Patrick Tambay vs John Watson

1979·

John Watson beat Patrick Tambay 10–3 at McLaren in 1979, helped by 8 retirements for Patrick Tambay. Race-by-race qualifying, finishing and points record.

Patrick TambayJohn Watson

2Qualifying11

13 shared races

3Race day10

13 shared races

0Points11

in shared races, as awarded at the time

9Points (today’s rules)59

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 0/0
Podiums: 0/1
Poles: 0/0
Retirements: 8/5
Best finish: P7/P3
Avg. grid: 16.9/13.9

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Patrick Tambay and John Watson
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Patrick Tambay	John Watson	Points
1	1Argentine Grand Prix	9/6	Collision	P3	0 / 4
2	2Brazilian Grand Prix	18/14	Collision	P8	0 / 0
3	3South African Grand Prix	17/14	P10	Ignition	0 / 0
4	4United States Grand Prix West	19/18	Collision	Injection	0 / 0
5	5Spanish Grand Prix	20/18	P13	Engine	0 / 0
8	8French Grand Prix	20/15	P10	P11▼	0 / 0
9	9British Grand Prix	18/7	P7	P4	0 / 3
10	10German Grand Prix	15/12	Suspension	P5	0 / 2
11	11Austrian Grand Prix	14/16	P10	P9	0 / 0
12	12Dutch Grand Prix	14/12	Engine	Engine	0 / 0
13	13Italian Grand Prix	14/19	Engine	Accident	0 / 0
14	14Canadian Grand Prix	20/17	Engine	P6	0 / 1
15	15United States Grand Prix	22/13	Engine	P6	0 / 1
	Average finish		P10.0	P6.5

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Patrick Tambay / John Watson.
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.

Patrick Tambay’s career John Watson’s career McLaren 1979 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 Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.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.