Career
He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing 5 pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points. In 2006, he raced in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired Formula One drivers, and continued in the series in 2007. Early in his career, Tambay was a part of Formula 5000 with the team run by Carl Haas
In 1977, winning the Can Am championship with Haas, Tambay debuted in Formula One on a one-off basis with Surtees, driving in only one session at the 1977 French Grand Prix before spending the rest of the season with Theodore.
The team, in collaboration with Ensign, was running their N177 chassis.
The showings proved fruitful as he moved to McLaren to race Formula One full-time for the 1978 and 1979 seasons. In 1980, he returned to Can Am with the Lola team run by Carl Haas, immediately winning early in the season and then winning his second Can-Am championship.
In 1981 he returned to F1, first driving for the Theodore team then finishing the season with Ligier. In 1982, he was offered a place with the Scuderia Ferrari after the death of Gilles Villeneuve.
The German General Practice was just his fourth race for the Maranello based team
He was dropped by the team in 1984 in favor of Italian Michele Alboreto. Tambay moved to Renault, and then spent a year reunited with his old boss Carl Haas racing in the Haas Lola F1 team In 1987, Tambay formed his own sports promotion company in Switzerland, but gave this up in 1989 to return to racing.
In 1989, he drove a Jaguar in the World Sportscar Championship and went on to finish fourth in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
He then took up desert raid racing, finishing twice in the top three on the Paris-Dakar. Additionally, he has been noted as involved in ice races and the Tour de Corse jet ski race.
At the end of the 1994 season, however, the Fast Group Société Anonyme company owned by Tambay and Golay ended its involvement with the team Since retiring from full-time racing, Tambay has worked as a commentator for French television
He also serves as the deputy mayor of Le Cannet, a suburb of Cannes.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position. Races in italics indicate fastest lap).