It can be rather disheartening for a Formula One driver to have raced in 95 Grands Prix and still win just a couple of them. But Patrick André Eugène Joseph Depailler, in his eight years of F1 racing never really got the kind of opportunity that he truly deserved. Born on August 9, 1944, this Frenchman drew inspiration from racer Jean Behra and competed successfully in Formula Two before taking himself to the next level – the Formula One World Championship.Depailler raced for F1 for the first time in 1972 when he participated in the French and the American Grands Prix. He drove impressively quick to finish seventh in the American Grand Prix after starting 11th on the grid. He did not feature in the following season and made a comeback only in 1974 with Tyrrell, which was not doing very well to say the least. However, the Clermont-Ferrandian managed to be on podium twice in the two seasons of F1, in 1974 and 1975.Seven podium finishes, 39 points and a career-best fourth place in the drivers’ standings in 1976 reaffirmed Depailler’s guile in the F1 circuits. In the same season at the United States of America West Grand Prix, he drew indignation from James Hunt who was taken out by Depailler. But he later cleared the air when he said he had not spotted Hunt in his mirrors. It volubly displayed the serenity amidst the undertone of aggression. Depailler’s racing period can be regarded as the most dramatic if his accidents were to be considered. After finishing second in the 1976 Canadian Grand Prix, he inhaled fumes that the circuit was engulfed in and momentarily lost consciousness while he was in his car.The Frenchman skidded off the track in just the second GP of the season in Brazil in 1977 and had to be hospitalised with a leg injury. But he made a strong comeback in the following South African Grand Prix and finished fifth. Two more podium finishes and he earned ninth place in the Drivers’ Championship with 20 points in the kitty.The 1978 season of Formula One was the most significant for Depailler. It brought him his first Grand Prix win in F1. He won the Monaco Grand Prix exhibiting grit and grandeur after a heated battle with teammate Ronnie Peterson in the final curve of the South African Grand Prix that had cost him an early victory in the season. Five podium finishes and 34 points in the championship ensured him a fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship.The moniker “Daredevil” could have easily qualified as this Frenchman’s middle name for a number of times as time and again he has made a comeback of sorts from numerous injuries. In 1979, Depailler looked solid in the Brazilian Grand Prix where he finished second and was victorious in the Spanish Grand Prix. But a hang-gliding accident in the middle of the season just after the Monaco qualifying session spoilt his party. He acquired a hand injury which coupled with his multiple leg injuries and cut short his winning streak. Amazingly, he still managed to finish sixth on the drivers’ list without racing for more than half the season.Joining hands with the newly formed Alfa Romeo team in 1980 perhaps hammered the last nail in the coffin of Depailler’s racing aspirations. As a new team in the F1 arena, Alfa Romeo had some technical glitches in the car. While testing these anomalies before the German Grand Prix, Depailler’s steering failed and he went crashing into the barriers at a speed close to 280 kmph and lost his life immediately. Previously, in the United States Grand Prix West, he had qualified third in the same low performance car but had failed to finish the race.An unsung hero of Formula One, Patrick Depailler was never short of talent, passion or the ardour to be a champion. What he fell short of was time.-Anup Pareek