper ahead of the 1960 season, but was unable to get the same sort of performances out of the car as his teammates. He spent one final season in F1 with BRM in 1961, and was able to end his Grand Prix career with a stellar third place finish at Watkins Glen.

Brooks is now 81, and was honoured by his hometown of Dukinfield in 2008.

61. Didier Pironi (France) 68 Starts, 3 Race Wins, 148.7 F-Points

Unfortunately, Didier Pironi's story is another of what could have been. Pironi studied to become an engineer, but was chiefly interested in competitive involvement in sport. He was an excellent swimmer and athlete, but a sponsorship deal with Elf in 1972 at the age of 20 sparked his commitment to his racing career. It took Pironi a while to attract the attention of the Formula One world, but victory in the 1977 Monaco Formula Three race put him on the map, and he agreed a deal to sign with Tyrrell for 1978.

1978 was a defining year for Pironi. Not only did he impress with consistent points finishes in the otherwise uninspiring Tyrrell car, but he was also part of the team that led Renault to victory in the Le Mans 24 hours that year. Despite sticking with Tyrrell for another year, Pironi continued to show promise in 1979 by scoring his first two podiums - the first a strong showing at Spa to come home third, and the second surviving a race of attrition to haul home another third place finish at Watkins Glen.

In 1980 Pironi joined Ligier to partner Jacques Laffite. Together, the two formed a formidable force and led Ligier to second in the Constructors Championship - their best even finish. In the midst of this, Pironi was able to secure his first victory in Formula One, comfortably leading to the chequered flag ahead of Alan Jones at Spa. Pironi also scored another four podium finishes that season, and came fifth in the World Championship.

With Enzo Ferrari declaring his interest in Pironi throughout the 1980 season, it was inevitable that the Frenchman would join the team for 1981. It was a move that defined Pironi's career, as he quickly whipped up a rapport with the Ferrari team despite being slower than his esteemed teammate Gilles Villeneueve. 1981 was an unremarkable season for Pironi, and Villeneuve was happy to have him as a partner in the Ferrari team.

Things got fractious very quickly in 1982, after an event that compares very closely with this season's Vettel-Webber controversy. During the San Marino Grand Prix, Villeneuve was leading Pironi and the two cars were well ahead of Michele Alboreto in third, so were ordered to slow down and consolidate the result. While Villeneuve interpreted this to mean that there would be no fighting for position on the track, Pironi had a different opinion and blasted past his teammate. At first, Villeneuve considered this to be a bit of showmanship for the crowd, but when Pironi continued to fight for the lead it quickly became apparent that this was no act. The Frenchman took victory, leaving Villeneuve in an irate mood.

During qualifying in the next race, Villeneuve was killed in an accident that many at the time believed was caused by his outraged state of mind. Pironi became a maligned figure in the paddock because of this, and coupled with inadvertently being involved in the fatal crash that killed Riccardo Paletti, Pironi was undergoing severe stress. Nevertheless, Pironi took his third career victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, and with five races remaining he held a comfortable lead in the title race.

Sadly, tragedy intervened once more. During practice for the German Grand Prix, Pironi slammed into the back of Alain Prost's car and was thrown from his Ferrari. Severe injuries to his legs almost meant they had to be amputated, and consequently Pironi was never able to race in Formula One again. Missing the final five races meant that Keke Rosberg took the title.

Pironi did regain enough fitness to test drive a Ligier in 1986, but for insurance reasons he was unable to return to the sport. He instead competed in powerboat racing until an accident near the Isle of Wight killed him and his crew. He was 35.

The next batch to revealed soon...