Jean Robert Alesi[1] (French pronunciation:[ʒãa.lɛ.si]; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between 1989 and 2001, including spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and Ferrari, where he proved very popular among the Tifosi. He won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, but this proved to be the only win of his Formula One career. During his time in Formula One, Alesi was particularly good in the wet and was a mercurial and passionate racer, whose emotions sometimes got the better of him. Alesi jointly holds the record with four other drivers (Patrick Depailler, Mika Häkkinen, Eddie Irvine and Lando Norris) for the driver who scored the most podiums before claiming their first Grand Prix win (15).[2]
Born and raised in Avignon, Vaucluse, Alesi started karting at the age of 16 with a desire to eventually compete in rallying. He progressed to open-wheel car racing in 1983, participating in French Renault 5 Turbo. After winning the French Formula Three Championship in 1987, Alesi moved up to International Formula 3000 the year after. Despite the struggles during the inaugural season, his performances for the Jordan Formula 3000 team in the 1989 season led to a 1989 Formula One drive with Tyrrell Racing, replacing Michele Alboreto. Alesi eventually won the International Formula 3000 championship with three race wins, edging out his title rival with the same amount of points, Érik Comas.
After leaving Formula One, Alesi raced in the DTM championship from 2002 to 2006, winning some races with his best result being a fifth place in the drivers' championship. He raced in the Speedcar Series in 2008 and 2009 and raced at Le Mans in 2010. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 in 2012 and became the oldest professional driver to perform the rookie test for admission to the competition. For several years, he was also a commentator for the Italian TV show Pole Position. Alesi became a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2006.
^"Décret du 25 mars 2005 portant promotion et nomination" (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2023.
Jean Robert Alesi (French pronunciation: [ʒã a.lɛ.si]; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver. He competed in...
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Ryu Alesi (born 20 September 1999) is a French racing driver. He is the son of Japanese former actress Kumiko Goto and former Formula One driver Jean Alesi...
Benetton to join Ferrari, citing the need for a new challenge. He displaced JeanAlesi, who moved in the opposite direction. Gerhard Berger was offered the chance...
win the race, with fellow French-speaking drivers, Olivier Panis and JeanAlesi, coming second and third respectively. Panis was actually closing on the...
Herbert was dropped by the team and joined Sauber. Their replacements were JeanAlesi and the returning Gerhard Berger, both of whom had left Ferrari. Williams...
McLaren's tester. In 2000 the team began its sharp decline. Veteran racer JeanAlesi, Prost's former teammate at Ferrari in 1991, was signed to the team. The...
David Coulthard, claimed his first victory in Portugal, while Ferrari's JeanAlesi achieved his only F1 victory in Canada. Just like Honda in 1988, Renault...
drivers to escape with damage were Mika Häkkinen and Andrea Montermini. JeanAlesi suffered a puncture at the end of the session, but was able to return...
Jordan won the F3000 drivers' championship with future Formula One star JeanAlesi. The team also ran future F1 drivers such as Martin Donnelly and Eddie...
Coulthard driving for McLaren after starting from sixth position on the grid. JeanAlesi finished second for Benetton after starting from pole position, while...
by Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, driving a Williams-Renault. Frenchman JeanAlesi finished second in a Benetton-Renault, with Villeneuve's German teammate...
remainder of the race. Hill also dropped behind the one-stopping Ferrari of JeanAlesi, but the latter crashed on lap 42 whilst attempting to avoid the lapped...
version racing in the latter stages of the season. The car was driven by JeanAlesi for the entire season, and by Ivan Capelli for most of the season, before...
to his second consecutive Monaco win and third in all. French driver JeanAlesi finished second in a Tyrrell-Ford, with Senna's Austrian teammate Gerhard...
handed a two-race ban, and finished the season at Sauber. Ferrari driver JeanAlesi injured his back during private testing at Mugello Circuit and was replaced...
front-row starts being their best results. Among notable Sauber drivers were JeanAlesi, 2008 Drivers' Championship runner-up Felipe Massa, Johnny Herbert, and...
outside of Hill at the first corner, but Hill held Schumacher off as JeanAlesi, driving for Ferrari, got past both on the inside line to take second...
Formula One World Championship. It was driven by the experienced pairing of JeanAlesi and Gerhard Berger, who both moved from Ferrari to replace departing 1994...
course of the season the car was raced by five drivers: French veteran JeanAlesi, Argentine Gastón Mazzacane, Brazilian Luciano Burti, German Heinz-Harald...
the German GP. JeanAlesi quit his Prost drive after the German Grand Prix. Frentzen was then signed to Prost to take over from Alesi, before Jordan completed...
1997 Formula One World Championship. There it was driven by Frenchman JeanAlesi and Austrian Gerhard Berger, who were both in their second season with...
One driver JeanAlesi was listed as an entry for Newman Haas Racing, but the car was later withdrawn. Lotus continued to find a team for Alesi, and struck...
1995, she quit her artistic career and married the French racing driver, JeanAlesi, with whom she has three children.[citation needed] Dokuganryū Masamune...
competed in the 2000 Formula One season. It was driven by the experienced JeanAlesi, team boss Alain Prost's ex-Ferrari teammate, and reigning Formula 3000...
the only Grand Prix victory for French driver JeanAlesi. This was seen as a popular victory, as Alesi had waited over five years for a victory and he...
room for improvement."[citation needed] The Ferraris of Alain Prost and JeanAlesi were expected to be the strongest team, but their V-12s and 7-speed semi-automatic...
replacement for the Argentine Grand Prix.[citation needed] Ferrari driver JeanAlesi injured his back in a testing accident at Mugello, while Jordan driver...
Global Information
French
Legion of Honour – Knight (2006)