Friday favourite: The "honest" Renault ace most admired by Warwick

Derek Warwick is spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing his favourite team-mate.

From the tough-as-nails Brian Henton at Toleman in Formula 2 and subsequently in F1, to racing legend Mario Andretti at Le Mans in 1996 and Peter ‘Perfect’ Brock at Bathurst the following year, plus racing the Jaguar XJR-14 alongside Martin Brundle in 1991, Warwick’s two-decade career brought him into close quarters with a varied cast list from different eras and backgrounds. And there’s the team-mate that ‘got away’, after Ayrton Senna blocked Warwick’s move to Lotus…

But the man that he picks is a driver best remembered for being parachuted into Ferrari to replace Gilles Villeneuve, earning a bittersweet maiden victory at Hockenheim after team-mate Didier Pironi sustained career-ending injuries in practice.

Warwick had stepped into a top Renault seat for 1984, after both Alain Prost and Eddie Cheever left following the French squad’s frustratingly late defeat to Brabham’s Nelson Piquet. He was joined by Patrick Tambay, already a two-time grand prix winner for Ferrari.

“I’ve always said my best team-mate was Patrick Tambay at Renault,” says Warwick. “He was a gentleman. He was honest and I trusted him. If he said he had two clicks of damper, it was two clicks of damper. He was a great team player and wanted to make the car quicker – he shared things with you. Patrick didn’t create any sort of ‘them and us’ situation.”

Warwick beat Tambay in the drivers’ standings and arguably should have won the Brazilian GP. He scored four podiums, but the RE50’s unreliability limited him to seventh in the championship, even though it remains one of his three favourite racing cars.

PLUS: The best Formula 1 cars never to win a GP

Warwick picks out