Subsequently, Frenchman Jacques Laffite took the second Williams seat for the remainder of the season. He qualified the car in 21st place for the German Grand Prix with Merzario 16th, although both retired early in the race; Laffite with suspension failure and Merzario with a throttle problem. In Austria, qualifying improved with Merzario ninth and Laffite 12th, but the Italian retired with a fuel system problem and Laffite was unclassified at the end, seventeen laps down.