<< Prev Page 2 of 2 It was not all change at Ferrari as 1981 drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi were retained for 1982. They were quick straight out of the box with the 126 C2 during testing, although Villeneuve particularly loathed the super stiff suspension, which made the car difficult and rather painful to drive. In the opening three overseas rounds, the promising pace was not converted into actual results for reasons ranging from turbo failure to a disqualification. Pironi only managed to salvage a single point from these races by finishing sixth in Brazil.
At the first European round of the year, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Ferrari dominated the race. Villeneuve looked set to take a victory with Pironi in second and he backed off as ordered by the pits. Pironi then slipped past Villeneuve when he ran wide. The Canadian had understood the signal from the pits to have meant that both Ferrari drivers were to hold station and he was furious with Pironi. It was the end of a friendship, and still fuming over the incident a fortnight earlier, Villeneuve pushed his 126 C2 too hard in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. He hit the unsighted Jochen Mass at full speed and was thrown from the disintegrated Ferrari. Villeneuve died that evening because of the resulting injuries.
Needless to say, Ferrari withdrew from the Belgian Grand Prix but returned at Monaco where a heartbroken Pironi placed second. He also won the Dutch Grand Prix but then suffered a career ending crash at the Hockenheimring, shortly after qualifying on pole for the German Grand Prix. Villeneuve's replacement, Patrick Tambay did start the race and would go on to clinch his first Grand Prix victory. Pironi's place during the final two rounds was taken by Mario Andretti, who finished third at Monza behind Tambay, who was second. Although he did not start six of the 16 Grand Prix, Pironi did place second in the World Championship. Ferrari's four drivers had scored enough points to win the Construction Trophy.
For the 1983 season, the sport's governing body mandated the use of a flat bottom, effectively banning ground-effect. Postlethwaite created the 126 C2B, which featured smaller side-pods and much larger front and rear wings, which generated around 50% of the downforce of the ground-effect aerodynamics. Later in the season, the 126 C3 was introduced, which featured Ferrari's first carbon-fibre composite monocoque chassis. Ferrari once again ended the year as constructor's champion but newly signed lead-driver René Arnoux could do no better than third in the driver's standings, ahead of team-mate Tambay.
Despite the difficult opening three rounds of the 1982 campaign, the 126 C2 certainly offered Ferrari the best opportunity at success during the turbo era. Arguably the best turbo Ferrari of the lot, the 126 C2 will be forever remembered by the tragic accidents of Villeneuve and Pironi. It is hard to fathom that at least one of these accidents was the direct result of a one-two victory for the team. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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It was not all change at Ferrari as 1981 drivers Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi were retained for 1982. They were quick straight out of the box with the 126 C2 during testing, although Villeneuve particularly loathed the super stiff suspension, which made the car difficult and rather painful to drive. In the opening three overseas rounds, the promising pace was not converted into actual results for reasons ranging from turbo failure to a disqualification. Pironi only managed to salvage a single point from these races by finishing sixth in Brazil.