Jean Alesi

What if Jean Alesi had taken up his Williams contract instead of joining Ferrari in 1991? Almost certainly the popular French driver would now be able to look back on more than just a single Grand Prix victory in what must be seen as a career that has failed to achieve anything like the success his natuaral talent demanded.

Jean, who was born in Avignon of Sicilian descent, demonstrated his ability early in his career when in 1986 he shook the established order in French F3. Running his own Dallara-Alfa, Alesi scored two race wins, three second-places and three other top-three finishes to claim the runner-up spot behind champion Yannick Dalmas. That this was achieved without the benefit of major sponsor backing – so prevalent in the series – was not lost on the ORECA squad, who signed Jean to race for them in 1987.

He duly took the team's fifth consecutive French F3 title, but only after a disastrous early season that eventually saw the troublesome Martini chassis replaced – at Jean's insistence – by a new Dallara 387, the switch allowing him to take six successive wins on his way to the crown. Naturally, Alesi moved into the ORECA F3000 team for the following season, but the campaign proved to be a huge disappointment for all concerned, Jean being particularly unhappy at the lack of rapport on the engineering side of the team.

Marlboro's decision to back JJ Lehto and Eddie Irvine for 1989 led to Alesi switching to Eddie Jordan's team – and the pair got on famously. Not only was the F3000 championship won – albeit narrowly from Érik Comas – but Alesi stepped into the Tyrrell vacated by Michele Alboreto to score a sensational fourth place in the French Grand Prix on his F1 debut. An 18-month contract was quickly signed and Alesi set about building a reputation as a fast and fearless racer intimidated by nobody – as Ayrton Senna would find at Phoenix and Gerhard Berger at Monaco in 1990 – but one sometimes running at the ragged edge or beyond, as at Monza, where he spun out in a fruitless attempt to match the pace of the McLarens.

Despite the flaws, Frank Williams decided he liked Jean's style and a contract was signed for him to race the Williams-Renault in 1991. However, after protracted negotiations, it was announced he would be driving for Ferrari instead. Initially, Alesi found the going tough, his relative lack of experience proving a handicap in a difficult team environment. There were drives of brilliance in 1992 – at Barcelona and Magny Cours, for example – but even more frustration in terms of solid results was to follow in 1993.

Despite Ferrari's relative lack of success, Alesi signed for a further two years at Maranello, hoping the restructuring programme would bring him the success he craved. In the event, 1994 turned out to be a desperately disappointing year. His early season was disrupted by a back injury sustained in a testing accident. This caused him to miss two races, and his return to the wheel was punctuated by driver errors and engine failures. The Latin blood within him reached boiling point at Monza as that elusive first Grand Prix win disappeared when the gearbox was damaged at a refuelling stop.

Jean's last year with the Prancing Horse finally brought – after 91 races – an emotional and hugely popular win in Canada. Brilliant drives in Brazil and at the Nürburgring once again highlighted his mesmerising car control, but his volatility – surely such a factor in these performances – finally saw him fall out with Jean Todt. Finding himself surplus to requirements, he lost little time in negotiating a seat at Benetton for 1996.

On paper, his chances of success were good, and a serious World championship bid lay in prospect. In the event, it was the usual cocktail of brilliance – at Monaco, where he could have won – mixed with an equal measure of stupidity – highlighted by needless shunts in Australia and Japan. The 1997 season saw much the same story and, despite some excellent drives – most notably at Monza – Alesi was left to contemplate a slide further down the grid after signing a two-year deal with Sauber.

Predictably, perhaps, the first season brought optimism and some sparkling performances, but the second yielded only mounting frustration at midfield obscurity followed by discord when the team failed to progress. To his credit, Alesi stuck out the rest of the season in his usual press-on style, but jumped at the opportunity to join friend and former Ferrari team-mate Alain Prost's team for 2000.

Partnered by rookie Nick Heidfeld, the Frenchman then found that he had his work cut out to take the AP03 into the top ten, let alone close to victory. No points and his most frustrating season to date – including a collision with his team-mate in Austria – could have left Alesi contemplating retirement, but the born racer opted to stay put for 2001, and it was Heidfeld that left the Prost fold. Alesi has continued to drive his heart out and, in pre-season testing, the AP04 absolutely flew. The situation during the year, however, was vastly different and the car struggled to repeat its earlier pace. It wasn't until the Monaco GP that the Frenchman finally scored points, finishing in sixth place, leading on to fifth and sixth place finishes at the Canadian and German Grands Prix.

Following Heinz-Harald Frentzen's sacking ahead of the latter event, Alesi was quickly linked to Jordan and, sensing the prospect of a far more competitive drive, he reached an agreement with Prost that saw his contract cancelled in favour of a seat swap with H-HF.

Having joined Jordan, however, Alesi did not enjoy quite the success he was anticipating. Sixth place in Belgium added to the four points he had picked up with Prost, but he was robbed of a farewell point at Indianapolis when, ironically, new team-mate Jarno Trulli was reinstated to fourth place, leaving Alesi equal 14th in the standings.

The Frenchman's last appearance in an F1 car was at Suzuka, but was both short-lived and dramatic as he was left with nowhere to turn when otherwise impressive rookie Kimi Räikkonen lost control of his Sauber. The pair collided heavily both with each other and the barriers, although fortunately without serious injury. The incident left the 'fiery Frenchman' with nothing more to do than walk back to the pits, soaking up the adulation of a crowd that, since his marriage to Kumiko, regarded him as one of their own.

Not long after confirming his retirement from Formula One, Alesi was already being linked with Mercedes, not for an F1 ride but to supplement its already strong line-up in the German DTM touring car series. Although the deal did lead to a couple of development outings in the latest McLaren F1 car, the Frenchman's focus was firmly set on his new career, which he took to with his usual gusto.

A win in his maiden season, at Donington Park, was followed by a repeat and further success at the Hockenheim season finale in 2003, both campaigns in which he finished fifth overall. 2004 proved a little more barren, but Alesi continued as a key figure in Mercedes' plans for 2005 and scored a splendid win at Hockenheim to re-affirm his place amongst the DTM front-runners but ended up in seventh place at the season's end.

However, his exuberant driving style was at odds with the meticulous technical nature of the formula and much to his chagarin, Alesi found himself demoted into a year-old Persson Motorsports car for 2006. It didn’t alter the Frenchman’s approach to his racing one iota however, as he continued explore the limits to which these thoroughbred machines could be taken – even if it meant his lap times were slower in the process!

Feeling snubbed at his treatment by Mercedes, Alesi now decided to look for pastures new in racing. He was involved with a Japanese consortium planning to enter Formula 1 in partnership with a McLaren Junior Team, but in the event this seems to have come to nought. In the meantime, Jean has become involved with the French Motorsport Association to help guide and develop young driver talent with the aim of putting French drivers back into Formula 1.