Monsieur Alesi - Monsieur le Président
04/13/2023
Last weekend, former French Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi (59) was elected "Paul Ricard Circuit President". Together with Philippe Gache, he started the six-hour race for historic racing cars in Le Castellet in a Lotus Elan 26R - with starting number 27, of course. But luck was not with the 201-time Grand Prix participant and his team colleague. After battling for a podium finish for a long time, they had to settle for fifth place in the end.
But the crowd favorite took that in his stride. When Alesi clinched his only victory in 1995 in Montreal at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the Ferrari 412 T2, the whole of Canada went wild. The starting number 27, which Alesi's racing car bore, had also adorned the car of the track's namesake, who died in an accident in 1982. When the spirited Frenchman triumphed, he not only made the Italian Ferrari fans cheer, but also Canadians and, of course, the French. Even today, as can be clearly seen in the picture below, Alesi is one of his country's greatest motorsport idols - definitely a good choice for the presidency.
