Top 5 Worst Performing Larrousse F1 drivers
Top 5 Worst
Performing Larrousse F1 drivers
By: Brian
Cotnoir
Larrousse F1
was another French Formula 1 team that competed in the late 1980’s and early
1990’s with the likes of Renault and Ligier.
While those other French Formula 1 constructors found some moderate
success during this time, Larrousse F1 was unfortunately never able to find
their footing in the sport. Larrousse
suffered from managerial and ownership issues, a disastrous engine deal with
Lamborghini that led to dozens of race retirements, and a slew of
underperforming drivers. I’m actually
surprised that Larrousse was able to stay in F1 as long as they did considering
how many terrible results they had.
5.) Eric Bernard, 2 Seasons, 6 Championship
Points Scored, Average Points Finish 16th
Eric Bernard
made his F1 debut with Larrousse in 1989 and ran full-time for the team in 1990
and 1991. He was teamed up with Aguri
Suzuki for his first season, and finished 13th in the Final Drivers’
Standings that year, only one spot behind his teammate Suzuki. His best finish was a 4th place
at the 1990 British Grand Prix. The
following season, the team switched from Lamborghini engines to Cosworth and
his suffered even worst results, only finishing 2 races the whole season and
failing to qualify for the 1991 Portuguese and Japanese Grand Prix. Ultimately he retired from 20-out-of-34
Grand Prix’s.
4.) Phillippe Alliot, 4 Seasons, 4 Championship
Points Scored
Phillipe
Alliot was Larrousse F1’s first ever driver.
He ran a single car entry for the team in 1987, and scored the team’s
first championship points. Alliot’s Best
Finish for Larrousse F1 was a 5th place at the 1993 San Marino Grand
Prix. He did also retire from
33-out-of-62 races for team.
3.) Erik Comas, 2 Seasons, 3 Championship Points
Scored, Average Points Finish of 21st
Another
French Racing driver who did not pan out at Larrousse, Comas’ best finish with
the team was a 6th place (3X), and he failed to finish half of all Grand
Prix’s he entered for the team.
2.) Bertrand Gachot, 1 Season (1992), 1
Championship point Scored, Finished 19th in the Final Drivers’
Standings
Gachot drove
for Larrousse in a one season partnership deal with Venturi. Gachot had won the 24 hours of Le Mans the
year prior, but much like everyone else on this list had terrible results for
the team. Gachot’s only point’s finish
came from a 6th place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix, and he was
disqualified from the Canadian Grand Prix for receiving a push start.
1.) Yannick
Dalmas, 1.5 Seasons, 0 Championship Points Scored, Best Finish 9th
(3X)
Although not
as terrible as his time spent at AGS, Dalmas didn’t fare much better at
Larrousse F1. Dalmas isn’t a bad driver…just
a bad Formula 1 driver. He is a
four-time winner of the 24 Hour of Le Mans race, but he never was able to
transfer that success into F1. Dalmas
actually finished 5th in his third Formula 1 race ever at the 1987
Australian Grand Prix, but because Larrousse only had been listed as a
single-car entry, the FIA would not allow Dalmas to receive the points for his
finish, and those would have been his only points he ever scored in F1
too. Dalmas only qualified for 1 race in 1989, the
San Marino Grand Prix, which he ended up retiring from. He would leave the team after 6 rounds and
would fail to qualify for any other races that year at AGS.
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