James Hunt vs Patrick Tambay

1978·

Patrick Tambay beat James Hunt 11–4 at McLaren in 1978, helped by 9 retirements for James Hunt. Race-by-race qualifying, finishing and points record.

James HuntPatrick Tambay

14Qualifying1

15 shared races

4Race day11

15 shared races

8Points8

in shared races, as awarded at the time

46Points (today’s rules)60

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 0/0
Podiums: 1/0
Poles: 0/0
Retirements: 9/5
Best finish: P3/P4
Avg. grid: 7.9/12.5

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of James Hunt and Patrick Tambay
R	Grand Prix	Grid	James Hunt	Patrick Tambay	Points
1	1Argentine Grand Prix	6/9	P4	P6	3 / 1
2	2Brazilian Grand Prix	2/5	Spun off	Spun off	0 / 0
3	3South African Grand Prix	3/4	Engine	Accident	0 / 0
4	4United States Grand Prix West	7/11	Accident	P12▼	0 / 0
5	5Monaco Grand Prix	6/11	Handling	P7	0 / 0
7	7Spanish Grand Prix	4/14	P6	Spun off	1 / 0
8	8Swedish Grand Prix	14/15	P8	P4	0 / 3
9	9French Grand Prix	4/6	P3	P9	4 / 0
10	10British Grand Prix	14/20	Accident	P6	0 / 1
11	11German Grand Prix	8/11	Disqualified	Accident	0 / 0
12	12Austrian Grand Prix	8/14	Accident	Accident	0 / 0
13	13Dutch Grand Prix	7/14	P10	P9	0 / 0
14	14Italian Grand Prix	10/19	Distributor	P5	0 / 2
15	15United States Grand Prix	6/18	P7	P6	0 / 1
16	16Canadian Grand Prix	19/17	Spun off	P8	0 / 0
	Average finish		P6.3	P7.2

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows James Hunt / Patrick Tambay.
P1 a win,P3 a podium,DNF a retirement.
▲ a finish at least 4 places better than that driver’s own average finish this season (see the average row), ▼ at least 4places worse. Retirements are not counted in the average.

Other McLaren battles in 1978

Other McLaren teammate battles in 1978
Matchup	Quali	Race	Points
James Hunt vs Brett Lunger	4–0	2–2	3–0
Brett Lunger vs Nelson Piquet	3–0	2–1	0–0
Brett Lunger vs Patrick Tambay	0–3	1–2	0–1

James Hunt’s career Patrick Tambay’s career McLaren 1978 season All teammate battles

How these numbers are calculated

Only races both drivers started are counted. Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
Until the mid-1960s drivers could share a car during a race. Each driver is compared from the car they started (which sets their grid position), with the best result of any car they drove and the points from all of them, as officially credited.
Qualifying is compared on grid position rather than session times. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, while grid position is recorded for over 99% of entries right back to 1950 — including every race of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
On race day the driver classified ahead takes the round. If neither was classified, the one who completed more laps is credited; if both retired on the same lap it is scored as a tie and excluded from the tally.
Points are those awarded at the time and include sprint races from 2021. Where the season used an older system, a second points row rescores every round under the current system so seasons from different eras can be compared.
These are points scored in the races both drivers started, not their season totals: races either missed, or contested alongside a different teammate, are left out. Up to 1990 even full-season totals differ from the championship standings, because only a driver’s best results counted towards the title. In 1988 Alain Prost outscored Ayrton Senna 105 to 94 and still lost the championship. Theseason page has the final standings.