Jean-Denis Delétraz

Jean-Denis Délétraz

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Swiss
Active years	1994–1995
Teams	Larrousse, Pacific
Entries	3
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1994 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry	1995 European Grand Prix

Jean-Denis Délétraz (born October 1, 1963 in Geneva) is a racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in three Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, and scored no championship points during his career.

Before reaching Formula One he scored two third places in Formula 3000, but he principally earned his Formula One drives by having sponsorship money to offer financially troubled teams.

After Formula One, he competed in sports car racing, with some success.

Career

Pre-Formula One

Délétraz had some success in his early career, notably two wins that came while driving Formula Ford cars. He went on to compete in Formula Three between 1985 and 1987 in the French championship, finishing third in the final standings in 1985. Between 1988 and 1991, he competed in Formula 3000 and during 1990 he bought the FIRST racing team. During 1991 the team was impounded by an Italian court for a time after legal action from the team's other driver, Giovanni Bonanno.

In 1994, Délétraz was signed as a driver for the SEAT works team in the French Touring Car Championship. His best result was fifth place in the race at Nogaro and he finished thirteenth overall in the standings.

Formula One

1994 : Larrousse

Towards the end of 1994, the Larrousse team were running short on money. Larrousse's number 19 car, which had started the year being driven by Olivier Beretta, was now being driven by drivers who could bring sponsorship money to the team. For the final race of the year in Australia, Larrousse let Délétraz replace Érik Comas in the team's second car for more sponsorship money in order to aid their financial situation.

During qualifying, Délétraz surprised some in the Formula One paddock when he qualified in 25th position, outqualifying Domenico Schiattarella. However, Schiattarella overtook him during the first lap of the Grand Prix, and Délétraz gradually dropped back from the rest of the field. He retired on lap 57 with gearbox failure, after he had already been lapped ten times.

Yes Délétraz, really, here having no business in Formula One. And demonstrating it there: he's spending all of his modest effort, frankly, keeping the car on the road. He's holding up Gerhard Berger there and has now lost a second on Nigel Mansell, in the Larrousse. This is, I'm afraid, one of the problems of the Grand Prix season - at the end of the year we do get one or two drivers being taken by people who've got more money than talent, and that's one example of it.

— Jonathan Palmer, BBC broadcast of the 1994 Australian Grand Prix - transcript of recording from F1 Rejects.

1995 : Pacific

Although the team started with Bertrand Gachot, who was also a shareholder, and Andrea Montermini as its drivers, by the middle of the season Gachot had stood down so that drivers with sponsorship could help aid the team's finances. It was announced that Délétraz would be competing in the final five races of the season.

I am very happy to be returning to Formula One and we will work hard together to make this a competitive end to the season. Although the Pacific team is quite small, they have a lot of motivation and I think everyone knows that Keith Wiggins is determined to make strong progress in Formula One. For me it is a good opportunity to gain more Formula One experience, and to develop a programme which hopefully will lead to my participation in the 1996 Formula One World Championship.

— Délétraz on signing with Pacific for the remainder of the season - transcript at F1 Rejects.

During qualifying for his first round of the year, in Portugal, Délétraz was hindered by a gearbox problem which saw him qualify last, twelve seconds behind pole-position sitter David Coulthard. The race proved problematic as well - he was lapped by the leaders after just seven laps of the race, and after fourteen he retired from the race with cramp in the arm. His second race, at the Nürburgring, saw him qualify just over nine seconds behind pole-position, and he finished the race in fifteenth place as the last finisher, seven laps behind the winner.

At the next race, Bertrand Gachot was unexpectedly back in the seat. It had been expected that Délétraz would be competing until the end of the season, but he defaulted on payment and Keith Wiggins, principal of the Pacific team stated, "On ability alone, we are not willing to keep him."

Sports Car Racing

1996 saw Délétraz move to sports car racing with the FIRST Racing operation he now co-owned with fellow driver Fabien Giroix. A year in the BPR Global GT Series in a McLaren F1 GTR was followed by a move to the FIA GT Championship in 1997, with FIRST running the works Lotus Elise GT1s. After a couple of years away, FIRST and Deletraz returned to the FIA Championship in 2000 with a Ferrari 550 Maranello. In 2002, he took four wins in the series with team-mate Andrea Piccini in a BMS Scuderia Italia-run 550, and the pair finished fifth in the championship. They then drove a works Lister Storm in 2003. He has also scored two class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2001 and 2002 in the LMP675 class. He was also one of the drivers of the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R that won the 2007 Spa 24 Hours.

Délétraz has signed to drive for the Hexis AMR team in the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1994	Tourtel Larrousse	Larrousse LH94	Ford V8	BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	AUS Ret		NC	0
1995	Pacific Grand Prix Ltd	Pacific PR02	Ford V8	BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR Ret	EUR 15	PAC	JPN	AUS	NC	0