Jean Alesi

Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi; 11 June 1964) is a French racing driver of Italian origin, most known for his Formula One career which spanned from 1989 to 1998.

Career

After finishing third overall in the 1988 International F3000 season, Alesi debuted the next year in F1 partnering fellow Formula One rookie Satoru Nakajima on board of a Tyrrell-Honda. It didn't take long for Alesi to score his first points, finishing sixth in his home Grand Prix. He later added three more points finishes: 5th in the Canadian Grand Prix, 4th in the Soviet Grand Prix and 6th at the season-ending Mexican Grand Prix.

Alesi remained with Tyrrell in 1990 - this time joined by another F3000 graduate in Martin Donnelly. Alesi scored his first point of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix in what was shaping up to being a generally lean year. Alesi was given a lifeline for the final two races when an injury to McLaren's Alessandro Nannini caused a mid-season shuffle amongst several teams - with Lotus selecting Alesi to replace the McLaren-bound Brendon Cassidy.

By 1998, Alesi was already an established racer and scored two points in Monaco driving for Sauber. However he was abruptly let go after the French Grand Prix, ending his Formula One career with the team that had started it nine years earlier, the now-struggling Tyrrell. He did not finish in any of the final four races of 1998.

After leaving Formula One, Alesi raced in the DTM and also took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500.

Personal Life

Jean's son Giuliano is also a racing driver that currently competes in European Formula 3.

[Category:Real-life drivers]]