Rene Arnoux: An F1 maverick

An attentive visitor to an early eighties grand prix grid may well have had his or her curiosity aroused by an unusual sight; a slightly unkempt figure lying in the unorthodox position of back against grass verge, eyes closed, hands behind head and bandied legs pointing skywards against Armco.

Rene Arnoux possessed an informal manner but his uncompromising prowess behind the wheel resulted in 18 pole positions and seven wins. The determination required to rise from a humble background to the sybaritic lifestyle of a Ferrari driver perhaps explains much: the all-out wheel-banging over 'minor' placings, the stubbornness when being lapped and the slight air of the maverick.

A spell in the doldrums at the end of a 12-year career in Formula 1 served to take the shine off Arnoux's early achievements, but this was a man who vied with Alain Prost to become France's first world champion.

As always, Arnoux is most animated recounting the critical role played by John Surtees in reviving his stalled F1 career during his 1978 debut season.

"One thing really important in my career was when John Surtees called to ask me to do Watkins Glen and Canada [the last two races of the season]," he says. "The call came at really the last moment for me, and he said 'Rene, I have two drivers who are qualifying my car [so far off the grid they're] on the last corner... Are you interested in doing these races for me?'

"I had nothing. I said, 'Yes, John. I can come over.' He said, 'No, don't come to England, we've no time. You have to go directly to America, we'll make the seat there."

Martini got Arnoux into F1, but getting its cars to qualify was another matter © LAT

Arnoux's Montreal performance, qualifying 16th on hard tyres and lapping fourth fastest for a period in the race, propelled the 30-year-old into contention for the number two race seat at Renault the following season.

The French concern was unable to extract preferred choice Didier Pironi from his Tyrrell contract. Arnoux, who had eclipsed the younger Pironi en route to the 1977 European Formula 2 crown when they were team-mates at Martini, was set to land his big break.

"John never obliged me to sign anything. He was a really, really good man. He never said you can only do these two races if you sign a contract for '79. Perhaps without those two races my career would have finished."

Arnoux's connection with Surtees dated back to the winter of 1973, when French journalist Gerard 'Jabby' Crombac helped land the struggling driver a position at John's factory. That Arnoux, then having completed just one season of racing, was working as a jobbing racing mechanic was indicative of his struggle to the top.

"Arnoux actually worked for us in our stores!" revealed Surtees after bowing out of F1 as a constructor. "I'd wanted him to drive our cars for a number of years, but he always seemed to have options on him. The Lotus option [arranged through Crombac] wouldn't allow it and then the French fuel companies wouldn't allow it."

If those comments evoke images of influential players engaging in bidding wars for Arnoux's services, the reality was rather different. A talented karter, Arnoux spent two years working as a mechanic for Turin tuner Virgilio Conrero, famed for running factory Opel rally and touring car teams in Italy.

The job provided funds to enter Mike Knight's Winfield racing school at Magny-Cours, and paved the way for entry and victory in the Volant Shell competition - held in the autumn of '72. The prize: a Formula Renault budget. The result: the 1973 French title, defeating future Ferrari team-mate Patrick Tambay along way.

Shell's withdrawal from racing in France instigated Arnoux's passage to the Surtees workshop England. "I was a mechanic for John hoping to do Formula 2, but the problem was Shell didn't want to pay for me to drive the car. I was so disappointed."

A brief and unsuccessful liaison with the Kitchener Formula 5000 car led Rene to return to a caravan in Magny-Cours, his permanent address, where he could regroup close to his sanctuary of supporters. Chief among these was Channel Islander Tico Martini, whose workshops were located nearby. The relationship would rescue Arnoux from the sidelines and take both parties into F1.

First win came with Renault in 1980 © LAT

But it was the seat at Equipe Renault Elf that would provide a worthy stage for Arnoux to display his talent. It's hard to imagine a Formula 1 fan unfamiliar with that Dijon duel with Gilles Villeneuve. If the monumental scrap endeared both drivers to legions of supporters, it is perhaps surprising to hear Renault team leader Jean-Pierre Jabouille's views on Arnoux at the start of their second season together.

In round two of the 1980 season at Interlagos, Renault appeared out of sorts in practice until skilled engineer Jabouille found a set-up break-though, grabbing pole and then generously handing the solutions over to his number two.

"It's perfectly normal that I should set the car up for [Rene] because he's going to help me win the world championship," remarked Jabouille, with confidence more than a little misplaced. In truth, 'the Big Man' was only referring to his undisputed contractual status and seniority. Reliability would dessert Jabouille on race day, assisting Arnoux's win. When further success followed for Arnoux at Kyalami, the number two led the world championship...

It would prove something of a false dawn. Arnoux would have to wait three years, by which time he had swapped life in Magny-Cours for Fiorano, before delivering a convincing title assault. The decision to leave Renault was precipitated by a clash of personalities between Arnoux and Jabouille's replacement, a prodigiously gifted 26-year-old Alain Prost.

Much has been written about the souring of the pairing's relationship over the '81 and '82 seasons. Without going into too much detail over old ground, Arnoux first became irked that Renault acceded to Prost's request for the services of ace mechanic Daniel Champion.

Later, team manager Gerard Larrousse handed over his responsibilities of personally attending to Arnoux's car and radio communications to Michel Tetu. Prost, in turn, expressed dissatisfaction on occasions when Larrousse vetoed him from attempting to improve on Arnoux's qualifying times - notably at Silverstone in 1981 when Prost's race car developed a turbo boost problem and Larrousse felt it was not worth risking the spare given a sister Renault sat comfortably on provisional pole.

Matters came to a head at Paul Ricard in '82, leading to a situation Arnoux described as "two roosters squabbling in the same henhouse". It was time for Arnoux to pack up his collection of distinctive white GPA crash helmets and head for Italy.

"At Ferrari, it was the race in Detroit where I felt I lost my chance of the title," recalls Arnoux. "In looking for improved fuel consumption, I decided to fit a new electronic box for the race. But it would have only saved perhaps one and a half litres. It broke. I am sure if I had kept the old one I would have won."

Arnoux has a point. When his 126C2 ground to a halt at opposite the Detroit Renaissance Centre, Arnoux's half a minute lead had already allowed him to make a pitstop and rejoin in the lead.

Arnoux won three races for Ferrari in 1983 © LAT

The retirement was the climax to a testing run of troubles that left Arnoux with just eight points approaching the mid-season mark. In the second half of the year Arnoux's form sparkled and luck held; three convincing victories contributed to outscoring eventual champion Nelson Piquet by 41 points to 32, and runner-up Prost by 13 points.

The turnaround secured the Grenoble racer's coveted seat at Maranello for another season at the expense of Tambay - something that would prove a mixed blessing.

"When you have nothing and achieve nothing it's no surprise, but when you have the facilities of Ferrari and you achieve nothing it's disappointing. The first time I drove the '84 car I knew the chassis was very difficult. We weren't at the level we should have been. Working with Michele Alboreto was fantastic, though. He was one of the nicest guys, very open in all briefings and so easy to get on with."

Brilliance on the streets of Dallas aside, Arnoux was generally outshone by Alboreto. The relationship with Ferrrari would end after the '85 opener in Rio and effectively signalled the end of his time as an F1 leading light.

"When you have done four years at Renault and two and half at Ferrari you have made your choices, there's no possibility to go back to a top team. But my first season at Ligier, with the Renault [engine], I was quite happy about. I led in Detroit but I hit the parked car of Piquet when they didn't show any yellow flags. Then we had the Alfa engine. It was like glass, always breaking."

After Arnoux slated the engine in the press during pre-season testing, Alfa Romeo, some felt conveniently, opted to withdraw. If the season wasn't already set to be a debacle, it was now. Ligier was forced to miss the opening race while an emergency supply of Megatron-badged BMWs was ordered. At Imola, the hastily readied cars finally appeared, only to literally collapse under the extra weight of the new units.

Arnoux withdrew before the race, while brave team-mate Piercarlo Ghinzani made a few tentative laps before parking. Results would eventually improve, marginally, but there was always one eye on a, worryingly low and rapidly depleting, stockpile of Megatrons. Mileage was restricted to a minimum in practice, and the harassed team rationed just five engines out over the final two rounds. Ligier's fortunes would unravel further in '88.

"Our designer [Michel] Tetu car made a very strange car with a fuel tank between the engine and the gearbox," recounts Arnoux. "It was very complicated to drive and you must transfer the fuel after 20 minutes. It was really very complicated and heavy and I was not really enjoying driving in this condition."

The Frenchman retired from F1 after 1989 © LAT

Team-mate Stefan Johansson also has few fond memories of the JS31: "The car was so bad that it was laugh or hang yourself. Rene and I actually had a great relationship; he was such a lovely guy, with a heart of gold. We had a lot of laughs, but we couldn't do a lot else that year..."

Arnoux soldiered on for one final season, but worn down by the technical adversities he realised it was time to bow out.

"I wanted to give Guy time to find a new driver, so I told him in July of 1989 that Adelaide is my last race. He said, 'No, I want you to continue...' but I didn't want to race when we were uncompetitive. I think for anyone who has had an 11 or 12-year career in Formula 1 you should think about stopping."

The same obsessive personality that assisted Arnoux in realising his ambitions in motorsport has been put to use in a highly successful transition to a post-driving business career, working in and managing factories that make components for watches in Switzerland.

"It's such an interesting job, I don't feel like its work," enthuses Arnoux. "There are five factories in Switzerland, and I spend most of my time in one of them making really interesting pieces. I am lucky. I always have thought I made the right decision when I stopped driving - about this I'm certain."

A shorter version of this feature originally appeared in the February 20 issue of AUTOSPORT magazine