Early Racing Career
Thierry Boutsen began his racing career in 1975 as a student at the Pilette Racing School at Zolder. Initially, he was an engineering student, but decided to follow the racing career soon after his debut. In 1977 Boutsen won the “Volan”. The next year, he joined the Belgian Formula Ford 1600 championship and won it.
In 1979 Boutsen raced in German and European Formula 3 events. This led to a contract with the Martini factory team in 1980, with which he won three rounds of the European Championship, and ultimately finished 2nd, just behind Michele Alboreto.
March liked the promising talent of Boutsen and decided to hire him for their Formula 2 team in 1981. He won his fourth race and followed up with a second victory at Enna. He was second in the European Championship to Geoff Lees, but due to lacks in funding, had to stay another year in the Formula 2. Driving as teammate to Stefan Johansson in the Spirit-Honda team, Boutsen won three times and finished third in the championship.
F1 1 Debut with Arrows
In 1983 he struggled to find a way into F1 and drove various cars in sports and touring cars races. He then found some backing from Diners Club and made his F1 debut for Arrows at the his home race, the Belgian Grand Prix. Although he did not score any points, his good pace and overall positivity made an impact good enough to find a sponsorship in the Barclay Cigarettes, which allowed him to continue his F1 career with the Arrows team.
1983: Debut at Home Grand Prix Ends Early
Boutsen made his Formula 1 debut at his home race, the 1983 Belgian Grand Prix at the shortened 7 km Spa-Francorchamps circuit, driving for the Arrows team. He had managed to recruit 22 sponsors to help fund his drive. Unfortunately, a broken suspension ended his home race early after just 10 laps.
1984-1986: Building Experience at Arrows
He continued with Arrows in 1984, scoring points just trice with a best finish of 5th place at San Marino Grand Prix, matched later by the same result at the Austrian Grand Prix. The 1985 season started brightly with a surprise 2nd place finish at the San Marino Grand Prix after Alain Prost’s McLaren was disqualified. This remained the highlight of the year as Boutsen battled with an uncompetitive Arrows car. He ended the season 11th in the championship with 11 points.
1986 proved difficult as the Arrows lacked development and reliability. Thierry Boutsen managed just four 7th place finishes and failed to score any points, ending the season without a championship position.
Move to Benetton Yields First Podiums
For 1987, Thierry Boutsen moved to the growing Benetton team powered by Ford engines. The season started strongly with points in the opening Brazilian Grand Prix, followed by 6 DNFs across 7 races. In the second half of the season, Benetton bounced back, and came back to regular points scoring, topped with a fine 3rd place finish at the Australian Grand Prix finale. This secured Boutsen 8th place in the championship in his first year with the team.
Benetton switched to normally aspirated Ford engines in 1988 and the car proved reliable and consistent in Boutsen’s hands. He scored points in 10 of the 16 races, including five 3rd place podium finishes to place a career-best 4th in the championship standings.
Victories in the Wet with Williams
His strong performances caught the attention of Frank Williams, who signed Thierry Boutsen to drive for Williams in 1989 alongside veteran Riccardo Patrese. Driving the Williams-Renault, Boutsen’s first victory came in rain-soaked conditions at the 1989 Canadian Grand Prix. He inherited the lead when Ayrton Senna’s McLaren retired with engine failure late in the race.
He backed this up with a controlled drive to victory in the similarly wet 1989 Australian Grand Prix, crossing the line over 45 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Boutsen ended 1989 with two wins and 37 championship points for 5th in the standings.
The 1990 season saw Thierry Boutsen claim his third and final career victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He started from pole position for the first time and led every lap, fending off intense pressure from Senna in the closing stages to take the chequered flag just 0.3 seconds ahead.
Later Career: Switching Teams
With Nigel Mansell returning to partner Riccardo Patrese in 1991, Boutsen moved to the struggling Ligier team. The team endured two disappointing seasons hindered by unreliable engines before Boutsen landed at Jordan in 1993. However, he struggled to fit inside the Jordan cockpit and scored no points in 10 races before announcing his retirement from F1 at his home race that year in Belgium.
Sports Car Racing
Following his F1 career, Boutsen enjoyed success in sports car racing. He joined Peugeot to finish 2nd at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1996 he was again on the Le Mans podium, finishing 2nd alongside Hans-Joachim Stuck and Bob Wollek driving a Porsche 911 for the factory Porsche team.
He continued racing for Porsche until a huge crash at Le Mans in 1999 fractured vertebrae in his back. This marked the end of his professional racing career at the age of 42.
Thierry Boutsen’s Career Stats
During his 11 year F1 career from 1983 to 1993, Thierry Boutsen participated in 164 races, scoring 3 wins and 15 podium finishes. He raced for Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan. His victories all came with Williams, proving adept at racing in wet weather conditions. After retiring from racing, he founded an aircraft sales company based in Monaco which he still runs today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many F1 races did Thierry Boutsen participate in?
Thierry Boutsen participated in 164 Formula 1 World Championship Grands Prix during his career from 1983 to 1993.
How many F1 wins and podiums did he score?
Boutsen won 3 races and achieved 15 podium finished in F1.
When did Thierry Boutsen retire from racing?
He retired from professional racing in 1999 at the age of 42 following a serious crash at Le Mans which fractured vertebrae in his back.
What was Thierry Boutsen doing after his F1 career?
After retiring from F1 in 1993, Boutsen founded his own company called Boutsen Aviation which specialized in the sale and acquisition of business jets. He still runs this Monaco-based company today.