Jacques' impish sense of humour and irreverence, allied to a considerable talent behind the wheel, brightened the grand prix scene for more than a decade during the 1970s and 1980s. Having won the French Formula Three and European Formula Two titles in the early 1970s, Jacques made his grand prix debut for the Williams team in 1974. He and team boss Frank Williams got on well, and Jacques helped keep the team afloat by taking a timely second place in the German Grand Prix in 1975.

The following year he joined the new Ligier team and they developed well together, until Jacques finally tasted victory in 1977 in Sweden. No more wins followed until 1979 when the team switched from Matra V12 power to a Cosworth V8. Jacques and the JS11 won the first two races of the season, but he did not win again until mid-1980.

A return to Matra power in 1981 saw him take two wins and make a late-season push for the title, but after a dreadful 1982 he left to drive for Williams in 1983. Usually, though, he was overshadowed in the uncompetitive cars by team-mate Keke Rosberg, and he returned to Ligier in 1985. The cars were quick, and Jacques went with them all the way, scoring a number of podium finishes and briefly leading the Detroit Grand Prix in 1986. However, an accident at the British Grand Prix ended his Formula One career. He has since raced touring cars and is all set for a sports car campaign partnering Jean-Pierre Jabouille in a Morgan for 2007.

Reproduced from The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Formula One published by Carlton Books