Jean Alesi Q&A

His pal Michael Schumacher may get most of the plaudits, but Jean Alesi also has a good record at Spa, having finished second with Benetton in 1996 and third with Sauber in 1998. This year for a while he looked destined for a surprise points finish for Prost, thanks to a bold decision to make an early change to grooved tyres. Alesi opted to come in on lap 4, a full two laps before any of the frontrunners decided to change. The net result was that he jumped up from 16th to fourth - an amazing achievement. He retained that position for 10 glorious laps, putting in very respectable times before his first proper stop. Prior to the start the team had already committed to pitting twice - not counting the initial change - so he was always going to struggle to stay in the points. After his third and final stop he slipped back to ninth, before a lack of fuel pressure forced him to retire. Adam Cooper spoke to the Frenchman.

"You know, in my condition I need to take risks when it's possible. For me it was the right moment to stop. I improved my position like that, and then I was so happy to keep the speed. It's a shame that I was not able to bring the result to the team."

"Yeah, I saw him, he was in front of me. But I passed him straight away, because it was not possible to start with dry tyres."

"It was OK, because in that kind of situation I'm just looking at the others and waiting for the right moment."

"They said no, we're not ready, and then they said OK, we're ready, and that was it."

"Yes, but I knew it was OK. I have the feeling for this kind of stuff - without saying I'm very old!"

"Exactly. I hope this will be enough to bring the spirit of the team high."

"The fuel pump. Next year we will have another engine, so it's not good any more to comment what's happening with the engine and ability."

"I don't know, but in a position which would have been good for the team."

"I'm not sure this season we have the potential to make a good result, but you never know. It depends a lot on what's happening in the sky!"