Jean's' favourite F1 memory - Suzuka '95. He retired on lap 25. I think that says everything you need to know about Jean. It wasn't the result - it was the journey. Anyone who watched that race at the time will understand.
That drive for me is in the top 5 of all time. The 10 second stop go penalty putting him basically last, overtaking so many cars, pushed onto the wet dirt and spinning, overtaking Damon Hill around the outside (one of the best moves ever!), Going 5 seconds a lap faster than anyone else. All this within a such a short time and then fighting for the lead again. Ridiculous!! Even when Schumacher pitted for slicks and got up to speed, Alesi was still 3 seconds faster than him. I've never seen anyone better on a drying track with slicks. His car control is so unbelievable that he can correct the car so quickly without losing time.
Mika and Tom don't have the greatest relationship, most of the funny answers Mika gave in the press conferences were all answers to Tom's questions lmao.
@@NippyMoto The don't have the greatest relationship? Well either I'm living on a different planet or something is wrong... Thought they had good connection looking at some other interviews.
@@Dolek135 Tom used to piss him off so much (not on purpose) have a look at some of the older press conferences. This was almost 20 years ago so I guess it could still be a good podcast.
I love and adore Nelson Piquet...… He deserves sooooooooooo much more credit than he gets... Jean Alesi and Nelson Piquet were and are still great buddies. NPK was like a mentor to Jean in the early days... Look at NPK and Alesi at Nikkis funeral.... Respect to them both
Jean was my favourite driver (possibly ever) in the 90s. His story about how his first Ferrari contact was negotiated shows how much he undervalued his own talent and how modest he was. Great interview! Thanks TC
Jean and Ayrton were my childhood heroes. I wished a team with them as team mates. When Jean left Ferrari i stopped being a Ferrari fan. Monza 94, Monaco 95 and Suzuka 95 broke my heart
How about Sir Stirling Moss, I mean we had some drivers from the 60s and 70s, but he has been a part of F1 almost since the beginning. Get him, while he's still alive
"Have you guessed who it is yet??" yes Tom I clicked on a video with his name in the title. Didn't take a genius to figure it out, its Gerhard Berger of course.
Jean never got the machinery to showcase his talent,I just feel really bad that he only won 1 race,still love him. Alesi should have been world champion
Jean Alesi I used to hero worship him as far back as 1990 when he pushed in an uncompetative Tyrrell, My heart sank when I learned he signed for Ferrari as I was never a fan of that team, but Jean was always a joy. He drove his heart out, sometimes it cost him, sometimes it was brilliant. But he was the last driver as far as I'm concerned that made watching F1 fun, his passions and bad luck did rob him of top spots. I'm supposed to like Michel Schumacher, as Germany is my home. But his accomplishments feel very hollow to me. Jean Alesi is the driver I think of most when I think of Formula 1. I miss him behind the wheel so much, man aging sucks. Jean merci pour tout les beau temps. Merci d'avoir partager ton passion avec le mien. Tu me manque beaucoup.
Such a nice guy and great spectacular driver. Also the Nelson Piquet story is great. I heard about it before, but hearing Alesi tell it himself is fantastic. Always liked Piquet too, shows he’s not only the opponent Mansell met (which was hilarious to me as well)
Alesi was my favorite driver in the 90ties as I was discovering F1. It was great to hear what goes on behind the scenes and what they didn't have in terms of equipment, managers etc.....
I've been hooked on this podcast for the past month, great stuff from Jean and awesome hosting by TC, as always. Please bring Nelson Piquet, Mika Hakkinen or Pastor Maldonado next.
Nelson the legend.... No one like him before or since..... Piquet was a the ultimate complete package... Quick, intelligent, fun, generous and appreciative of all those around him
One of my youth all time favorite driver, it is such a pleasure to listen to him, I even think he talks more when speaking in english than when he speaks french !!! that story with the lancia on the parking lot is hilarious, thank you so much for this podcat TC
wow! loved this one too: another genuine, authentic f1 driver from the golden era of f1. i especially appreciate his perspective on his turn of event with the williams, and he was spot on! winners in life cannot possibly approach it with a constant wonder of "what if"! and in this particular case, given his passion and his style (he drove with his heart just like ayrton) he made the right decision to go to ferrari. and it is my humble personal opinion that going to williams in 94' was the single biggest mistake ayrton made and it cost him his life!
I wish you would've asked him about his helmet as a tribute to Elio de Angelis? The connection to Gilles is well known, but I've never heard anyone mention his connection to Elio.
He *did* have an agreement (not sure if it was yet a contract) with Williams, he had to beg Frank Williams to excuse him from it to let him join Ferrari
At that time Alesi was put on hold because Frank and Patrick were still trying to get Mansell in. So when September came Alesi wasn't going to wait anymore. Sounds like they would not have hired him anyway? I believe Patrese was still under contract. So either way it would have been Mansell and Patrese for Williams in 1991. Frank being the cunning businessman got a free Ferrari F1 car out of it though.
I admired Jean Alesi when he was racing in F1. Then he retired from F1 then moved to another race series I was happy to hear it and I hoped the best for him. All of a sudden he appeared on Top Gear and I was so happy to know he was with the Lotus team so I know he is still not done with Formula cars yet. Still love him, a great driver
I wonder what it would've been like of he stayed at Ferrari with Schumacher instead of Irvine. I heard he left because he didn't want to be no.2 to him but I think he could've possibly won more races in '97 and '98. He might've won the championship in '99 when Schuey broke his leg.
I remember when Jean drove his last race and did some no-shame doughnuts after the last lap. He was so unlucky though, time and time again he suffered failures, issues, pit-stop headaches etc. He deserved better tbh.
He was great in the wet no doubt. Where he was the best ever for any driver in the history of F1 is with slicks on a drying track. His car control is ridiculous! So he can be so confident on a slippery track and trust his ability to be so quick whenever the car steps out to control it. He showed it against Senna, Schumacher, Prost etc. Nobody could touch him
We’ve watched grand prix racing stray from its glorious, daring and thrilling origins to a tepid parade of underpowered, under fueled cars circling increasingly dull tracks in far-off dictatorships while legendary circuits and audiences in the sport’s traditional fan-base are put on the back-burner. To name a few: the emergence of dull, impersonal circuits in far-off kleptocracies, and, conversely, the disappearance of legendary tracks as F1 demands tens of millions for hosting races; a stunning lack of competition and the resulting predictability of race standings; a lack of personality in racers; an increasingly disparate prize purse that sees winning teams scoop up large sums while struggling teams become anemic; a complicated set of engine regulations focused on eco-friendly alternatives and energy renewal - at the expense of the noise, grit and raw power of motor racing.
I would love it if you can do a podcast with Max Mosley if not Max than Bernie Ecclestone about the 70s racing era to this era of racing, Like safety, tracks, teams, bring in Sid Watkins as race doctor, racing scandal & more.
Tom and everybody responsible for the podcasts, they are great but do all fans a favor and try to interview legendary pilots before it's too late!!! Everyone who loves the sport loses a bit of history when unfortunate events like these happen! Niki, you've been amazing and thank you so much for doing so much for the sport, you'll be truly missed because you are a LEGEND!! Condolences on behalf of all F1 fans across the world to the family and friends of Mr. Lauda! RIP!!
Can somebody explain to me, when Jean is saying at the end "when you have your heart broken by a girl and throw in the bin 1 and half million." What is he talking about? I feel like there is a real profound story and meaning behind that, but I'm missing something.
So bad it made Adrian Newey leave! He was supposed to input on drivers but Head and Willams kept him out the loop when they got rid of Mansell and Hill.
I don't get it about negotiations contract with Williams team for 1991. How Mansell contract negotiations influence the Alesi's decision go to the Ferrari?
@Srdjan Kos Montoya was seriously talented. He should be on the list. Gilles was WDC calibre. Frankly, the only other candidates are Dider Pironi, Rene Arnoux, Jacky Icyx or Clay Regazzoni. David Coulthard would be a stretch..
@Srdjan Kos Hah. Mate. Massa? Don't make me laugh. I could go on about this. Raikkonen hated the setup of the cars post Silverstone 2013 with the new Pirellis against Alonso. If you actually think the gap between those 2 is anywhere that big when Kimi likes his car, you are mistaken - '14 was a fluke. Also, Massa was demolished by Fisichella in 04. You really think Kimi on the Bridgestone Tyre in 07 was the same as Kimi in the tyre war on Michelins at McLaren? That is some egregious oversight. Raikkonen had massive setup issues from 2007 onwards, yet still managed to win a title for Ferrari and set an all time F1 record for fastest laps in a season in 2008 when the balance shifted from understeer to oversteer in the races. At McLaren Kimi was the worlds fastest driver EASILY. Montoya did well to keep up with him. The fact Massa actually had an open goal in 2008 with an absolute ROCKETSHIP Ferrari that Kimi couldn't drive in quali (again setup issues) tells you how crap Felipe is. Peak Raikkonen during the tyre war was a quicker driver than Alonso and I reckon Montoya wasn't far behind those 2 at his peak with Williams. 7 poles in 2002, nearly winning a WDC in 2003 puts JPM on that list. It wasn't that close with Ralf, (who wasn't slow at all either). JPM beat Ralf 3 out of 4 seasons. Onboards tell a story of themselves and can help you understand why drivers perform in certain ways. Pironi was a solid driver, he had tough teammates. Arnoux and Icyx, Bellof and Regazzoni were massively talented. but I like my original top 5. You need to accept Juan Pablo Montoya was far superior to Felipe Massa and that Gilles Villeneuve was a special driver. Inconsistent but fast as hell, with incomparable wet weather skills. He would have been WDC in 1982. Give me a top 5 then.
These podcasts are really interesting, i am working through them somewhat randomly but i feel you really interrupt Jean here, which you haven't done with other interviewees.
(y) *Jean ALESI*, patril a stále (!) patrí medzi mojich *top 5 obľúbencov Scuderia FERRARI* (!!!), ale keď, že sa toto interview nedá nastaviť na *SLOVAKIA* preklad tak žiaľ ani ja si to nemôžem vypočuť :( ...,!!! :-) ;)
