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When F1's crazy horse joined the Prancing Horse

Jean Alesi made an immediate impact in Formula 1 when he arrived with Tyrrell, but his decision to join Ferrari instead of a resurgent Williams for 1991 was ill-judged as the Scuderia became engulfed with in-fighting that resulted from a sub-standard car

Charles Bradley Jan 16, 2021, 4:09 PM

Following Ferrari's title near-miss with Alain Prost in 1990, after Ayrton Senna's professional foul at Suzuka, star rookie Jean Alesi stepped up to the big time from Tyrrell to join fellow countryman Prost at the Scuderia for 1991. But instead of serving up further success, Ferrari dished out political disarray, technical disorder and tifosi disappointment.

The Senna/McLaren-Honda axis hit its heights that season and Ferrari refugee Nigel Mansell revelled in leading an ascendant, if fragile, Williams. At Ferrari, Prost went winless for the first time since his rookie F1 season and would be fired before the year was out. Alesi's rising star was clouded out of sight - although he would certainly have won at Spa-Francorchamps but for yet another engine failure.

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Author Charles Bradley

Charles Bradley is Motorsport.com’s Global Editor in Chief. After spending five years in the aerospace industry in his native North Wales, while working weekends as a freelance writer at racetracks around the UK, Charles joined the staff of Motoring News in the heart of London. He transferred to the nascent Autosport.com team in 2000 before transitioning to the magazine, becoming its Editor between 2011 and 2014. Charles then upped sticks to work in America, as Motorsport.com’s Editor in Chief, where he created the multi-national and multi-lingual editorial team that quickly became the world’s most-read motorsport website. He was instrumental in delivering three of the biggest Global F1 Fan Surveys in sports history and is also a multiple award-winning scriptwriter. Charles is an overseas member of the Guild of Motoring Writers. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife Helen – and a cat that’s named after Serbia’s top football club.