How good was Jean Alesi?
Discussion
Alesi was quick, without a doubt, I think he had a tendency to drive instinctively - sometimes without engaging his brain. I seem to remember one race where he ran out of fuel ater his pit crew were frantically radioing him in to pit lap after lap. His best mements were early in his F1 career in a Tyrell when he dove some tremendous races, notably US GP where he put some manners on a chap called Ayrton Senna. His move to Ferrari was ill timed, the V12 of that era was no match for the newer V10s and his early promise was never really realised as he moved down the F1 food chain.
LordGrover said:
I have vague memories of him being a very good in the wet, no?
Very, very good, for long enough the only person on the same level as Senna. Awesome on a drying track too, I remember him switching to slicks on a drying track, possibly Nurburgring(?) and screaming away from everyone, only getting passed on a completely dry track in the dying laps by a then dominant Schumacher.hiccy said:
Very, very good, for long enough the only person on the same level as Senna. Awesome on a drying track too, I remember him switching to slicks on a drying track, possibly Nurburgring(?) and screaming away from everyone, only getting passed on a completely dry track in the dying laps by a then dominant Schumacher.
that's right wasn't it almost the last lap he was passed at the Vidol Chicane...
d offspring of Prost and Alesi then? I'm not sure that he would be too bothered that he never won a WDC or even many races. I seem to remember getting the impression that he was just happy to be given an F1 car to thrash around in, and that like Berger or Irvine the racing was just one element his life and never taken too seriously. This may explain his decision to go to Ferrari as back then they were probably more laid back than Williams.
I think those guys are the ones that get it right
I think those guys are the ones that get it right
FWDRacer said:
Can remember him inthe raised nose Tyrell punching well beyond his weight. I rated him...
Just googled - 019 Harvey Postlethwaite car. Had a Ford DFR engine (DFV derived) - woefully underpowered compared to facing competition.
Nimble car, he was lucky it was on Pirelli tyres because they flattered his driving, once he went to Ferrari he showed he was only average. Just googled - 019 Harvey Postlethwaite car. Had a Ford DFR engine (DFV derived) - woefully underpowered compared to facing competition.
Edited by FWDRacer on Friday 3rd August 11:56
Pleeeease can someone confirm/deny that it was him that did a banzai overtake in stone dtm race on either a rolling restart or a rolling start? He went on the grass. I can't for the life of me find it, but I'm sure I'm not making it up.
always reminded me of kimi for some reason (well vice versa I guess). V v fast,.but never quite delivered to his full potential for one reason or another (not doing kr down, just think he's worth more than his single wdc...but there's still time for him to do that)
always reminded me of kimi for some reason (well vice versa I guess). V v fast,.but never quite delivered to his full potential for one reason or another (not doing kr down, just think he's worth more than his single wdc...but there's still time for him to do that)
markcoznottz said:
Nimble car, he was lucky it was on Pirelli tyres because they flattered his driving, once he went to Ferrari he showed he was only average.
There is, I think, more than a grain of truth in that. It is a shame. He was fun to watch. Once at Ferrari the impression I got was that he felt he'd doen enough and, like Berger and Irvine, he put in the occasional spirited drive but in essence he didn't really care.Give the state of the Ferrari he was driving I might be wrong but I remember him being very difficult to pass and then suddenly dropping a few tenths a lap once he was passed. He'd have a go in difficult conditions of course.
When he ran out of fuel I wondered if he had somewhere he had to go.
But when he was on song, he was brilliant to watch.
Alesi was a bloody star. Why? Brit GP practice 90 something. Pissing it down. Everybody stayed in the pits. Crowd hacked off- cold wet and nowt to watch . Then the sound of a Ferrari V12 having its arse ragged off by one Jean Alesi.Sideways everywhere, monster slides. Result. Crowd happy.
coppice said:
Alesi was a bloody star. Why? Brit GP practice 90 something. Pissing it down. Everybody stayed in the pits. Crowd hacked off- cold wet and nowt to watch . Then the sound of a Ferrari V12 having its arse ragged off by one Jean Alesi.Sideways everywhere, monster slides. Result. Crowd happy.
I think it was this sort of stuff that made people like him, gave him the "one of us" moniker. Even though I was in the throws of my senna hero worship back then he was my second favourite, simply because every time it rained he use to drive like he was on a rally, same when his tyres went off. It's always nice to see someone enjoying themselves when they know they can't win One of my favourite ever drivers, a star in the wet, but.....
He made some dreadful mistakes and was quite inconsistent. However, I wonder how much of that was the pressure of being in a Ferrari team with no leadership or mentoring to support him?
Drivers like Hamilton and Vettel have had very close management to nurture them. Drivers like Schumacher and Alonso had the intelligence to lead a team. Alesi was more like a Mansell, in that he needed to be loved and managed.
If Alesi had gone to Williams in 1991, he was arguably more naturally talented than Patrese and Hill who ended up in that seat. He could've performed like Mansell in that car. We could've had Alesi as 1991, 1992 and 1993 World Champion - The car was that good. That run of success could've lifted his confidence to a current Vettel-like state.
But that's a lot of 'maybes'. F1 is often about being in the right place at the right time. But also, you need to perform consistently.
The 1989/90 Tyrells may have flattered him. Easy to drive, on a different tyre to the competitors (so we remember the two or three races he had a tyre advantage, rather than the others where he didn't). That's why Ferrari have to take so much care in deciding whether to promote Perez. The 2012 Sauber is a bit like the 1991 Tyrrell.
He made some dreadful mistakes and was quite inconsistent. However, I wonder how much of that was the pressure of being in a Ferrari team with no leadership or mentoring to support him?
Drivers like Hamilton and Vettel have had very close management to nurture them. Drivers like Schumacher and Alonso had the intelligence to lead a team. Alesi was more like a Mansell, in that he needed to be loved and managed.
If Alesi had gone to Williams in 1991, he was arguably more naturally talented than Patrese and Hill who ended up in that seat. He could've performed like Mansell in that car. We could've had Alesi as 1991, 1992 and 1993 World Champion - The car was that good. That run of success could've lifted his confidence to a current Vettel-like state.
But that's a lot of 'maybes'. F1 is often about being in the right place at the right time. But also, you need to perform consistently.
The 1989/90 Tyrells may have flattered him. Easy to drive, on a different tyre to the competitors (so we remember the two or three races he had a tyre advantage, rather than the others where he didn't). That's why Ferrari have to take so much care in deciding whether to promote Perez. The 2012 Sauber is a bit like the 1991 Tyrrell.
coppice said:
Alesi was a bloody star. Why? Brit GP practice 90 something. Pissing it down. Everybody stayed in the pits. Crowd hacked off- cold wet and nowt to watch . Then the sound of a Ferrari V12 having its arse ragged off by one Jean Alesi.Sideways everywhere, monster slides. Result. Crowd happy.
Silverstone '95. I was stood at Club and remember hearing the sound of that fantastic V12 approaching, followed by Alesi going all the way through the corner in a lovely slide 
I think that the way that the personnel at Maranello still revere him tells us all we need to know about what a fantastic driver he was. I see him up there with Gilles in terms of driving style and the way he wore his heart on his sleeve. Would have been good to see him at Williams in'91, but. No way could he resist the lure of driving for Ferrari.
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