Tyrrell Full name Tyrrell Racing Organisation Base Ockham, Surrey, United Kingdom Founder(s) Ken Tyrrell Noted staff Derek Gardner Mike Gascoyne Tim Densham Dr Harvey Postlethwaite Noted drivers Jean Alesi Jody Scheckter Jackie Stewart Andrea de Cesaris François Cevert Subsequent name British American Racing Formula One World Championship career Constructors Matra March Tyrrell Debut 1968 South African Grand Prix Races competed 463 Drivers' Championships 3 (1969, 1971, 1973) Race victories 33 Pole positions 19 Fastest laps 27 Final race 1998 Japanese Grand Prix

Tyrrell as a Formula One constructor Formula One World Championship career Entrants Tyrrell Racing, several minor teams and privateers Debut 1970 Canadian Grand Prix Final race 1998 Japanese Grand Prix Races competed 430 Race victories 23 Constructors' Championships 1 (1971) Pole positions 14 Fastest laps 20 Formula One portal

The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one constructors' championship with Jackie Stewart. The team never reached such heights again, although it continued to win races through the 1970s and into the early 1980s, taking the final win for the Ford Cosworth DFV engine at Detroit in 1983. The team was bought by British American Tobacco in 1997 and completed its final season as Tyrrell in 1998.

Lower Formulae (1958 - 1967)[link]

Tyrrell Racing first came into being in 1958, running Formula Three cars for Ken Tyrrell and local stars. Realizing he was not racing driver material, Ken Tyrrell stood down as a driver in 1959, and began to run a Formula Junior operation using the woodshed owned by his family business, Tyrrell Brothers, as a workshop. Throughout the 1960s, Tyrrell moved through the lower formulas, variously giving single seater debuts to John Surtees and Jacky Ickx. But the team's most famous partnership was the one forged with Jackie Stewart, who first signed up in 1963.

Tyrrell ran the BRM Formula 2 operation throughout 1965, 1966 and 1967 whilst Stewart was signed to the Formula One team. Tyrrell then signed a deal to run Formula 2 cars made by French company Matra.

Formula One (1968 - 1998)[link]

1960s[link]

Jackie Stewart and Tyrrell won their first championship with the French Matra chassis.

With the help of Elf and Ford, Tyrrell then achieved his dream of moving to Formula One in 1968, as team principal for Matra International, a joint-venture established between Tyrrell's own team and the French auto manufacturer Matra. Stewart was a serious contender, winning several Grands Prix in the Tyrrell-run Matra MS10. The car's most innovative feature was the use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks. These allowed the chassis to be around 15 kg lighter, while still being stronger than its competitors. The FIA considered the technology to be unsafe and decided to ban it for 1970, insisting on rubber bag-tanks.

For the 1969 championship the Matra works team decided not to compete in Formula One. Matra would instead focus its efforts on Ken Tyrrell's 'Matra International' team and build a new DFV powered car with structural fuel tanks, even though it would only be eligible for a single season. Stewart won the 1969 title easily driving the new Cosworth-powered Matra MS80, which corrected most of the weaknesses of the MS10. Stewart's title was the first won by a French chassis, and the only one won by a chassis built in France.^[1] It was a spectacular achievement from a team and a constructor that had only entered Formula One the previous year.

1970s[link]

Tyrrell's first F1 car, the 001, being demonstrated at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler - arguably one of the most radical F1 cars ever to have raced.

For the 1970 season following Matra's merger with Simca, Tyrrell were asked by Matra to use their V12 rather than the Cosworth. Simca was a subsidiary of the American company Chrysler, a rival of Ford.

	1971 Tyrrell-Cosworth 002
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Stewart tested the Matra V12 and found it inferior to the DFV. As a large part of the Tyrrell budget was provided by Ford, and another significant element came from French state-owned petroleum company Elf, which had an agreement with Renault that precluded supporting a Simca partner, Ken Tyrrell had little alternative but to buy a March 701 chassis as interim solution while developing his own car in secret.

Tyrrell was still sponsored by French fuel company Elf, and Tyrrell would retain the traditional French blue racing colours for most of the rest of its existence. Tyrrell and Stewart ran the March-Fords throughout 1970 with mixed success, while Derek Gardner worked on the first in-house Tyrrell Grand Prix car at the woodshed in Ockham, Surrey.

The Tyrrell 001, which bore much resemblance to the MS80, emerged at the end of 1970. It earned Stewart a pole position in the Canadian GP but suffered mechanical failures in all of its 3 race starts. The nearly identical Tyrrell 003 won both Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 1971, with strong driving from Jackie Stewart and François Cevert. Stewart's 1972 challenge was hamstrung by a stomach ulcer, but he returned to full fitness in 1973. He and Cevert finishing 1st and 4th in the Championship. Tragedy struck on October 6, 1973, as Cevert was killed in practice for the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Stewart, who was to retire at the end of the season, and Tyrrell immediately stood down, effectively handing the Constructor's title to Lotus. At the end of the season Stewart made public his decision to retire, a decision that was already made before the US Grand Prix. Without their star driver or his skilled French protégé aboard, Tyrrell were never serious World Championship contenders again.

Despite this, the team remained a force throughout the 1970s, winning races with Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. Most notable of these was Scheckter's triumph at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix, giving Tyrrell a 1-2 finish driving the distinctive Derek Gardner designed Tyrrell P34 car. The P34 was the first (and only) successful six-wheeler F1 car, which replaced the conventional front wheels with smaller wheels mounted in banks of two on either side of the car. The design was abandoned after Goodyear refused to develop the small tyres needed for the car as they were too busy fighting the other tyre manufacturers in Formula One.

1980s[link]

The Tyrrell 012 (pictured at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed) raced from 1983 to 1985.

In 1977, the Turbo era dawned in Grand Prix racing, which was, by the mid-1980s, to render normally -aspirated-engined cars obsolete. Without the proper funding, Tyrrell was the last resistant with the Cosworth DFV at a time all teams had switched to turbocharged engines. It was the beginning of two decades of struggle for Tyrrell, who was often underfunded through lack of sponsorship. It seemed appropriate, then, that the final win for the classic Cosworth Ford DFV engine was taken by a Tyrrell car, Michele Alboreto at the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix. It was also Tyrrell's last Grand Prix win.

1984 controversy[link]

At the time, the Formula One regulations specified a minimum weight which was (as is currently the case) more than achievable with non-turbocharged cars - though not with a turbocharged car due to greater complexity - leading to some cars being built light and ballasted up to the minimum weight to optimise weight distribution. However, rules then also specified that the cars were to be weighed filled with their usual fluids. In 1982, other teams (chiefly Brabham and Williams) had used this provision to develop cars with features such as 'water-cooled brakes' - the car officially started the race with a large, full water tank, the water was released in the general direction of the brakes and the car ran underweight when on track and unable to be weighed, only to be later topped up sufficient water to ensure the weight limit was not breached.

As Tyrrell was the only naturally aspirated engine user in 1984 season, they were uniquely placed to be able to benefit from a similar strategy of the water brake. In Tyrrell's case, the engine was equipped with a water injection system (a common means of lowering cylinder temperatures to increase power), whose supply tank was to be topped up late in the race. In addition, the FIA had already made provision to reduce the fuel allowance for the race (then 220 litres) to 195, reducing the power available to turbocharged runners while imposing little restriction on more efficient non-turbo runners. Predictably turbo-powered teams were against this move, leaving only Tyrrell - whose engine did not need the additional fuel - in favour of it. However, F1 rules required unanimity for the change to be scrapped, leaving Tyrrell in the way.

Stefan Bellof driving for Tyrrell during the team's controversial 1984 season.

It had been observed in races that, after Tyrrell's final pit stop, lead shot could be seen escaping from the top of the car. It turned out that Tyrrell were running the car underweight during the race then, in the closing stages, topping up water injection supply tanks with an additional 2 gallons of water mixed with 140 lb of lead shot to ensure it made the weight limit. As this was pumped in under significant pressure, some escaped through the tank vent and rained down on neighbouring pits, in sufficient quantities for other teams to sweep the shot away before their drivers pitted.

After the Detroit Grand Prix where Martin Brundle had finished in second for Tyrrell, the top cars were as usually impounded for inspection for compliance with the rules. Following this, it was alleged that the water was in fact 27.5% aromatics and constituted an additional fuel source. Tyrrell were thus charged with:

1. Taking on additional fuel during the race (then illegal)
2. Use of illegal fuel (the aromatic-water mix)
3. Equipping the car with illegal fuel lines (the lines from the water tank to the water injection system)
4. Using ballast that was incorrectly fixed to the car (the lead shot in the water tank)

From these charges, Tyrrell were excluded from the 1984 world championship and retroactively disqualified from all races that year. Further analysis showed that the actual fuel content of the water was significantly below 1% and well within rules. Additionally, Tyrrell argued that the requirement was that the ballast had to be fixed so it required tools to remove - which they felt was the case with the shot as contained within the water tank. Tyrrell subsequently went to the FIA court of appeal. On appeal, the evidence that the water's fuel content was in fact far lower than originally suggested was ignored and the charges amended to:

1. The fuel in the water (now agreed by the governing body to be at a negligible and legal level)
2. Unsecured ballast
3. Illegal holes in the bottom of the car, in violation of flat bottom rules designed to eliminate ground effect (eventually determined to be vents of no aerodynamic effect)

Nonetheless, the international judging panel upheld the original decision: Tyrrell were excluded from the championship - and was banned for last 3 races, and with them, getting fined by FISA. With the only non-turbo team now not officially an entrant, the remaining teams had the unanimity they required to amend the rules as they wished. Tyrrell's exclusion meant they lost all points from the 1984 season and, with them, subsidised travel benefits to the following year's championship, a huge additional cost.

The ban and exclusion was seen by some observers as tantamount to manipulation by the FIA who had been looking for a way to eliminate the remaining non-turbo cars from the grid to help attract more support and sponsorship from automotive manufacturers. The ban also allowed the turbo teams to block a proposal from FISA's to reduce the fuel allowance for 1985.^[2][3]

1990s[link]

Mika Salo driving for Tyrrell at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

"Tora" Takagi driving the Tyrrell 026 at the 1998 Spanish Grand Prix.

Tyrrell struggled on through the 1980s and 1990s - the team consistently punching above their financial weight. And while results lagged behind the glory years, Ken Tyrrell was still a man deeply respected in the F1 community. There was a brief revival of fortunes in the early 1990s. The combination of Harvey Postlethwaite's revolutionary anhedral high-nose Tyrrell 019 and Jean Alesi's full debut season in 1990 brought the team two second places at Phoenix and Monaco - Alesi having led 30 laps of the Phoenix race. The French-Sicilian left the next year for Ferrari, but Honda engines and Braun sponsorship in 1991 helped Stefano Modena earn a front row start at Monaco alongside Senna and a fine second place finish at the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix. Nonetheless, the team slowly dropped back from the middle of the pack. Eventually, in 1998 and in the face of dwindling form and ill health, Ken sold his team to British American Tobacco, the team becoming British American Racing. The final race for Tyrrell was the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix, where Ricardo Rosset failed to qualify and team-mate Toranosuke Takagi retired on lap 28 after a collision with Esteban Tuero's Minardi.

Legacy[link]

The double championship-winning Brawn GP team of 2009 and the 2010 Mercedes GP team are in some ways descendants of Tyrrell, through its predecessors, Honda Racing F1 and BAR. While BAR bought the F1 team and entry, most of the cars and equipment were sold to Paul Stoddart, later owner of the Minardi F1 team. The Minardi 2-seater F1 cars are modifications of the 1998 Tyrrell 026 design, most noticeable in the distinctive shape of the nose of the car. These cars still run in demos today, most recently as demo cars during the launch of the Yas Marina F1 track.

Ken Tyrrell died of cancer on August 25, 2001 at the age of 77.

Formula One World Championship results[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tyrrell

• TeamTyrrell.Com

Footnotes[link]

v t e Tyrrell Racing Founder: Ken Tyrrell Personnel: Derek Gardner | Maurice Philippe | Harvey Postlethwaite World Champions: Jackie Stewart Formula One cars: 001 | 002 | 003 | 004 | 005 | 006 | 007 | P34 | 008 | 009 | 010 | 011 | 012 | 014 | 015 | DG016 | 017 | 017B | 018 | 019 | 020 | 020B | 020C | 021 | 022 | 023 | 024 | 025 | 026

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (February 2012)

Eric McClure
Born	(1978-12-11) December 11, 1978 (age 33) Chilhowie, Virginia, United States
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
3 race(s) run over 3 year(s)
Best finish	67th - 2006
First race	2004 Aaron's 499 (Talladega)
Last race	2006 UAW-Ford 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
179 race(s) run over 10 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 14 (TriStar Motorsports)
2011 position	19th
Best finish	17th - 2009
First race	2003 Target House 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2012 Aaron's 312 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of May 5, 2012.

Eric McClure (born December 11, 1978) is an American NASCAR race car driver. He currently drives the No. 14 Hefty Toyota for TriStar Motorsports in the Nationwide Series. Born in Chilhowie, Virginia, he is a graduate of Emory and Henry College. His family owned the Sprint Cup Series team Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

McClure's home in Abingdon, Virginia suffered major damage in an April 27, 2011 tornado (part of a major outbreak of tornadoes that hit across the South April 27-28); McClure, his wife and three children sat out the storm in their basement and were uninjured.^[1]

Sprint Cup Series career[link]

McClure has made two Cup career starts in his career. His debut came at Talladega, driving the No. 04 I Can Learn Chevy in 2004. He made the field in 35th position, and went on to finish 26th. McClure then attempted to make the July race at Daytona, but did not qualify.

McClure then landed a ride with the No. 73 Raabe Racing Enterprises Chevy for 2005. McClure did not qualify for the first two races, but did make the race at Las Vegas, starting 41st. His engine blew mid-way through the race and relegated McClure to 32nd. McClure left the team that week and did not run until August, when he attempted three races with Front Row Motorsports. However, McClure did not make any of those races. In 2006 he attempted and made the UAW-Ford 500 handling issues relegated him to a 32nd place finish in the 04 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevy, with sponsorship from Hefty In 2008, Eric attempted the Daytona 500 in the No. 37 Front Row Motorsports Chevy sponsored by Hefty, but failed to qualify.

On April 11, 2009, Morgan-McClure Motorsports announced they would be attempting the Talladega race in April, after a year and a half absence from the sport. Eric McClure attempted to qualify the Hefty sponsored No. 4 Chevrolet but did not make the field.

Nationwide Series career[link]

McClure made his Busch Series debut in 2003, running at Rockingham Speedway. He qualified the No. 05 I Can Learn Chevy in 22nd and finished 26th despite an accident.

McClure made four starts in 2004, running two races for his family team (MMM) and two more for Mac Hill Motorsports. His best run was at Memphis, where he finished 22nd. He also finished three of his four starts.

McClure added eight starts in 2005, seven for Means Racing, but only managed a best finish of 30th at Texas. McClure did attract the eye of James Finch and ran one race for that team at Daytona. However, he finished 32nd with a blown engine and did not follow that run up with any starts, returning to Means. McClure did not qualify for two '05 races. At Bristol, McClure was sent home because of a rainout of qualifying, and at Memphis, McClure missed the field by one spot.

For the 2007 season, McClure teamed up with Davis Motorsports for a 32 race schedule. McClure brought sponsor Hefty to the team with him.

He drove for Front Row Motorsports in the Busch Series in 2008, with Hefty sponsoring the car for all the races in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He scored his best career finish of 15th in the Aaron's 312 at Talladega.

In 2009, he and sponsor Hefty moved to Rensi/Hamilton Racing, where he drove the No. 24 Ford Fusion. This proved to be a good move; he qualified for every race and finished a career best 17th in the final points standings. McClure stuck with the team, now Team Rensi Motorsports, for 2010. However, performance slipped and the economic downturn forced McClure to be cautious with the team's equipment, with Rensi bringing a second team over for COT races that was raced by Kelly Bires. Despite this, McClure finished 24th in points but announced his departure from Rensi on November 30. According to McClure, Rensi's budget was so low to the point that they would rarely have full tire allotments for the races after Las Vegas, with most of the allotments going to the races run with Bires. McClure announced on December 1 that he and Hefty would move to Tri-Star Motorsports for 2011 alongside veterans Mike Bliss and Jeff Green. It was further announced in January that Tri-Star Motorsports will change their car numbers, with McClure piloting the #14.

During the Aaron's 312 on May 5, 2012, McClure was involved in a multi-car wreck on lap 117, and was extracted from his car. He was airlifted to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama for further evaluation. NASCAR stated that McClure was talking to the rescue crew while he was being extracted from his car.^[2][3][4][5] After staying two nights in the hospital, TriStar Motorsports team spokesmen Emily Brandt announced on May 6, 2012 that McClure had suffered a concussion and internal bruises from the accident.^[6][7] On May 9, TriStar announced that McClure would sit out the Nationwide race at Darlington due to his concussion, and that start and park driver Jeff Green would drive the No. 14 while Tony Raines and Kevin Lepage would start and park the #10.^[8]

Image[link]

• 

  McClure's No. 24 before the 2009 Nationwide race at Milwaukee

• 

  2010 Nationwide car

• 

  Racing at Road America in 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Eric McClure at Racing Reference
• McClure happy to be home in Bristol

Jackie Stewart

Stewart speaking at the 2005 United States Grand Prix
Born	(1939-06-11) 11 June 1939 (age 73) Milton, West Dunbartonshire
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	British
Active years	1965 – 1973
Teams	BRM, Tyrrell
Races	100 (99 starts)
Championships	3 (1969, 1971, 1973)
Wins	27
Podiums	43
Career points	359 (360)[1]
Pole positions	17
Fastest laps	15
First race	1965 South African Grand Prix
First win	1965 Italian Grand Prix
Last win	1973 German Grand Prix
Last race	1973 United States Grand Prix (did not start)

Sir John Young 'Jackie' Stewart, OBE^[2] (born 11 June 1939) is a Scottish former racing driver. Nicknamed the 'Flying Scot', he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am. He is well known in the United States as a color commentator (pundit) of racing television broadcasts, and as a spokesman for Ford, where his Scottish accent has made him a distinctive presence. Between 1997 and 1999, in partnership with his son, Paul, he was team principal of the Stewart Grand Prix Formula One racing team. In 2009 he was ranked fifth of the fifty greatest Formula One drivers of all time by journalist Kevin Eason who wrote: "He has not only emerged as a great driver, but one of the greatest figures of motor racing."^[3]

Early life[link]

Stewart's family were Austin, later Jaguar, car dealers and had built up a successful business, Dumbuck Garage, in Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland where Stewart was born and was educated at Dumbarton Academy. His father had been an amateur^[4] motorcycle racer, and his brother Jimmy was a racing driver with a growing local reputation who drove for Ecurie Ecosse and competed in the 1953 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, until he went off at Copse Corner in the wet.

Jackie attended Hartfield primary school in Dumbarton and graduated to Dumbarton Academy at the age of 12. He experienced learning difficulties owing to undiagnosed dyslexia and was unable to complete his secondary education past the age of 16. He has said: “When you’ve got dyslexia and you find something you’re good at, you put more into it than anyone else; you can’t think the way of the clever folk, so you’re always thinking out of the box."^[5] As a result he was not allowed to continue his secondary school programmes and began working in his father's garage. At the age of 13 he had won a clay pigeon shooting competition^{[citation needed]} and then went on to become a prize winning member of the Scottish shooting team, competing in the United Kingdom and abroad. He won the British, Welsh and Scottish skeet shooting championships^{[citation needed]} and the 'Coupe des Nations' European championship^{[citation needed]}. He also competed for a place in the British trap shooting team for the 1960 Summer Olympics, which was awarded to another competitor named Joe Wheater.^[6] His early involvement with cars was in the family business, where he worked as an apprentice mechanic and it was only natural that he would soon become involved in motor racing.

He took up an offer from Barry Filer, a customer of his family business, to test in a number of his cars at Oulton Park. For 1961, Filer provided a Marcos, in which Stewart scored four wins, and competed once in Filer's Aston DB4GT. In 1962, to decide if he was ready to turn pro, tested a Jaguar E-type at Oulton Park, matching Roy Salvadori's times in a similar car the year before.^[7] He won two races, his first in England, in the E-type, and David Murray of Ecurie Ecosse offered him a ride in the Tojeiro EE Mk2, then their Cooper T49, in which he won at Goodwood. For 1963, he earned fourteen wins, a second, and two thirds, with just six retirements.^[7]

In 1964, he again signed with Ecurie Ecosse. More important, Ken Tyrrell, then running the Formula Junior team for the Cooper Car Company, heard of the young Scotsman from Goodwood's^[7] track manager and called up Jimmy Stewart to see if his younger brother was interested in a tryout. Jackie came down for the test at Goodwood, taking over a new, and very competitive, Formula Three T72-BMC^[7] Bruce McLaren was testing. Soon Stewart was bettering McLaren's times, causing McLaren to return to the track for some quicker laps. Again, Stewart was quicker, and Tyrrell offered Stewart a spot on the team. This would be the beginning of a great partnership that would see them reach the pinnacle of the sport.

Racing career[link]

Stewart in 1969 with the Matra-Cosworth at the Nürburgring.

Tyrrell 003, the car that took Stewart to the 1971 World Championship.

Stewart (right) in conversation with Mike Kranefuss in 1973.

In 1964 he drove in Formula Three for Tyrrell. His debut, in the wet at Snetterton on 15 March, was dominant, taking an astounding 25 second lead in just two laps before coasting home to a win on a 44 second cushion.^[7] Within days, he was offered a Formula One ride with Cooper, but declined, preferring to gain experience under Tyrrell; he failed to win just two races (one to clutch failure, one to a spin) in becoming F3 champion.^[7]

After running John Coombs' E-type and practising in a Ferrari at Le Mans, he took a trial in an F1 Lotus 33-Climax, in which he impressed Colin Chapman and Jim Clark.^[7] Stewart again refused a ride in F1, but went instead to the Lotus Formula Two team. In his F2 debut, he was second at the difficult Clermont-Ferrand circuit in a Lotus 32-Cosworth.^[7]

While he signed with BRM alongside Graham Hill in 1965, a contract which netted him £4,000, his first race in an F1 car was for Lotus, as stand-in for an injured Clark, at the Rand Grand Prix in December 1964; the Lotus broke in the first heat, but he won the second.^[7] On his F1 debut in South Africa, he scored his first Championship point, finishing sixth. His first major competition victory came in the BRDC International Trophy in the late spring, and before the end of the year he won his first World Championship race at Monza, fighting wheel-to-wheel with teammate Hill's P261.^[7] Stewart finished his rookie season with three seconds, a third, a fifth, and a sixth, and third place in the World Drivers' Championship. He also piloted Tyrrell's unsuccessful F2 Cooper T75-BRM, and ran the Rover Company's revolutionary turbine car at Le Mans.

1966 saw him almost win the Indianapolis 500 on his first attempt, in John Mecom's Lola T90-Ford,^[8] only to be denied by a broken scavenge pump while leading by over a lap with eight laps to go; however, Stewart's performance, having had the race fully in hand and sidelined only by mechanical failure, won him Rookie of the Year honours despite the winner, Graham Hill, also being an Indianapolis rookie.

Also, in 1966, a crash triggered his fight for improved safety in racing. On lap one of the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, when sudden rain caused many crashes, he found himself trapped in his overturned^[8] BRM, getting soaked by leaking fuel, which can result in a fire. The marshals had no tools to help him, and it took his teammate Hill and Bob Bondurant, who had both also crashed nearby, to get him out. Since then, a main switch for electrics and a removable steering wheel have become standard. Also, noticing the long and slow transport to a hospital, he brought his own doctor to future races, while the BRM supplied a medical truck for the benefit of all. It was a poor year all around; the BRMs were notoriously unreliable, although Stewart did win the Monaco Grand Prix. Stewart had some success in other forms of racing during the year, winning the 1966 Tasman Series and the 1966 Rothmans 12 Hour International Sports Car Race.

BRM's fortunes did not improve in 1967, during which Stewart came no higher than second at Spa, though he won F2 events for Tyrrell at Karlskoga, Enna, Oulton Park, and Albi in a Matra M5S or M7S.^[8] He also placed 2nd driving a works-entered Ferrari driving with Chris Amon at the BOAC 6 Hours at Brands Hatch, the 10th round of World Sportscar Championship at the time.

In Formula One, he switched to Tyrrell's Matra International team, where he drove a Matra MS10-Cosworth^[8] for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. Skill (and improving tyres from Dunlop)^[8] brought a win in heavy rain at Zandvoort. Another win in rain and fog at the Nürburgring, where he won by a margin of four minutes. He also won at Watkins Glen, but missed Jarama and Monaco due to an F2 injury at Jarama.^[8] His car failed at Mexico City, and so lost the driving title to Hill.

In 1969, Stewart had a number of races where he completely dominated the opposition, such as winning by over 2 laps at Montjuïc, a whole minute at Clemont-Ferrand and more than a lap at Silverstone. With additional wins at Kyalami, Zandvoort, and Monza, Stewart became world champion in 1969 in a Matra MS80-Cosworth. Until September 2005, when Fernando Alonso in a Renault became champion, he was the only driver to have won the championship driving for a French marque and, as Alonso's Renault was built in the UK, Stewart remains the only driver to win the world championship in a French-built car.

For 1970, Matra (since taken over by Chrysler)^[8] insisted on using their own V12 engines, while Tyrrell and Stewart wanted to keep the Cosworths as well as the good connection to Ford. As a consequence, the Tyrrell team bought a chassis from March Engineering; Stewart took the March 701-Cosworth^[8] to wins at the Daily Mail Race of Champions and Jarama, but was soon overcome by Lotus' new 72. The new Tyrrell 001-Cosworth, appearing in August,^[8] suffered problems, but Stewart saw better days for it in 1971, and stayed on. Tyrrell continued to be sponsored by French fuel company Elf, and Stewart raced in a car painted French Racing Blue for many years. Stewart also continued to race sporadically in Formula Two, winning at the Crystal Palace and placing at Thruxton. A projected Le Mans appearance, to co-drive the 4.5 litre Porsche 917K with Steve McQueen, did not come off, for McQueen's inability to get insurance.^[8] He also raced Can-Am, in the revolutionary Chaparral 2J. Stewart achieved pole position in 2 events, ahead of the dominant McLarens, but the chronic unreliability of the 2J prevented Stewart from finishing any races.^[8]

Stewart went on to win the Formula One world championship in 1971 using the excellent Tyrrell 003-Cosworth, winning Spain, Monaco, France, Britain, Germany, and Canada. He also did a full season in Can-Am, driving a Carl Haas sponsored Lola T260-Chevrolet.^[8] and again in 1973. During the 1971 Can-Am series, Stewart was the only driver able to challenge the McLarens driven by Dennis Hulme and Peter Revson. Stewart won 2 races; at Mont Treblant and Mid Ohio. Stewart finished 3rd in the 1971 Can-Am Drivers Championship. The stress of racing year round, and on several continents eventually caused medical problems for Stewart. During the 1972 Grand Prix season he missed Spa, due to gastritis, and had to cancel plans to drive a Can-Am McLaren, but won the Argentine, French, U.S., and Canadian Grands Prix, to come second to Emerson Fittipaldi in the drivers' standings. Stewart also competed in a Ford Capri RS2600 in the European Touring Car Championship, with F1 teammate François Cevert and other F1 pilots, at a time where the competition between Ford and BMW was at a height. Stewart shared a Capri with F1 Tyrrell teammate François Cevert in the 1972 6 hours of Paul Ricard, finishing second. He also received an OBE.

Entering the 1973 season, Stewart had decided to retire. He nevertheless won at South Africa, Belgium, Monaco, Holland, and Austria. His last (and then record-setting) 27th victory came at the Nürburgring with a convincing 1-2 for Tyrrell. "Nothing gave me more satisfaction than to win at the Nürburgring and yet, I was always afraid." Stewart later said. "When I left home for the German Grand Prix I always used to pause at the end of the driveway and take a long look back. I was never sure I'd come home again." After the fatal crash of his teammate François Cevert in practice for the 1973 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Stewart retired one race earlier than intended and missed what would have been his 100th GP.

Stewart held the record for most wins by a Formula One driver (27) for 14 years (broken by Alain Prost in 1987) and the record for most wins by a British Formula One driver for 19 years (broken by Nigel Mansell in 1992).

Racing safety advocate[link]

During Stewart's F1 career, the chances of an F1 driver who raced for five years being killed in a crash were two out of three.^[9]

At Spa-Francorchamps in 1966, he ran off the track while driving at 165 mph (266 km/h) in heavy rain, and crashed into a telephone pole and a shed before coming to rest in a farmer's outbuilding. His steering column pinned his leg, while ruptured fuel tanks emptied their contents into the cockpit. There were no track crews to extricate him, nor were proper tools available. There were no doctors or medical facilities at the track, and Stewart was put in the bed of a pickup truck, remaining there until an ambulance arrived. He was first taken to the track's First Aid centre, where he waited on a stretcher, which was placed on a floor strewn with cigarette ends and other rubbish. Finally, another ambulance crew picked him up, but the ambulance driver got lost driving to a hospital in Liége. Ultimately, a private jet flew Stewart back to the UK for treatment.

After his crash at Spa, Stewart became an outspoken advocate for auto racing safety. Later, he explained, "If I have any legacy to leave the sport I hope it will be seen to be an area of safety because when I arrived in Grand Prix racing so-called precautions and safety measures were diabolical."^[10]

Stewart continued, commenting on his crash at Spa:

I lay trapped in the car for twenty-five minutes, unable to be moved. Graham and Bob Bondurant got me out using the spanners from a spectator's toolkit. There were no doctors and there was nowhere to put me. They in fact put me in the back of a van. Eventually an ambulance took me to a first aid spot near the control tower and I was left on a stretcher, on the floor, surrounded by cigarette ends. I was put into an ambulance with a police escort and the police escort lost the ambulance, and the ambulance didn't know how to get to Liège. At the time they thought I had a spinal injury. As it turned out, I wasn't seriously injured, but they didn't know that. I realised that if this was the best we had there was something sadly wrong: things wrong with the race track, the cars, the medical side, the fire-fighting, and the emergency crews. There were also grass banks that were launch pads, things you went straight into, trees that were unprotected and so on. Young people today just wouldn't understand it. It was ridiculous.

In response, Stewart campaigned with Louis Stanley (BRM team boss) for improved emergency services and better safety barriers around race tracks. "We were racing at circuits where there were no crash barriers in front of the pits, and fuel was lying about in churns in the pit lane. A car could easily crash into the pits at any time. It was ridiculous."^[11] As a stop-gap measure, Stewart hired a private doctor to be at all his races, and taped a spanner to the steering shaft of his BRM in case it would be needed again. Stewart pressed for mandatory seat belt usage and full-face helmets for drivers, and today a race without those items is unthinkable. Likewise, he pressed track owners to modernize their track, including organizing driver boycotts of races at Spa-Francorchamps in 1969, the Nürburgring in 1970, and Zandvoort in 1972 until barriers, run-off areas, fire crews, and medical facilities were improved.

Stewart's work was not appreciated by track owners, race organizers, some drivers, and members of the press. "I would have been a much more popular World Champion if I had always said what people wanted to hear. I might have been dead, but definitely more popular."^[11] However, his race wins, combined with his popularity with the public and his business savvy, prevented his message from being silenced. Certainly, after his victory in the 1968 German GP at the 187-corner Nordschleife -- in torrential rain, driving with a broken wrist, winning by more than four minutes—no one dared question his bravery as Stewart pushed for better safety standards.

Even though he is known as knowing the Nürburgring better than almost any other driver, he was recently quoted as saying "I never did a lap of the Nürburgring that I didn't have to do."

Today, Stewart's legacy as a safety advocate in motor racing is as great as his legacy as a race winner.

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

• Winner of the BRDC International Trophy in 1965 and 1973.

Consultant, commentator and team owner[link]

This section requires expansion.

Subsequently he became a consultant for the Ford Motor Company while continuing to be a spokesman for safer cars and circuits in Formula One.

Stewart covered NASCAR races and the Indianapolis 500 on American television during the 1970s and early 1980s, and has also worked on Australian TV coverage. As a commentator, he was known for his insightful analysis, Scottish accent, and rapid delivery, once causing Jim McKay to remark that Stewart spoke almost as fast as he drove.

Rubens Barrichello driving for Stewart's F1 team in 1997.

In 1997 Stewart returned to Formula One, with Stewart Grand Prix, as a team owner in partnership with his son, Paul. As the works Ford team, their first race was the 1997 Australian Grand Prix. The only success of their first year came at the rain-affected Monaco Grand Prix where Rubens Barrichello finished an impressive second. Reliability was low however, with a likely 2nd place at the Nürburgring among several potential results lost. 1998 was even less competitive, with no podiums and few points.

However, after Ford acquired Cosworth in July 1998, they risked designing and building a brand-new engine for 1999. It paid off. The SF3 was consistently competitive throughout the season. The team won one race at the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring with Johnny Herbert, albeit somewhat luckily, while Barrichello took three 3rd places, pole in France, and briefly led his home race at Interlagos. The team was later bought by Ford and became Jaguar Racing in 2000 (which became Red Bull Racing in 2005).

Stewart is also the head sports consultant/ patron for the Royal Bank of Scotland. In March 2009, he waived his fee for the year in response to the bank losing £24bn in 2008.^[12] This was a change of heart after earlier refusals to do so attracted negative media attention.^[12][13]

Honours[link]

Stewart received Sports Illustrated magazine's 1973 "Sportsman of the Year" award, the only auto racer to win the title. In the same year he also won BBC Television's "Sports Personality Of The Year" award, and was named as ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year in which he was shared with American pro football player O.J. Simpson. In 1990, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. In 1998 Stewart received an honorary doctorate from Cranfield University where he later served as chairman of the steering committee for the MSc Motorsport Engineering and Management.

In 2001 Stewart received a knighthood.^[2]

In 2002 he became a founding patron of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, and an inaugural inductee.

In 2003 The World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities presented Stewart the Sport Shooting Ambassador Award^{[citation needed]}. The Award goes to an outstanding individual whose efforts have promoted the shooting sports internationally.

On 27 November 2008, Stewart was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree from the University of St Andrews.^[14]

On 26 June 2009, Stewart was awarded the Freedom of West Dunbartonshire at a special ceremony in his hometown of Dumbarton.

On 28 January 2012, Stewart gave the starting command for the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. He assumed the role after previously announced Grand Marshal A.J. Foyt was forced to cancel his visit due to complications from his recent knee surgery. Speaking at the drivers meeting prior to the start of the race, Stewart said, “I’m delighted to be the honorary official to start the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 but I’m so sorry the great A.J. couldn’t be with us today. It’s also wonderful to see so many international drivers here to compete in this historic Rolex 24.”

Other appearances[link]

Stewart anachronistically appears in a cameo in a 1977 episode of "Lupin III" as a competitor in the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix and also once appeared on the UK motoring program Top Gear as a driving instructor for host James May. Stewart was the subject in the Roman Polanski-produced film "Weekend of a Champion", in which Polanski shadows him throughout a race weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.

George Harrison, a good friend of Stewart's, released a single, "Faster", in 1979 as a tribute to Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ronnie Peterson and fellow Formula One race car drivers.

Stewart appeared in several UPS commercials in 2002 and 2003 as a consultant for Dale Jarrett to convince Jarrett to "race the Big Brown truck".

Stewart was featured in the video to the song "Supreme" by British singer, Robbie Williams.

Personal life[link]

Stewart lives in the Buckinghamshire village of Ellesborough. Between 1969 and 1997 he lived in Begnins, near Lake Geneva in Switzerland (and later sold his house to Phil Collins). He married his childhood sweetheart Helen in 1962 and they have two sons.^[15] Paul was a racing driver, and later ran Paul Stewart Racing with his father, selling it in 1999. Mark is a film and television producer.

Due to his dyslexia, Stewart dictated his autobiography.^[16] In a 2009 interview, and in the book, he discusses his close relationship with his older brother Jim, who was also a successful racing driver in his youth but had a long struggle with alcoholism. Jim died in 2008.^[17] Stewart still travels over 300,000 miles a year.

See also[link]

• Prof. Sid Watkins
• Grand Prix Drivers' Association
• Bernie Ecclestone

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jackie Stewart

• The official web site of Sir Jackie Stewart, www.sirjackiestewart.com
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame, Jackie Stewart
• COLLAGE: Jackie Stewart's Grand Prix Album, a signed limited edition book
• Grand Prix History - Hall of Fame, Jackie Stewart
• The Scotsman newspaper, Heritage and Culture, 'I risked my mother's wrath in order to be a driver'
• The Herald newspaper (Glasgow), 'Sir Jackie, was not diagnosed with dyslexia until he was 42'
• Jackie Stewart statistics
• Video Tribute to Jackie Stewart and his Tyrrell teammate François Cevert
• Sunday Times article 13 September, 2009

Jackie Stewart sporting positions Sporting positions Preceded by Richard Attwood Monaco Formula Three Race Winner 1964 Succeeded by Peter Revson Preceded by None British Formula Three Championship BARC Series Champion 1964 Succeeded by Roy Pike Preceded by Jack Brabham BRDC International Trophy Winner 1965 Succeeded by Jack Brabham Preceded by Jim Clark Tasman Series Champion 1966 Succeeded by Jim Clark Preceded by Mario Andretti Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1966 Succeeded by Denis Hulme Preceded by Graham Hill Formula One World Champion 1969 Succeeded by Jochen Rindt Preceded by Bruce McLaren Brands Hatch Race of Champions Winner 1969-1970 Succeeded by Clay Regazzoni Preceded by Jochen Rindt Formula One World Champion 1971 Succeeded by Emerson Fittipaldi Preceded by Emerson Fittipaldi BRDC International Trophy Winner 1973 Succeeded by James Hunt Preceded by Emerson Fittipaldi Formula One World Champion 1973 Succeeded by Emerson Fittipaldi Preceded by Ken Tyrrell British Racing Drivers' Club President 2000-2006 Succeeded by Damon Hill Records Preceded by Jim Clark 25 wins (1960 - 1968) Most Grand Prix wins 27 wins, 26th at the 1973 Dutch GP Succeeded by Alain Prost 51 wins, 28th at the 1987 Portuguese GP Awards Preceded by Graham Hill Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1969 Succeeded by Denny Hulme Preceded by Denny Hulme Hawthorn Memorial Trophy 1971-1973 Succeeded by Denny Hulme Preceded by Mary Peters BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1973 Succeeded by Brendan Foster v t e Formula One World Drivers' Champions     1950  G. Farina 1951  J.M. Fangio 1952  A. Ascari 1953  A. Ascari 1954  J.M. Fangio 1955  J.M. Fangio 1956  J.M. Fangio 1957  J.M. Fangio 1958  M. Hawthorn 1959  J. Brabham 1960  J. Brabham 1961  P. Hill 1962  G. Hill 1963  J. Clark 1964  J. Surtees 1965  J. Clark 1966  J. Brabham 1967  D. Hulme 1968  G. Hill 1969  J. Stewart 1970  J. Rindt 1971  J. Stewart 1972  E. Fittipaldi 1973  J. Stewart 1974  E. Fittipaldi 1975  N. Lauda 1976  J. Hunt 1977  N. Lauda 1978  M. Andretti 1979  J. Scheckter 1980  A. Jones 1981  N. Piquet 1982  K. Rosberg 1983  N. Piquet 1984  N. Lauda 1985  A. Prost 1986  A. Prost 1987  N. Piquet 1988  A. Senna 1989  A. Prost 1990  A. Senna 1991  A. Senna 1992  N. Mansell 1993  A. Prost 1994  M. Schumacher 1995  M. Schumacher 1996  D. Hill 1997  J. Villeneuve 1998  M. Häkkinen 1999  M. Häkkinen 2000  M. Schumacher 2001  M. Schumacher 2002  M. Schumacher 2003  M. Schumacher 2004  M. Schumacher 2005  F. Alonso 2006  F. Alonso 2007  K. Räikkönen 2008  L. Hamilton 2009  J. Button 2010  S. Vettel 2011  S. Vettel v t e BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners 1954–1959 1954 Christopher Chataway 1955 Gordon Pirie 1956 Jim Laker 1957 Dai Rees 1958 Ian Black 1959 John Surtees 1960–1969 1960 David Broome 1961 Stirling Moss 1962 Anita Lonsbrough 1963 Dorothy Hyman 1964 Mary Rand 1965 Tom Simpson 1966 Bobby Moore 1967 Henry Cooper 1968 David Hemery 1969 Ann Jones 1970–1979 1970 Henry Cooper 1971 HRH The Princess Anne 1972 Mary Peters 1973 Jackie Stewart 1974 Brendan Foster 1975 David Steele 1976 John Curry 1977 Virginia Wade 1978 Steve Ovett 1979 Sebastian Coe 1980–1989 1980 Robin Cousins 1981 Ian Botham 1982 Daley Thompson 1983 Steve Cram 1984 Torvill and Dean (Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean) 1985 Barry McGuigan 1986 Nigel Mansell 1987 Fatima Whitbread 1988 Steve Davis 1989 Nick Faldo 1990–1999 1990 Paul Gascoigne 1991 Liz McColgan 1992 Nigel Mansell 1993 Linford Christie 1994 Damon Hill 1995 Jonathan Edwards 1996 Damon Hill 1997 Greg Rusedski 1998 Michael Owen 1999 Lennox Lewis 2000–2009 2000 Steve Redgrave 2001 David Beckham 2002 Paula Radcliffe 2003 Jonny Wilkinson 2004 Kelly Holmes 2005 Andrew Flintoff 2006 Zara Phillips 2007 Joe Calzaghe 2008 Chris Hoy 2009 Ryan Giggs 2010–Present 2010 Tony McCoy 2011 Mark Cavendish v t e Stewart Grand Prix Founders: Jackie Stewart | Paul Stewart Drivers: Rubens Barrichello | Johnny Herbert | Jan Magnussen | Jos Verstappen Formula One cars: SF01 | SF02 | SF3 v t e Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year 1954: Roger Bannister 1955: Johnny Podres 1956: Bobby Morrow 1957: Stan Musial 1958: Rafer Johnson 1959: Ingemar Johansson 1960: Arnold Palmer 1961: Jerry Lucas 1962: Terry Baker 1963: Pete Rozelle 1964: Ken Venturi 1965: Sandy Koufax 1966: Jim Ryun 1967: Carl Yastrzemski 1968: Bill Russell 1969: Tom Seaver 1970: Bobby Orr 1971: Lee Trevino 1972: Billie Jean King & John Wooden 1973: Jackie Stewart 1974: Muhammad Ali 1975: Pete Rose 1976: Chris Evert 1977: Steve Cauthen 1978: Jack Nicklaus 1979: Terry Bradshaw & Willie Stargell 1980: U.S. Olympic Hockey Team 1981: Sugar Ray Leonard 1982: Wayne Gretzky 1983: Mary Decker 1984: Edwin Moses & Mary Lou Retton 1985: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1986: Joe Paterno 1987: Bob Bourne, Judi Brown King, Kipchoge Keino, Dale Murphy, Chip Rives, Patty Sheehan, Rory Sparrow, & Reggie Williams 1988: Orel Hershiser 1989: Greg LeMond 1990: Joe Montana 1991: Michael Jordan 1992: Arthur Ashe 1993: Don Shula 1994: Bonnie Blair & Johann Olav Koss 1995: Cal Ripken, Jr. 1996: Tiger Woods 1997: Dean Smith 1998: Mark McGwire & Sammy Sosa 1999: U.S. Women's Soccer Team 2000: Tiger Woods 2001: Curt Schilling & Randy Johnson 2002: Lance Armstrong 2003: David Robinson & Tim Duncan 2004: Boston Red Sox 2005: Tom Brady 2006: Dwyane Wade 2007: Brett Favre 2008: Michael Phelps 2009: Derek Jeter 2010: Drew Brees 2011: Mike Krzyzewski & Pat Summitt v t e British Formula Three & Formula Junior champions Three-time Don Parker · Jim Russell · Dave Walker · Roger Williamson Two-time Tony Brise · Jim Clark · Brian Henton · Harry Stiller · Trevor Taylor One-time Alguersuari · Arundell · Asmer · Banting · Barrichello · Brabham · Brandon · Burt · Byrne · Conway · Daly · Dean · Dumfries · Fenning · de Ferran · Firman · Fittipaldi · Gavin · Giacomelli · Gugelmin · Haberfeld · Häkkinen · Hynes · Johansson · Kane · Keegan · Kerr · Ledbrook · Lehto · Leston · Magnussen · van der Merwe · Moss · Nasr · Nilsson · von Opel · Pace · Palmer · Parente · Piquet · Piquet, Jr. · Pitcher · Pizzonia · Ricciardo · Sato · Schenken · Senna · Serra · South · Stewart · I. Taylor · Trimmer · Vergne · Wallace · Warwick v t e Tasman Series Champions (1964) Bruce McLaren · (1965) Jim Clark · (1966) Jackie Stewart · (1967-68) Jim Clark · (1969) Chris Amon · (1970) Graeme Lawrence · (1971-73) Graham McRae · (1974) Peter Gethin · (1975) Warwick Brown

Jean Alesi Born (1964-06-11) 11 June 1964 (age 48) Formula One World Championship career Nationality French Active years 1989–2001 Teams Tyrrell, Ferrari, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan Races 202 (201 starts) Championships 0 Wins 1 Podiums 32 Career points 241 Pole positions 2 Fastest laps 4 First race 1989 French Grand Prix First win 1995 Canadian Grand Prix Last win 1995 Canadian Grand Prix Last race 2001 Japanese Grand Prix 24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 1989, 2010 Teams Team Schuppan AF Corse Best finish 4th in LMGT2 (2010) Class wins 0 IndyCar Series career 1 race(s) run over 1 year(s) Team(s) No. 64 (Fan Force United) First race 2012 Indianapolis 500 (Indy) Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0

Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi; June 11, 1964) is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi. In 2006 Alesi was awarded Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur.^[1]

Early career[link]

Alesi was born to Sicilian parents 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 1987 French Formula 3 title before moving up to International Formula 3000 in 1988. In 1989, his second season in International F3000, he won the championship. Both crowns were after duels with his rival Érik Comas. In 1989 Alesi tied on points for the F3000 title with Comas but won the titled based on the fact Alesi had three wins to Comas' two.

Formula One[link]

Alesi at the 1991 US GP, driving for Ferrari

Alesi debuted in the 1989 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard in a Tyrrell-Cosworth, replacing Michele Alboreto, 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 when Formula 3000 clashed), scoring points again at the Italian and Spanish Grands Prix.

1990 was his first full year in Grand Prix racing, with the underfunded Tyrrell team. At the first event, the United States Grand Prix at Phoenix, he was a sensation, leading for 25 laps in front of Ayrton Senna with a car considered as inferior, and also re-passing Senna after the Brazilian had first overtaken for the lead. Second place in the Monaco Grand Prix followed the second place gained in Phoenix, and by mid-season, 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.

Jean Alesi took his only Grand Prix win at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

Ferrari were championship contenders at the time, and there he would be driving with fellow countryman Alain Prost, at that time the most successful driver in Formula One history. Alesi signed with Ferrari, making the choice that not only appeared to maximize his chances for winning the championship and for learning from an experienced and successful teammate, but that fulfilled his childhood dream of driving for the Italian team.

Alesi driving for Sauber at the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix.

Alesi driving for Prost at the 2001 French Grand Prix.

Ferrari, however, experienced a disastrous downturn in form in 1991, while the Williams team experienced a resurgence which would lead them to win five constructor's titles between 1992 and 1997, thus becoming the most successful team of the 1990s. Alesi's choice of Ferrari over Williams seemed the most logical at the time, but turned out to be very unfortunate. One of the reasons for this failure was because Ferrari's famous V12 engine was no longer competitive against the smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient V10s of their competitors. Having a dismal 1991 season, Prost left the team describing the car as a "truck" and took a sabbatical.

Alesi was partnered by Ivan Capelli the following year, before being joined by Austrian Gerhard Berger in 1993. Alesi injured his back after the first race of the 1994 season (Brazil) and was replaced in the Pacific Grand Prix and the infamous San Marino Grand Prix (round 3) by Nicola Larini. In five years at the Italian marque Alesi gained little, except the passionate devotion of the tifosi, who loved his aggressive style. That style, and his use of the number 27 on his car, led many to associate him with Gilles Villeneuve, a beloved and still-popular Ferrari driver from 1977–1982. Alesi and Berger won only one race each during this period at Ferrari. Following Alesi's first and only GP win in the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix (on his 31st birthday), his Ferrari ran out of fuel as he waved to fans on the backstraight and he was given a lift back to the pits by Michael Schumacher.

When Benetton's Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996, Alesi and teammate Gerhard Berger swapped places with him. Though Benetton was the defending constructors' champions, they were about to experience a lull in form like Ferrari in 1991. Schumacher went on to rejuvenate Ferrari, while Alesi and Berger spent two seasons at a declining Benetton riddled with bad luck and internal politics. While Berger had a reasonable run at Benetton, winning the 1997 German Grand Prix after having come two laps from victory at the same race the previous year when his engine blew while he was leading within sight of the flag, Alesi's Benetton career proved more turbulent, not helped by an embarrassing retirement in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in 1997 when he ignored several radio messages from the pit mechanics to come in for his pit stop, and continued for five laps until running out of fuel. His form became increasingly erratic that season, including incidents at the French Grand Prix when he needlessly pushed David Coulthard off the track, and the Austrian Grand Prix, where his attempt to outbrake Eddie Irvine from nearly eight lengths behind caused a spectacular collision that saw Alesi placed under investigation for dangerous driving after the race. A pole position and eventual second place at the Italian Grand Prix were not enough to salvage his drive at Benetton, and the team released Alesi at the end of the 1997 season.

Alesi at the 2001 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

Alesi moved on, initially to Sauber and later Prost, the latter which was owned by his former Ferrari teammate Alain Prost. With Prost, Alesi was consistent, finishing every race, occasionally in points scoring positions, his best finish being at Canada. A fallout after the British Grand Prix, however saw Alesi walk out after the German Grand Prix, where he scored a point. The reason was because of the German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen was suddenly sacked by Jordan after the British Grand Prix and he needed a drive, he was interested in joining the Prost team. Alesi finally decided to leave Prost after the German Grand Prix in order give way to Frentzen. Then, Alesi joined Jordan and eventually swapped teams.

Alesi ended his open-wheel career in 2001 with Jordan, bookending his career nicely: Alesi had driven for Jordan in Formula 3000 when he won the championship in 1989.

Legacy[link]

Alesi was often regarded as flamboyant, emotional and aggressive, but after his spectacular performance at Phoenix in 1990, his career was notable more for its "bad luck" and longevity than for its final results. In 2001, he became only the fifth driver to start 200 Grand Prix races, and he achieved thirty-two podiums, yet he only gained one victory. It could be suggested that Alesi's potential was unfulfilled – some say he spent his peak years during the uncompetitive period at Ferrari – retiring while in the lead or in 2nd place in no less than 9 races (1991: Spain (10 seconds stop penalty and still finishing 23 seconds behind the winner) and Belgium (1st), 1994: Belgium (2nd) and Italy (1st), 1995: Spain, Monaco, Japan (all in 2nd place), Belgium and Italy (both in 1st) – but somehow he was unlucky when driving for Benetton too, losing the lead of the Italian GP both in 1996 and 1997 after relatively slow pitstops and Monaco 1996 retiring with suspension failure.

His sole win was an emotional triumph at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on his 31st birthday. Although he had inherited the lead when Michael Schumacher pitted with electrical problems and Damon Hill's hydraulics prevented a challenge, the victory was a popular one, particularly after several excellent but ultimately unrewarded drives for years at Ferrari, notably in Italy. Alesi's win at Montreal was voted the most popular race victory of the season by many, as it was the scarlet red number 27 Ferrari – once belonging to the famous Gilles Villeneuve at his much loved home Grand Prix. Memorably, Schumacher gave Alesi a lift back to the pits after Alesi's car ran out of fuel just before the Pits Hairpin.

Alesi would never win another Formula One Grand Prix, although later in 1995 at Monza his right-rear wheel bearing failed while he was leading with 9 laps to go, then at the Nürburgring severely worn tyres broke his defence of the lead with two laps remaining and he was passed by Michael Schumacher. In 1996 suspension failure with ten laps left prevented him from taking victory at Monaco (although he had led this race only after Damon Hill, who had held a commanding lead for the first half of the race, was forced to retire on lap 40 when his Renault engine blew up in the Tunnel) while in 1997 he led the Italian Grand Prix from pole before relinquishing the lead to David Coulthard courtesy of a slow pit stop in the middle stages of the race.

Post-Formula One career[link]

Alesi driving for Mercedes-Benz (Persson Motorsport) in the 2006 DTM season.

Jean Alesi in his 2006 DTM-Mercedes racecar

DTM 2002-2006[link]

After Formula One, Alesi was a popular and successful driver in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship), where he placed fifth in the 2002 championship for Mercedes 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. He retired from the DTM after finishing the 2006 season in 9th place.

• 2002 – 5th in the championship, 1 victory,
• 2003 – 5th, 2 victories,
• 2004 – 7th,
• 2005 – 7th, 1 victory,
• 2006 – 9th

Direxiv[link]

Alesi was an active spokesman for the Direxiv team in their bid for entry to the 2008 Formula 1 series. It was planned as a McLaren B Team with backing and engines from Mercedes. However, the proposal was beaten to the final grid place by Prodrive.

Speedcar Series 2008-2009[link]

Alesi joined a number of other ex-Formula One drivers (Christian Danner, Johnny Herbert, Stefan Johansson, Ukyo Katayama, JJ Lehto, Gianni Morbidelli, Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Yoong) in the inaugural season of the Far & Middle Eastern Speedcar Series. He won two races and finished 4th in the championship. He finished fifth in the second and last season of Speedcar Series after taking two wins in 2009.

• 2008 - 4th, 2 victories
• 2009 - 5th, 2 victories

Le Mans Series 2010-[link]

On October 13, 2009, Alesi tested an AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT2 at Maranello, on the same day that Felipe Massa drove an F1 car for the first time after his accident in Hungary earlier in the year. After the test, which lasted just 65 laps, Alesi was enthusiastic and Amato Ferrari talked about Alesi's possible involvement in the 2010 programme.

Early in 2010 it was announced that Alesi would be the team-mate of another ex-F1 Ferrari driver, Giancarlo Fisichella, in the Le Mans Series GT2 class in Ferrari's AF Corse team.^[2] In the first two races Alesi and his team-mates Fisichella and Finn Toni Vilander finished on the podium. Alesi, Fisichella and Vilander raced in the Le Mans 24 h race for AF Corse and finished 4th in their class.^[3] In the third race of the season in Algarve the trio finished in second position^[4] and at the Hungaroring they finished in fourth place. They finished second in the championship.

Lotus 2011–[link]

In January 2011, along with the launch of their new car, Lotus Renault GP announced that they had hired Alesi as an ambassador for the team and test driver for the T125 single-seater project. In September, Alesi announced that he will attempt to qualify for the 2012 Indianapolis 500, in a car powered by a Lotus-badged engine.^[5]

On Series Seventeen, Episode 5 of BBC TV show Top Gear, Alesi helped current host Jeremy Clarkson to test drive one of the T125 single seaters.

i1 Super Series[link]

In the last quarter of 2011, Alesi joined the inaugural i1 Super Series as an International class driver, however this series was later postponed.

Indianapolis 500[link]

In April 2012, Alesi announced his intent to race in the 2012 Indianapolis 500 with a Lotus engine. Deals with former IZOD Indycar Series team Newman/Haas Racing fell through, and HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins said that his team didn't have the funding to run Alesi in the 500.^[6] However, Firestone Indy Lights team Fan Force United agreed to field Alesi in the 500^[7] where he qualified 33rd. Unfortunately, his Lotus powered car, along with that of fellow Lotus driver Simona de Silvestro, were unable to maintain sufficient pace in the race and were forced to park their cars after less than a dozen laps.

Helmet[link]

His helmet is white with black and red lines going down on the front side of the helmet with his name written, being an homage to Elio de Angelis, in addition to a deep blue top section(sometimes shaped after a raindrop which contains smaller, light blue "raindrops". From 2000 his helmet has changed from white to silver (owing to one of Sauber's sponsors being Red Bull).

Personal life[link]

Alesi is a wine connoisseur and has a vineyard near his hometown of Avignon, where he resides with his wife, Japanese model, actress, and pop singer Kumiko Goto (後藤久美子), and their four children.

Racing record[link]

Complete International Formula 3000 results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* – Alesi won the 1989 title on countback, winning three races to Érik Comas' two.

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)