Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (; born 10 July 1946) is a French former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

, who competed in

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

from to . Jarier contested 143

Formula One Grands Prix Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing series managed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name alludes to a series of FIA ...

for

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

, ATS,

Ligier Ligier () is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Cham ...

, Lotus, Tyrrell, and

Osella Osella is an Italian racing car manufacturer and former Formula One team. They participated in 132 List of Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix between 1980 and 1990. They achieved two points finishes and scored five world championship points. ...

. He achieved three podiums and three pole positions across 12 seasons.

Early career

Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier was born on 10 July 1946 in

Charenton-le-Pont Charenton-le-Pont () is a Communes of France, commune situated to the southeast of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris, to the north of the confluence of the Seine and Marne (river), Marne rivers; the part of ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. After competing in Formula France, he moved up to French

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

, finishing 3rd overall in 1970, before moving on to the Shell Arnold European

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

team in 1971. He peaked with two 3rd places, and also made his Grand Prix debut at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

when the team rented a

March Engineering March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better success in other categories ...

701. However, the team dropped him midway through 1972 for financial reasons. For 1973 he signed to the March Engineering Formula Two team, and was also given a

seat by the outfit. Formula One was difficult in the uncompetitive 721G, but Jarier stormed to the Formula Two title with eight wins.

Formula One

After his good form in the 1973 F2 European series, Jarier nearly signed for Ferrari, but their established driver

Clay Regazzoni Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni (; 5 September 1939 – 15 December 2006) was a Swiss racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Regazzoni was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with F ...

insisted on having the young Austrian Niki Lauda as his teammate. In 1974 Jarier drove a full season of Formula One, signing with the

Shadow Racing Cars Shadow Racing Cars was a Formula One and sports car racing team. The sports car racing team, competing in the CanAm series, was founded in 1968 and was based in the United States. The Formula One team was founded in and was based in N ...

team. He became team leader following the death of

Peter Revson Peter Jeffrey Revlon Revson (February 27, 1939 – March 22, 1974) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . Revson won two Formula One Grands Prix across five seasons. Born and raised in New York, Revson was th ...

, and finished 3rd at the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

on his way to 14th overall. As a sports car driver. Jarier led Matra's successful defense of its world sports car title, and proved himself the fastest driver of all on the classic road circuits, being faster than Ickx at Nürburgring and the old Spa road circuit and winning three other rounds on GP circuits at Brands Hatch, Watkins Glen and Paul Ricard. 1975 began Jarier putting his Shadow DN5 on pole position for the

Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and ...

, only for a component to break in the warm-up, preventing Jarier from taking the start. He repeated the feat at the

Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix (), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix (), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos neighborhood, Cidade Dutra, São Paulo. The in ...

, and then dominated the race until a fuel metering unit failed, ending his race. Bad luck and poor reliability would curse his season, though the Shadow team fell from the pace as well. His only points-scoring finish was for 4th place in the shortened

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix (, ) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating its centenary in 2013. The race had modest beginnings ...

. Jarier spent 1976 with Shadow Racing Cars, qualifying 3rd in an updated version of the previous year's car, the DN5B and setting fastest lap at the opening

, before spinning off and crashing on

James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) was a British racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Shunt", Hunt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and wo ...

's oil whilst running second a few seconds behind

Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...

in a Ferrari. Subsequently, the car became uncompetitive, and Jarier failed to score any points. After this, his career slowed. He switched to the ATS team in 1977, driving a

Penske Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the founder and chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the presid ...

. He scored a point in his first race for the team, and then had one-off drives for Shadow and

Équipe Ligier Équipe Ligier () is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from to . The team was founded in 1968 by former French rugby union player Guy Ligier as a sports car manufacturer. Sports car origins After retiring fr ...

when the German team elected to miss the final races of the year. He also dabbled in

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

s, winning two races in an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

T33 with Arturo Merzario, and coming second at the Le Mans 24 Hours with Vern Schuppan in a Mirage. His second year at ATS in the in-house HS1, was less successful, and he was fired after an argument with team principal

Günter Schmid Günter Schmid (13 August 1932 – 29 May 2005) was the founder and principal of the Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Féd� ...

after failing to qualify the car for the

. He was briefly re-hired for the German Grand Prix, only to miss the grid again, and again argued with Schmid, leaving once more. However, at the end of the year he was signed by

Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, American Championship Car Racing, Ind ...

to take the seat left by

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Superswede", Peterson twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in an ...

's death. He set fastest lap at the United States Grand Prix East at Watkins Glen, running 3rd before he ran out of fuel, and then took pole and dominated at the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix () is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports car event, before alterna ...

at Montreal before an oil leak ended his race. These showings saw him signed by

Tyrrell Racing The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001) which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the e ...

. He was a regular points-scorer over two seasons with the team, with his best results being two 3rd places, achieved at the 1979 South African Grand Prix and the 1979 British Grand Prix. He began 1981 with a temporary assignment for Ligier, standing in while Jean-Pierre Jabouille returned to fitness, for two races at Long Beach and Rio de Janeiro. He then drove with

beginning midway through the season. 1982 saw a full season with

, with Jarier securing the team's best-ever finish with 4th at the

San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine Mountains, Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was nam ...

(which was boycotted by the majority of British teams). While the rest of the year would be difficult, Jarier was instrumental in keeping the team's morale up following the death of

Riccardo Paletti Riccardo Paletti (15 June 1958 – 13 June 1982) was an Italian motor racing driver. Paletti was killed when he crashed on the start grid in his second Formula One start. Life before racing Born in Milan, Riccardo Paletti was the son of Gia ...

at the

. The following year saw a full season with Equipe Ligier, but after a good run at

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

ended with a collision with

Keke Rosberg Keijo Erik "Keke" Rosberg (; born 6 December 1948) is a Finnish former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Rosberg won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won five Grand ...

, he finished the season without points, and spent most of the season making other drivers angry because of his blocking tactics as a back marker. One example of this was the

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix () is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, and –. It returned to the Formula One calendar in , where it has remained since then. It was first held at ...

that year. On lap 22, Ferrari driver

Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay (; 25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North ...

, who had led the race from the start, was held up by Jarier for two corners (the Glatsch-kurve and the Bosch-kurve). As he was being held up, Tambay's team-mate

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Arnoux won seven Formula One Grands Prix across 12 seasons. In 1977, Arnoux won the European Formula Two Championship. His be ...

was able to pass Tambay on the approach to the Texaco-Schikane by boxing Tambay in behind Jarier. This also allowed Brabham driver

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...

to come from 3rd to 2nd by nipping past Tambay into the second of the two left-handers, which dropped Tambay to 3rd and denied him the lead he had been preparing to re-take from Arnoux. A furious Tambay waved his fist at Jarier when he finally did pass him.

Later life

Following this, Jarier retired from motorsport, but was tempted back to drive in the

Porsche Supercup The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007 and often abbreviated as PSC) is an international One-design racing, one-make production stock car racing series supporting the ...

in 1994. This led to several sports car drives, winning the 1998 and 1999 French GT Championships. Jarier contributed major stunt work to the film '' Ronin'', directed by

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits are ''Birdman of Alcatraz (film), Birdman of Alcatraz'', ''The Manc ...

, who also directed the 1966 '' Grand Prix''.

Racing record

Career summary

^‡ Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points.

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Graded drivers not eligible for European Formula Two Championship points

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One non-championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References