The former Scuderia driver reflects on his own colourful career, Lewis Hamilton’s longevity and his old team’s chances this season
Always passionate, always entertaining, Jean Alesi has lost none of his joie de vivre with age. The 58-year-old former Ferrari driver laughs often and enthusiastically as he considers a hard-fought and often mercurial career that unsurprisingly won over many fans. Support he never took for granted.
“I was very sensitive of the public,” he says. “At Silverstone with Ferrari, it was pissing down and nobody was going on track. I said to my engineer: ‘Why don’t we go?’ and he said: ‘Jean, for what? It’s full of water.’ I said: ‘For them.’ I jumped in the car and I was alone on track. I did two or three laps then I did a 360 on the straight because there really was too much water but the fans were so happy. For me that was like winning a grand prix.”