Jacques-Henri Laffite, a French commentator on local television TF1 is not just another “media person”, he is one of the rarely mentioned winners of Formula One Grands Prix. Born on 21st November 1943, Laffite has been on the F1 circuits for 13 long years between from 1974 to 1986.Laffite debuted in Formula One in the 1974 season, racing for Frank Williams Racing Cars. He participated in five races but could make no impact and had a season without points. The following year, he bettered his performance with the same V8 engine and earned his first podium finish in the German Grand Prix in the second place.In 1976 and through the three seasons till 1978, Laffite raced for the Ligier Gitanes team. He was on podium thrice in ‘76 and seventh in the drivers’ run. The following season he won his first Grand Prix in Sweden. Although he couldn’t churn out another victory in 1978, he managed to end eight in the Drivers’ Championship.The dry spell of his career seemed to be vanishing in 1979 with back-to-back victories in the first two races of the season in Argentina and Brazil. A high of 6 podium finishes, 36 points and a 4th place finish in the Drivers’ Championship seemed to have done a world of good for this talented driver. The 1980 and 1981 seasons brought a little more good luck for Laffite and he ended in fourth place for these two consecutive years, decorated with 12 podium results and three race-wins.The next five years did not see Laffite at his racing best and having raced for Williams and Ligier in these years, in 1986, at the start of the British Grand Prix he crashed his Ligier JS27 and broke both his legs. He never returned to racing in F1 again.A career with regular highs and lows, Laffite, if not for his crash, could have undoubtedly shown what he was made of.-Anup Pareek