, (born '''Giovanni Alesi'''
June 11 ,
1964 ) is a French racing driver of both French and Sicilian origins. Jean Alesi drove a long time in
Formula One for
Ferrari and was very popular among the ''tifosi'' (Italian fanbase).
Alesi was born in
Avignon ,
Vaucluse . Starting his career with a passion for Rallying rather than racing, he graduated to single seaters through the French Renault 5 championship. In the late 1980s he was very much a coming man in motor racing, winning the 1988 French Formula 3 title, and following it up in 1989 with the International
Formula 3000 crown, both after duels with his rival Erik Comas.
Alesi debuted in the
1989 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard in a
Tyrrell -Cosworth, finishing fourth. He drove most of the rest of the season for Tyrrell while continuing his successful Formula 3000 campaign, occasionally giving the car up in favour of
Johnny Herbert and scoring points again at the Italian and Spanish Grands Prix.
1990 was his first full year in Grand Prix racing, with the underfunded, unfancied Tyrrell team. At the first race in America he caused a sensation, leading the first 30 laps in front of
Ayrton Senna with a car considered as inferior and re-passing him after he had been demoted. Second place in
Grand Prix Of Monaco was added to his second place in Phoenix, and by the middle of the season all the top teams were clamouring for his services in 1991. A very confused situation erupted, with Tyrrell, Williams, and Ferrari all claiming to have signed the driver within a very short period.
in
Montreal .]]
Alesi let his heart rule his head, and from the confusion chose Ferrari, who had just begun a downturn in form. In 5 years at the Italian marque he gained little except the passionate devotion of the Tifosi, who loved his aggressive style. When Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996, Alesi and teammate
Gerhard Berger swapped places with him, joining the champion Benetton team, who, again, were beginning to experience a lull in form. After 2 seasons and internal politics, Alesi left. In his final years in the sport, Alesi drove for midfield teams
Sauber and
Prost gaining the odd podium, often in the wet where he excelled. Alesi ended his open-wheel career in 2001 with
Jordan , bookending his open-wheel career nicely: Alesi had been in the Jordan Formula 3000 team when he won his title there.
Flamboyant, extroverted and emotional, Jean Alesi promised a great deal but never really delivered at the top level, sometimes due to impetuosity, sometimes due to his emotional decision to join the
Ferrari racing team rather than the dominant Williams team in the early 1990s, but often due to sickeningly bad luck. In his penultimate race in
Formula One , at Indianapolis in 2001, he became only the fifth driver to start 200 Grand Prix races, yet from his 201 starts, he only gained one victory - an emotional triumph at the
1995 Canadian Grand Prix in
Montreal, Quebec on his 31st birthday. Although the victory in itself was inherited following leader
Michael Schumacher 's car problems, no-one begrudged Alesi his day in the sun, particularly after several excellent but ultimately unrewarded drives the year before, particularly in Italy.
Alesi is now a popular and successful driver in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship), where he and his
Mercedes finished in fifth place in the
2002 championship with one victory. He repeated this in
2003 but this time scoring two victories. In
2004 he finished seventh in the championship scoring no victories. In 2005 he won the opening race and went on to take seventh place in the standings once more. Alesi is a wine connossieur and has a vineyard near his hometown of Avignon, where he resides with his
Japanese wife Goto Kumiko and their three children.
