Alesi, Gianni "Jean" (F)

b 11/6/1964 (Avignon)








1964 - Born in Avignon, of Sicilian descent
1983 - Renault 5 Turbo Cup: 7th, 47 pts, 1 win (Nogaro)
1984 - Formula Renault: 10th, 25 pts
1985 - Formula Renault: 5th, 64 pts (2nd Le Mans, 3rd Magny-Cours, Dijon,
       Paul Ricard, Nogaro)
1986 - French F3 (Alesi Dallara-Alfa Romeo): 2nd, 78 pts, 2 wins (Albi, 
       Le Mans Bugatti)
1987 - French F3: Champion, 144 pts, with Oreca, after switching from Martini 
       chassis to a Dallara 387, allowing 6 consecutive wins. 2nd in Monaco
       F3 race
1988 - F3000 (Oreca March-Cosworth/Reynard): 10th, 11 pts (2nd at Pau)
1989 - Won F3000 with Eddie Jordan, 3 wins (Pau, Birmingham, Spa), 39 pts. 4th 
       on F1  debut with Tyrrell in France. 8 races (Tyrrell), 8 points, 9th.
1990 - 16 races (Tyrrell). 13 points, 9th.
1991 - 16 races (Ferrari). 21 points, 7th
1992 - 16 races (Ferrari). 18 points, 7th
1993 - 16 races (Ferrari). 16 points, 6th. French Touring Car Championship
       (Alfa Romeo 155): 6th at Pau (59:21.33).
1994 - 14 races (Ferrari). 24 points, 5th.
1995 - 17 races (Ferrari), 42 points, 5th, 1 win (Canada). (2nd Argentina,
       Imola, Britain, Europe (Nuerburgring), 5th Brazil, France, Portugal,
       Pacific (Aida))
1996 - F1 (Benetton B196)
       Date    Q       R       Venue           Reason/Time
       10/3    6       -       Australia       accident
       7/4     4       3       Argentina       1:55:10.076/FL
       31/3    5       2       Brazil          1:50:10.958
       28/4    4       -       Europe          accident
       5/5     5       6       San Marino      -1 lap
       19/5    3       -       Monaco          suspension/FL
       2/6     4       2       Spain           2:00:34.609
       16/6    4       3       Canada          1:36:58.121
       30/6    3       3       France          1:37:15.237
       14/7    5       -       Britain         brakes
       28/7    5       2       Germany         1:21:54.869
       11/8    5       3       Hungary         1:47:45.346
       25/8    7       4       Belgium         1:28:34.250
       8/9     6       2       Italy           1:18:01.897
       22/9    3       4       Portugal        1:41:18.024
       13/10   9       -       Japan           accident
       Championship Position: 4th, 47 points
1997 - F1 (Benetton-Renault B197), 4th, 35 pts.
       Date    Q       R       Venue           Reason/Time
       9/3     8       -       Australia       out of fuel
       30/3    6       6       Brazil          1:36:41.010
       13/4    11      7       Argentina       1:52:48.074
       27/4    14      5       Imola           -1 lap
       11/5    9       -       Monaco          spin
       25/5    4       3       Spain           1:30:48.430
       15/6    8       2       Canada          1:17:43.211
       29/6    8       5       France          1:40:13.227
       13/7    11      2       Britain         1:28:11.870
       27/7    6       6       Germany         1:21:33.763
       10/8    9       11      Hungary         -1 lap
       24/8    2       8       Belgium         1:34:28.725
       7/9     1       2       Italy           1:17:06.546
       21/9    15      -       Austria         accident
       28/9    10      2       Luxembourg      1:31:39.613
       12/10   7       5       Japan           1:30:28.849
       26/10   10      13      Europe          -1 lap
1998 - F1 (Sauber Petronas C17), 11th, 9 pts.
       Date    Q       R       Venue           Reason/Time
       8/3     12      -       Australia       ret/engine
       29/3    15      9       Brazil          -1 lap
       12/4    11      5       Argentina       1:49:54.461
       26/4    12      6       San Marino      -1 lap
       10/5    14      10      Spain           -2 laps
       24/5    11      12      Monaco          -4 laps/engine
       7/6     9       -       Canada          accident
       28/6    11      7       France          -1 lap
       12/7    8       -       Britain         electrics
       26/7    2       -       Austria         accident
       2/8     11      10      Germany 1:21:36.355
       16/8    11      7       Hungary -1 lap
       30/8    10      3       Belgium         1:43:54.647
       13/9    8       5       Italy           1:18:11.544
       27/9    11      10      Luxembourg      -1 lap
       1/11    12      7       Suzuka          1:28:58.588
1999 - F1 (Sauber-Petronas C18), J15th, 2 pts.
       Date    Q       R       Venue           Time/Reason
       7/3     16      -       Australia       ret/transmission
       11/4    14      -       Brazil          ret/27 laps/gearbox
       2/5     13      6       San Marino      -1 lap
       16/5    14      -       Monaco          ret/50 laps/accident
       30/5    5       -       Spain           ret/27 laps/electrics
       13/6    8       -       Canada          ret/0 laps/accident
       27/6    2       -       France          ret/24 laps/spin
       11/7    10      14      Britain         -1 lap
       25/7    17      -       Austria         ret/49 laps/out of fuel
       1/8     21      8       Germany         1:23:09.885
       15/8    11      16      Hungary         -3 laps/out of fuel
       29/8    16      9       Belgium         1:26:56.905
       12/9    13      9       Italy           1:17:45.121
       26/9    16      -       Europe          ret/35 laps/transmission
       17/10   15      7       Malaysia        1:37:32.902
       31/10   10      6       Japan           -1 lap
       Andros Ice Racing (Mega Club): 2nd Chamonix 24 Hrs with P.Gache & 
       J.M.Gounon.
2000 - F1 (Prost-Peugeot AP03): 0 pts
       Date    Q       R       Venue           Time/Reason
       12/3    17      -       Australia       ret/27 laps/engine
       26/3    15      -       Brazil          ret/9 laps/electronics
       9/4     15      -       San Marino      ret/26 laps/hydraulics
       23/4    15      10      Britain         -1 lap
       7/5     17      -       Spain           ret/1 lap/accident
       21/5    17      9       Europe          -2 laps
       4/6     7       -       Monaco          ret/29 laps/transmission
       18/6    17      -       Canada          ret/38 laps/hydraulics
       2/7     18      14      France          -2 laps
       16/7    17      -       Austria         ret/41 laps/accident
       30/7    20      -       Germany         ret/29 laps/accident
       13/8    14      -       Hungary         ret/11 laps/accident damage
       27/8    17      19      Belgium         ret/19 laps/fuel leak
       10/9    19      12      Italy           -2 laps
       24/9    20      -       America         ret/64 laps/engine
       8/10    17      -       Japan           ret/19 laps/engine
       22/10   18      11      Malaysia        -1 lap
2001 - F1: J14th, 5 pts
       (Prost-Acer AP04)
       Date    Q       R       Venue           Time/Reason
       4/3     14      9       Australia       -1 lap
       18/3    13      9       Malaysia        -1 lap
       1/4     15      8       Brazil          -1 lap
       15/4    14      9       San Marino      -1 lap
       29/4    15      10      Spain           -1 lap
       13/5    20      10      Austria         -2 laps
       27/5    11      6       Monaco          -1 lap
       10/6    16      5       Canada          1:35:41.957
       24/6    14      15      Europe          -3 laps
       1/7     19      12      France          -2 laps
       30/7    14      11      Britain         -2 laps
       29/7    14      6       Germany         1:19:23.823
       (Jordan-Honda EJ11)
       19/8    12      10      Hungary         -2 laps 
       2/9     13      6       Belgium         1:09:04.686
       16/9    16      8       Italy           -1 lap
       30/9    9       7       America         -1 lap
       22/10   11      -       Japan           ret/5 laps/accident
2002 - DTM (AMG Mercedes): J5th, 24 pts
       Apr 21   Hockenheim              8th, 13m09.067
       Apr 21   Hockenheim              3rd, 39m16.940
       May 5    Zolder                  9th, 16m33.091
       May 5    Zolder                  10th, 41m45.590
       May 19   Donington Park          1st, 15m12.512
       May 19   Donington Park          1st, 38m58.198
       Jun 2    Sachsenring             16th, 12m34.634
       Jun 2    Sachsenring             ret/11 laps/accident
       Jun 30   Norisring               5th, 15m52.454
       Jun 30   Norisring               4th, 37m43.671
       Jul 14   Lausitzring             14th, 12m24.042
       Jul 14   Lausitzring             8th, 39m26.610
       Aug 4    Nurburgring             11th, 13m22.188
       Aug 4    Nurburgring             ret/0 laps/accident
       Sep 8    A1-Ring                 4th, 12m00.753
       Sep 8    A1-Ring                 3rd, 36m45.758
       Sep 29   Zandvoort               14th, 13m32.236
       Sep 29   Zandvoort               8th, 40m23.375
       Oct 6    Hockenheim              21st, 1 lap/accident
       Oct 6    Hockenheim              ret/0 laps/accident
2003 - DTM (AMG Mercedes 03): 5th, 42 pts
       Apr 27	Hockenheim		4th, 1h11m44.918
       May 11	Adria			7th, 58m28.316
       May 25	Nürburgring		20th, -32 laps/undertray
       Jun 8	Lausitzring		5th, 1h00m16.922
       Jun 22	Norisring		5th, 1h01m20.768
       Jul 27	Donington Park		1st, 55m08.354
       Aug 17	Nürburgring		6th, 1h00m45.043
       Sep 7	A1-Ring			ret/0 laps/accident
       Sep 21	Zandvoort		5th, 59m56.208
       Oct 5	Hockenheim		1st, 1h00m46.013
2004 – DTM (AMG Mercedes C-Klasse): 7th, 19 pts
       Apr 18	Hockenheim		ret/26 laps/broken floor
       May 2	Estoril			7th, 1h00m32.195
       May 16	Adria			3rd, 58m02.805
       Jun 6	Lausitzring		5th, 1h02m55.308
       Jun 27	Norisring		10th, -1 lap
       Jul 18	Shanghai (non-champ)	4th, 27m39.092
       Aug 1	Nurburgring		7th, 59m36.703
       Aug 8	Oschersleben		10th, 59m42.038
       Sep 5	Zandvoort		11th, 16m36.256
       Sep 19	Brno			8th, 1h00m05.919
       Oct 3	Hockenheim		5th, 1h01m01.529
2005 – DTM (AMG Mercedes C-class): 7th, 22 pts
       Apr 17	Hockenheim		1st, 1h04m48.245
       May 1	Lausitzring		7th, 1h04m06.790
       May 15	Spa-Francorchamps	4th, 54m44.632
       Jun 5	Brno			9th, 59m35.844
       Jun 26	Oschersleben		13th, 1h02m00.761
       Jul 17	Norisring		ret/23 laps/lost power
       Aug 7	Nurburgring		7th, 1h05m30.157
       Aug 20	Zandvoort		ret/2 laps/accident
       Sep 18	Lausitzring		8th, 1h04m08.202
       Oct 2	Istanbul Park		7th, 1h06m04.362
       Oct 23	Hockenheim		13th, 1h03m11.822
2006 – DTM (Persson Motorsport Mercedes C-Class 2005): 9th, 15 pts
       Apr 9	Hockenheim		6th, 1h00m09.249
       Apr 30	Lausitzring		7th, 1h03m58.591
       May 21	Oschersleben		8th, 1h01m59.901
       Jul 2	Brands Hatch Indy	6th, 1h03m53.587
       Jul 23	Norisring		ret/1 lap/suspension
       Aug 20	Nurburgring		4th, 1h06m49.082
       Sep 3	Zandvoort		ret/9 laps/power steering
       Sep 24	Barcelona		14th, 1h06m46.944
       Oct 15	Le Mans Bugatti		11th, 1h03m51.941
       Oct 29	Hockenheim		8th, 1h00m49.739
2008 – Speedcar Series: 4th, 40 pts
       Jan 26	Dubai			6th, 34m49.144
       Jan 26	Dubai			ret/3 laps/brakes
       Feb 17	Sentul			1st, 45m48.803
       Feb 17	Sentul			2nd, 40m42.219
       Mar 23	Sepang			1st, 42m06.705
       Mar 23	Sepang			3rd 
       Apr 6	Bahrain			10th
       Apr 6	Bahrain			3rd
       Apr 12	Dubai			ret/engine
       Apr 12	Dubai			ret/suspension
2009 – Speedcar (HPR): 5th, 38 pts
       Dec 5	Dubai			10th, 42m47.539
       Jan 23	Bahrain			1st, 40m37.701
       Jan 24	Bahrain			6th, 40m57.044
       Feb 13	Losail			4th, 42m11.508
       Feb 14	Losail			ret/4 laps/power steering
       Feb 27	Dubai			1st, 41m15.994
       Feb 28	Dubai			1st, 41m26.780
       Apr 25	Bahrain			ret/4 laps
       Apr 26	Bahrain			10th, 41m37.816
2010 – Le Mans Series (AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT): 2nd, 66 pts, with T.Vilander & 
       G.Fisichella.
       Apr 11	Paul Ricard		21st, 231 laps (3rd GT2)
       May 9	Spa 1000 km		20th, 123 laps (3rd GT2)
       Jul 17	Algarve			9th, 191 laps (2nd GT2)
       Aug 22	Hungaroring		13th, 192 laps (4th GT2)
       Sep 12	Silverstone		35th, 134 laps (12th GT2)
       Le Mans 24 Hrs (AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT): 16th (4th GT2), with T.Vilander, 
       G.Fisichella
2012 – Indy 500 (Fan Force United Dallara-Lotus DW12): ret/9 laps/too slow. RAC 
       TT Celebration, Goodwood (Ferrari 250 GTO): 7th, with M.Hales.

ALESI Jean (F), Biography 1995

Now in his fifth season with Ferrari, Jean Alesi's maiden Grand Prix victory is long overdue.

Alesi began to build his reputation for bravery and skilful car control when he was the revelation of the 1989 Formula 1 season, bursting onto the Grand Prix scene at Paul Ricard, where he ran his Tyrrell as high as second, and finished fourth on his Grand Prix debut. His gritty performances the following season for Tyrrell made Jean hot property, and he was much in demand before beginning his longterm relationship with Ferrari at the start of 1991. He again partners Gerhard Berger in 1995 as Ferrari continues its determined progress towards becoming a Championship winning team again.

Motorsports is in the blood of the Alesi family. Jean's father was a rally driver during the period 1964-75 and Jean, who is of Sicilian parentage, himself began to race karts at the age of 16. Alesi won two French regional titles and then, as soon as he was old enough for a driving licence, he joined the cut and thrust of one of his country's favourite race series, the Renault 5 Cup. Jean learned quickly, winning a race at Nogaro.

Electing to move immediately into single-seaters, Alesi competed in Formule Renault in 1984-85, renewing a rivalry with Eric Bernard which dates back to their karting days. While Bernard won the championship, Alesi's best result was a second place.

It was in 1986 that Jean sprung to prominence. The first to run a Dallara in the French Formula 3 Championship, Alesi split the ORECA Martini cars of Yannick Dalmas and Michel Trolle in the series, winning races with his privately entered car at Le Mans and Albi. ORECA's Hugues de Chaunac was impressed, and recruited Alesi to lead his team the following year. Jean repaid his faith by taking seven wins on his way to becoming French Formula 3 Champion. He was also a close second in the high-profile Monaco Formula 3 event.

This success was his passport into Marlboro's Formula 3000 line-up for 1988. ORECA started out with March chassis, but these were exchanged for Reynards before the third round of the FIA championship at Pau, where Alesi finished second. The rest of the season was disappointing and Jean was only tenth in the series.

Alesi was determined to win the Formula 3000 International title in 1989 and moved to England, to join Eddie Jordan Racing. Always a front-runner, he scored his first win in the tough street race in Pau. He followed up with another victory on the streets of Birmingham, and then won again at Spa-Francorchamps. To clinch the title, he could afford merely to cruise into sixth place at Le Mans-Bugatti.

Alesi's Grand Prix career had already been launched by that amazing debut at Paul Ricard. Jean was not overawed by his arrival on the Formula 1 scene, and went on to score a fifth place at Monza and a fourth at Jerez. Not surprisingly, the Frenchman was retained by the Tyrrell team for 1990. In the first Grand Prix of the season, at Phoenix, Alesi led for 33 laps, and after a famous battle with Ayrton Senna, eventually finished second to the Brazilian. Another second-place finish followed at Monaco, but Alesi failed to repeat these results in the second half of the year, his V8 Cosworth outclassed by rival engines.

In the course of the 1990 season, Jean fulfilled every racing driver's dream when he signed to race for Scuderia Ferrari in 1991. Although Ferrari did not enjoy a successful year, Jean achieved third-place finishes in Monaco, Germany and Portugal. He again drove for Ferrari in 1992 and was more than a match for his more experienced team mate, Ivan Capelli, with the team's new F92A cars. His 1992 season began with non-finishes at Kyalami and Mexico City, but he followed up with points in Sao Paulo and Barcelona, and achieved the second podium finish of his season in Montreal. Ferrari struggled in 1992 with untypical reliability problems, but Alesi scored points each time he finished.

A similar pattern emerged in the 1993 season as Alesi, now partnered by Gerhard Berger, strove to achieve results with the latest V12 Ferrari, an interim car pending the arrival of an all-new model in 1994. Prior to the Monaco Grand Prix, Jean had finished only one race in 1993, when he was a delayed eighth in Brazil. On the streets of Monte Carlo, Alesi then produced a real boost for the Ferrari team by finishing a solid and highly competitive third. In both Canada and France, however, his races were again cut short by mechanical problems, and then his Ferrari lacked pace as he finished ninth in Britain.

In Germany, the red cars again performed strongly, and Alesi featured well before finishing a delayed seventh. He was again racing solidly in the points in Hungary when he crashed after a collision with Christian Fittipaldi's Minardi. After qualifying in fourth place, and running strongly at the start, Jean's car let him down at Spa and he was an early retirement.

However, the return to form by Ferrari was emphasized at Monza, where Alesi qualified in third position, and thrilled the Italian fans by finishing second. At Estoril, Jean produced an even better performance, after driving around the outside of his rivals in the first corner to take the lead, from fifth on the grid. His Ferrari stayed in front of the Portuguese Grand Prix going into the tyre stops, and ultimately finished fourth.

Disappointment followed in Japan, where Alesi was among the early retirements. But his mixed season ended on a very positive note in Australia where, after a race-long battle with his team mate, Jean finished his 1993 campaign with a solid finish in fourth position.

In 1994, after a podium finish at the first GP at Brazil, a severe testing accident put him out of racing for two events. He returned in Monaco, scoring points immediately with fifth place. He followed that with points (fourth) in Spain, and was back on the podium again with third place in Canada and at Silverstone, where Schumacher's subsequent disqualification moved him up to second. His season went downhill with a string of five retirements, the most disappointing being at Monza where he took pole position and led from both starts before his gearbox failed at a pit stop.

Japan saw him drive brilliantly in the appalling weather, fighting a stirring battle with Nigel Mansell to finish third in aggregate and his 1994 season ended in the points again in Adelaide.