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| Jean Alesi |
Jean Alesi
Born: 11 June 1964, Avignon, France.
Grand Prix Starts: 201
Grand Prix Victories: 1
Points Total: 242
One solitary victory from 201 F1 starts might seem deeply unimpressive until you realize that Jean Alesi suffered 83 retirements and made the podium on 32 occasions. Then a more accurate reflection of his ability over a 13-year career at the top is revealed...
Alesi won the French F3 championship in 1987, and in 1989 took the European Formula 3000 title for Eddie Jordan's team. In the same year Ken Tyrell gave him his F1 debut in the 1989 French GP where, from sixteenth on the grid, he finished a brilliant fourth. In just half a season's racing he finished ninth place overall.
A full season with Tyrell produced two second places, one of those being at the US GP, where he was spotted by Frank Williams. However, in the end Alesi opted to join Ferrari in 1991 and spent five years there, making the podium 16 times. When he eventually took a victory, at the 1995 Canadian GP, it still only helped him to fifth in the title race.
A move to Benetton in 1996 initially held promise as eight podiums gained Alesi a fourth in the championship, and in 1997 he peaked with third before moving to Sauber. After one false dawn there, and another with Prost, he briefly returned to Jordan in 2001 before announcing his retirement from F1.