
“I remember my race for third place with Mansell at Suzuka in 1994. Every lap he tried to overtake in the same place and I knew on the last lap that he was going to try and probably both of us out of the way But the race was stopped and restarted and I was ahead on the total so I let him through on the last lap, he went over the line and waved his arms and all – and he was still fourth! I really enjoyed that … “
After a dozen years and 201 grands prix, Jean Alesi has disappeared from Formula 1 and I will miss his conversation as much as I miss his driving.
It is absurd that Alesi’s F1 career produced only one win in 1995. Appropriately, he came to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, because Jean had adored Villeneuve and asked Ferrari to put Gilles’ number 27 on his car. It was June 11th, Alesi’s 31st birthday.
“Towards the end,” he said, “I started to cry, and for a whole lap it was a big problem because every time I braked my visor tears and I couldn’t see anything.” ‘Come on, pull yourself together, ‘I said. “
There were tears in the press room too, and when Jean overtook the flag, not only his mechanics but also those of the other teams celebrated with him on the pit wall. He didn’t sleep well that night.
“Somehow I couldn’t say to myself, ‘Now it’s done,’ but in the morning I looked around my room, saw my trophy and then it met me. I thought of all the difficult moments I’d had, but now it was all worth it. “
Alesi scored an emotional win in Montreal in 1995, but it was his only F1 win
Photo by: Motorsport Images
In 1990 we thought of Jean Alesi as we think of Juan Montoya today. He was going to be the next superstar. He had finished fourth at Paul Ricard’s F1 debut for Tyrrell the previous season and was sensational in the early races of 1990. It may not have had a straight line on Cosworth power, but the Tyrrell 019 was a great car – it’s his favorite to this day.
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In Phoenix this spring, Alesi led up to half, only pursued by Senna’s McLaren-Honda.
“I realized,” said Ayrton, “that I had to do my best to deal with Jean. We had some good moments at the end of the straight and then I tried – but he went around the outside! At In the next corner I thought he might not have a hold, so I opened the door and he went through – at the limit! I finally caught him again, but it was a clean, exciting fight. “
In the parc ferme, Senna Alesi waved her finger, smiling, and it was a great compliment. “I have to take care of you …” it said.
At the end of 1991, however, Prost and Ferrari split up, and Alesi, who stuck to unrivaled cars and his mentor was gone, became something of a lost soul in the paddock. The fans still loved him, but the team was in ruins and what should have been Jean’s best years drained away
Jean was the young driver everyone wanted, but this summer he turned his career in a direction he could never fully recover. Instead of going to Williams-Renault in 1991, he signed with Ferrari.
You are now looking at what Williams has achieved over the next few seasons and you wonder how many races Alesi might have won. As it was, he soon went on the runners with all his heart and with a team.
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“Some drivers work systematically,” he said later, “but I’ve been in love with Ferrari all my life – and you have to remember that they were fine when I signed it. I knew it too.” , I would be Prost’s team-mate and how much could I learn from him. “
So much was true. Alesi learned a lot from Prost and was usually both fun and open-minded.
“Alain was amazing in Monaco – he never got near the curbs or the crash barriers and was still incredibly fast. Nobody has ever adjusted a car to suit him as well as Prost. The first time I did I drove a Ferrari built by him. ” I found it terrible at Fiorano! I came in, changed it and it felt perfect – and I was six tenths slower … “
Alesi learned a lot from Prost, but their partnership only lasted one season as the Frenchman was eliminated from Ferrari in late 1991
Photo by: Motorsport Images
At the end of 1991, however, Prost and Ferrari split up, and Alesi, who stuck to unrivaled cars and his mentor was gone, became something of a lost soul in the paddock. The fans still loved him, but the team was in ruins and what should have been Jeans’ best years trickled away.
His critics will say that Alesi’s ongoing weakness was that he was too emotional, and the fact is that his character is right on his sleeve. Although he was born in Avignon, nothing about him is French but his voice. “My parents are Sicilians and I feel Sicilian.” It was not until he was 16 that “Giovanni” became “Jean”.
Sure, he’s as Latin racer as I’ve seen him, and there have been times that drive Jean Todt and others crazy. But over time, he moderated his behavior, as Gerhard Berger – his teammate for five years – emphasized.
At the end of 1998 Berger placed Alesi in fourth place behind Schumacher, Häkkinen and Villeneuve.
“Jeans problem is that he has the image of being uncontrollable, but I don’t think that’s fair anymore,” said Berger. “His behavior depends entirely on how he is treated.
“Jean is terribly underestimated. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, he has incredible control of the car, he has speed, he has experience, he’s fast in the rain, on fast tracks or slow. And he’s a great finisher. That would.” I really love to see him in a winning car. “
Until then, Alesi was with Sauber. After five seasons with Ferrari, he spent two quite successful years – 83 championship points – with Benetton, but had a difficult relationship with Flavio Briatore.
“How about Flav?” I asked him in the summer of 1997.
“I’ll tell you that at the end of the year,” he replied, knowing full well that he would not stay in 1998. A break. “But … I hate him!”
Berger believes Alesi was terribly underestimated and unfairly praised by his colleagues
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Two seasons at Sauber had their moments, 1998 on the A1 ring and 1999 in Magny-Cours, where he put his acrobatic style to the test under mixed conditions and drove into the front row. But it wasn’t a car worthy of it, and the cheers last year and it definitely wasn’t.
When he moved to Jordan for the last five races, Alesi’s enthusiasm exploded again and it was wonderful to see him battle Ralf Schumacher’s Williams-BMW at Spa, earning the team a priceless point. However, despite all his hopes, few of us believed that EJ would continue with him in 2002, and in fact, Takuma Sato was duly signed.
In the press room as well as in the stands, Jean will be missed very much, because if it has become a cliché that this and that is the last of a kind, it is true in the case of Jean. In an era of automata, he remained the personification of the “racing driver”.
Undoubtedly, his temperament has often cost him a lot – but it is precisely this temperament that distinguishes him as a person. I loved the fact that he hated exercising, even though he did. “It’s so boring! That’s why I have a coach – so I can do that …” Also loved the fact that he has a glass of wine with dinner, that he has his own vineyard.
“I know some people think I’m paid too much for what I’ve won. But think how many races would have been boring if I hadn’t spiced them up,” Jean Alesi
Alesi also loves cars, which is not always the case with racing drivers. Very close to his home is the Mont Ventoux, once the venue for the European Mountain Championships.
“My father raced there, so I know the records,” he says. “And sometimes when I’m upset or depressed I take my Ferrari F40 and try to beat them. It’s 23 kilometers long and I know every inch. Of course everyone gets upset with me because people ride bicycles up there. “And I go faster than that …”
Then there is the Rolls-Royce Phantom from 1931: “I saw the car in England and had to have it. Right-hand drive. Rear handlebars, perfect. And it has a handbrake that only works on the rear wheels.” . You can put it on and slide it in the back. It’s my favorite car, I’ll never sell it. “
It’s a taste of Alesi, the man, the gentle guy who thanks his mechanics, remembers his friends, laughs and cries with equal ease. As for driver Alesi, I will mainly remember the 1995 Suzuka race.
Alesi was at his best in 1995 in Suzuka
Photo by: Motorsport Images
On a wet track, Schumacher’s Benetton looked leading, but Jean was starting to close and there was what felt like a fight. Then it was announced that he had started too early and would face a stop / go penalty. “That put me in a very bad mood …”
He crossed the finish line in rage on lap five and was now ninth, behind a bunch of Barrichello, Herbert, Frentzen and Salo. He immediately set about passing these people, but there was an element of irrationality in their speed and flair.
On lap seven he decided it was time to play on slicks but overtook Herbert’s Benetton – on the scary 130R – just before he hit the pit lane! Totally pointless, but great, a pure racing driver who runs on instinct.
After this second stop, Jean was back in 15th place. On lap nine he was ninth, then sixth in lap 10, fourth in 11, an incredible second in 12. Now it was Schumacher and Alesi again, the gap narrowing from time to time. On the 18th lap he had been inspired to reduce the lead from seven to one second, but on the 25th lap he pulled away and the drive shaft bearing failed. He giggles at the memory of that day.
“It was pure adrenaline. I tell you, when it’s like this in the car, it’s so exciting – I don’t listen to the radio, I don’t hear anything, I don’t look at the pit boards, nothing, just charging!
“I know some people think I’m paid too much for what I’ve won. But think how many races would have been boring if I hadn’t spiced them up.”
So true. Goodbye, Jean. And thank you.
Alesi’s career was one of unfulfilled promises, but it brought many happy memories with it
Photo by: Motorsport Images
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