The JS19 was designed by Michel Beaujon under the technical direction of Jean-Pierre Jabouille, who had retired as a driver from Formula One the previous year.

The chassis had side pods which enclosed the rear suspension linkage, which minimised disruption to the air flow, and had skirts running their full length for maximum ground-effect.

However, when introduced for its first race, the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix, the team was forced by race officials to remove the portion of the skirts behind the rear-wheel centreline (a subjective interpretation of the rules not clarified in written bulletins), which resulted in a loss of downforce that affected the cars' performance.

[2] The Ligier team had raced the JS17B, an update of the 1981 car, for the early part of the year before introducing the JS19 at Monaco.

He scored a point for sixth in Italy and followed this up with a third in the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas, having qualified fourth on the grid.