Henri Pescarolo is a racing driver from France who last raced in Formula 1 for Surtees. Pescarolo has recorded 0 wins and 1 podium from 56 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,475 ranks Pescarolo 723th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1976-10-10 | Watkins Glen | DNF | +9 |
| 1976-10-03 | Mosport International Raceway | P19 | −42 |
| 1976-09-12 | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | P17 | +1 |
| 1976-08-29 | Circuit Park Zandvoort | P11 | +54 |
| 1976-08-15 | Red Bull Ring | P9 | +74 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ▸Formula 1 | Surtees | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | P21 | −50 | 4,475 |
| 1974 | ▸Formula 1 | BRM | 12 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | P21 | −437 | 4,525 |
| 1973 | ▸Formula 1 | Iso Marlboro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −37 | 4,962 |
| 1972 | ▸Formula 1 | March | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −189 | 4,998 |
| 1971 | ▸Formula 1 | March-Ford | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | P16 | −122 | 5,187 |
| 1970 | ▸Formula 1 | Matra | 13 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | P12 | +450 | 5,309 |
| 1968 | ▸Formula 1 | Matra | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P25 | +59 | 4,859 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇧🇪 Jacky Ickx | 4,915 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 10% |
| 🇨🇭 Clay Regazzoni | 5,253 | 19 | 3 | 16 | 16% |
| 🇳🇿 Denny Hulme | 5,522 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 11% |
| 🇸🇪 Ronnie Peterson | 5,168 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 31% |
| 🇧🇷 Emerson Fittipaldi | 3,999 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 13% |
| 🇬🇧 Graham Hill | 5,097 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 21% |
| 🇩🇪 Rolf Stommelen | 4,831 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 67% |
| 🇫🇷 Jean-Pierre Beltoise | 4,768 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 25% |
| 🇬🇧 Jackie Stewart | 5,923 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 9% |
| 🇲🇽 Pedro Rodríguez | 5,220 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40% |
Henri Pescarolo competed in Formula 1 from 1968 to 1976, making 56 starts across nine seasons without securing a win. He scored a single podium finish during his tenure, primarily driving for Surtees. His average finishing position across all classified races was P9.8, placing him in the midfield tier of the grid. The field in which he raced included multiple world champions; he occasionally outpaced stronger drivers such as Jackie Stewart, Denny Hulme, Niki Lauda and John Watson in isolated races, but these were exceptional results rather than patterns. Against his most frequent rivals, Pescarolo consistently finished behind them; he was outscored decisively by Denny Hulme, Clay Regazzoni, Emerson Fittipaldi, Graham Hill, Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson across their shared races.[1]
Pescarolo's Formula 1 career declined in its final stretch. His last seven rounds in 1976 yielded no points or podiums, ending with a P21 finish and marking the conclusion of his single-seater racing at the top level. His 56 entries placed him among the professional drivers of the era, although his record shows he was consistently outpaced by the championship contenders and front-running professionals of his time.[2]
The headline of Pescarolo's racing legacy lies elsewhere. After departing Formula 1, he became prominent in endurance racing, where he would accumulate four victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a 1991 Daytona 24 Hours win with Joest, establishing himself as a dominant figure in sportscar racing and securing a lasting place in motorsport history that his single-seater career did not provide.