The start of the 1980 Brazilian Grand Prix resulted in a tremendous battle for the lead between polesitter Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve, and Ligier's Didier Pironi. Having lined up third, the Canadian swashbuckler enjoyed a better launch and immediately tried to squeeze in between the two Frenchmen.

It’s also worth mentioning that the three cars pictured above all had different engine displacements and philosophies. Jabouille’s Renault RS10 was fitted with the 1.5-litre V6 turbo pioneered by the French manufacturer, while Villeneuve was running a naturally aspirated flat-12 engine on the 312T5. Racing the JS11/15, Pironi was powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0-litre V8. These were the days…

Martin Businaro

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