Andrea de Cesaris

Andrea de Cesaris (born 31st May, 1959 in Rome, died 5th October, 2014 in Rome) was an Italian racing driver best known for his appearances in Formula One.

Formula One

1987: Ferrari

After missing out on a race drive for the 1987 season, de Cesaris joined Scuderia Ferrari as a reserve/test driver. De Cesaris was called upon at the Portuguese Grand Prix when regular driver Michele Alboreto was injured in the race in Italy. De Cesaris failed to make the finish.

1989-1990: Rial

De Cesaris returned to the grid midway through 1989 when he replaced the underperforming Christian Danner at the Rial team. He'd fail to score any points in the close of the year but managed to impress officials enough to earn a second season.

In his second season, he was more competitive than before and managed to score a fifth place in Belgium.

1991: Oreca

De Cesaris made the jump across to the Footwork Oreca team in 1991 alongside Sophie Fabron. Early in the season, de Cesaris scored a sensational fourth place in the San Marino Grand Prix - his best finish in many years.

WTCM

De Cesaris took part in the inaugural season of the World Touring Car Masters series with the Alfa Corse team. De Cesaris only managed to make the grid on one occasion all season.

Later life

After his retirement from high-level competition, de Cesaris embarked on a career as a currency broker in Monaco as well as indulging in his other passion - windsurfing.

De Cesaris was killed in a motorcycle accident in Rome in October of 2014, aged 55.