Alesi racks up the miles for McLaren
Jean Alesi has concluded his one-off test this week with the McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 team at Paul Ricard the south of France, the French-Sicilian completing over four race distances in the three-day test
Alesi drove an MP4-16B chassis, an updated version of the 2001 car, completing 224 laps and concentrating on tyre development in mixed weather conditions.
"It means a lot to me that after 13 years in Formula 1 I have had the opportunity to drive a West McLaren-Mercedes car," said Alesi. "Throughout my driving career, McLaren has always made impressive cars and been the team to beat, so it has been a big week for me. We have had a positive few days following a scheduled programme and I have enjoyed working with the team.
"It was a very professional and friendly environment and we have worked hard, illustrated by the distance and number of laps covered in the wet weather. I am now looking forward to the start of the DTM season and concentrating on racing for Mercedes-Benz in the DTM," he added.
McLaren's managing director Martin Whitmarsh said: "We had a productive week with Jean. It was a valuable exercise to gain another opinion, especially one as experienced as Jean's. Even though the weather conditions were mixed, the team is pleased with the progress made."
Share Or Save This Story
Race of my life: When a starring wet-weather drive went unrewarded for Alesi
When Alesi was reunited with his “dream” F1 racer
Autosport writers' favourite cars from the 1990s
Why McLaren thinks it wouldn’t have beaten Hamilton and Verstappen in Canada
McLaren: Pirelli F1 tests will help Ferrari, Red Bull for rainy Canadian GP
How McLaren’s early years set the team on the path to success
Top 10 F1 drivers of the 1970s
Do penalty points still serve any purpose in F1?
How GT3’s rise surpassed even the wildest expectations
Top five roles on Motorsport Jobs this week
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments