One thing that strikes me the most about Arnoux’ career is the fact that he posted 18 pole positions, most achieved during his time with Renault. He was also fast in races, getting 12 fastest laps, and sufficiently cool headed to win 7 races. However, there is an abyss between champions and those that frequent the sport’s footnotes. Although he won in lower formulae, including F-2, Arnoux seemed to miss that ingredient that would have made him the first French world champion. Having driven for Martini in Formula Renault and Formula 2, it was not surprising that Arnoux was named driver when the French constructor decided to take the step up and go F-1 racing. The Martini contender was not the worst car of 1978, but it was far from good, based on old concepts, so no success came Arnoux’ way. Rene failed to qualify a few times, and the team packed its bags and went home before the end of the season, leaving Arnoux free to run Surtees’ last outings in F-1. The short-lived association was not successful as well. Renault had debuted in formula 1 in 1977, initiating the turbo era. The early days were difficult, but by late 1978 the Regie found it had sufficient resources to run two cars, so Rene was hired as the second driver. The debut could not be worse: DNQ in Argentina, Rene actually raced, as of one of the qualified cars was unable to make the start. Until Monaco Arnoux was qualifying mostly around midfield, with no sign of competitiveness. Then it all came good in Dijon. Arnoux qualified second, posted fastest lap and won the race, after a tremendous battle with Gilles Villeneuve. His teammate Jabouille won the race, so Arnoux’ day seemed to be coming sooner than later. Arnoux went one better in England, finishing 2nd. In Austria he got his first pole position and 6th place, plus another 2nd place in Watkins Glen. Although he got no wins, Rene scored more points than Jabouille, so things looked up. For 1980 Arnoux was back at Renault, repeating his Argentine jinx. He did get his first win in Brazil, followed by another success at South Africa, so all of a sudden he looked like a championship contender. However, there was a slump in performance after Long Beach, and the Renault’s competitiveness was restored only by Austria, where Arnoux scored pole again. His last points of the year were in Holland, so although the year started in a promising fashion, it ended as a bit of a bummer. For 1981, Arnoux had a new team mate, Alain Prost, who soon proved to be the fastest of the two. The first half of the year was terrible for Arnoux, including a DNQ in Belgium. He had four poles that year, but scored only in three occasions, with a season best 2nd place in Austria. Team mate Prost, on the other hand, had three wins. Arnoux continued at Renault, in 1982, and continued to score many poles, but the beginning of the year was terrible. He finished 3rd in South Africa, but had eight retirements, including five in succession. His redemption came in France, when Rene won from the pole but this did not sink in well with the team. Renault management wanted Prost, who was still in the hunt for the championship, to win the race. So the end of Rene at Renault seemed obvious. Arnoux made the best of it, finishing 2nd in Germany and winning another race in Italy. However Ferrari had lost both of its 1982 drivers, so they were more than happy to team Tambay with the unemployed Arnoux. He was quickly on the pace, posting two early season third places, and by Detroit had began a series of 3 straight poles. Suddenly he became the man to beat in the second half of the season, winning 3 times and finishing 2nd twice. He ended up third in the championship, with his former teammate Prost being just nipped by Nelson Picket for the world title. So a lot was expected of Arnoux in 1984, but although he scored regularly, there were no further wins, and even the characteristic poles were gone. He appeared for Ferrari one last time, in the 1985 Brazilian GP and then was sacked by the Italian team, replaced by Johannson. He took a year sabbatical, and was then hired by Ligier for 1986, where he stayed the rest of his career. That first year with Ligier was not bad. Although the car was not top notch material, it was fair and the drivers could score points with some regularity and qualify in the top ten. However, team leader Laffite had a serious accident in England, and the team’s spirit seemed to vanish after his departure. In 1987 Arnoux joined the ranks of also-rans, although he finished 6th in Belgium. He normally qualified midfield, and spent most of the year retiring. By then he was getting an annoying reputation among top drivers, due to his insistence in not using the rear view mirror. Ligier was in obvious trouble, after an Alfa engine deal fell through, and the Megatron (former BMW) engines seemed insufficient to do the job. For 1988, Ligier changed engines yet again, adopting the normally aspirated Judds. The team’s performance dropped further  and there were no points on the scoreboard. The end seemed to be near, and indeed 1989 was his last season. Ligier changed engines yet again, using Cosworths, but the oversubscribed 39-car entry meant more competition for a space under the Sun. Arnoux began to fail to qualify with some regularity, and although he got a final helping of points with 5th in Canada, he took the most sensible decision, retiring from the sport. He would still race in other categories, including a recent outing at GP Masters.