Alesi Unveils Prost Clash Near Miss with McLaren Role

Alesi discusses his turbulent end in F1 with Prost, Peugeot conflicts, and a near McLaren team leadership.

In 2000, after two fluctuating seasons with Sauber, Jean Alesi joined forces with Alain Prost, his former teammate at Ferrari and friend, in a new venture: Prost Grand Prix.

However, things did not go as planned. In 2000, Prost, partnered with Peugeot, faced disaster after disaster: the Peugeot engine was simply not reliable, resulting in Alesi finishing the season without a single point.

Speaking to the official F1 website, Alesi shared insights into the internal strife that characterized this genuine war between a team and its engine supplier. Essentially, the Prost-Peugeot project was doomed from the start…

“To be honest, the relationship between Alain and Peugeot destroyed the team—it was the biggest issue. There was a war between Alain and Peugeot, and it simply did not work.”

“I was in the middle of all this, and I had to leave for Eddie [Alesi left Prost for Jordan in 2001], but it was good to finish my F1 career with Eddie.”

By the end of the 2001 season, even though Prost GP had switched back to a Ferrari engine (branded Acer), the situation between Alain Prost and Jean Alesi had indeed become untenable. Consequently, Alesi retreated to Jordan, while Frentzen moved in the opposite direction.

It was somewhat of a homecoming for Alesi, since it was indeed Eddie Jordan who had saved Alesi’s junior career in F3000 when the Frenchman found himself without a sponsor.

“From the moment Eddie needed a driver, Alain was happy to let me go because he couldn’t continue like that. I moved to Jordan and Eddie was very clear with me, and that’s why I retired at 37… He told me: ‘I’ve already signed a contract with Giancarlo Fisichella [for 2002], but if Honda insists I need a Japanese driver, I can’t sign you to continue.'”

2001 was Alesi’s final season in F1: it was indeed time to make way for Sato, the Honda-backed driver…

“In Japan, when the announcement was made, I felt a bit sad and tired of the constant struggle, just surviving. I was at a press conference—because Bridgestone always organised a press conference in Tokyo—and there were several drivers present. Michael [Schumacher] was with me, along with Barrichello, and when the Japanese press asked me, ‘Takuma Sato has signed, what will you do?’ I said, ‘I’m leaving.’ Michael looked at me and said, ‘Damn, I would have found a way to keep you going.'”

“I was weary of the game, but I loved driving so much. I did a final test in F1 with McLaren, and I was very happy because I probably drove one of the best cars I’ve ever driven, a car designed by Adrian Newey. I spent four days in it—three at Paul Ricard and one at Mugello—and it was fantastic!”

Did Alesi almost become a team director in F1?

This test with McLaren F1 would lead to further rumours: Alesi was approached by a group of investors ready to create a McLaren F1 ‘B team’, which would also have its headquarters in Woking. What if Alesi had ended up as a team director, like Prost?

“It was very amusing. Someone in Monaco told me, ‘Can you come to my boat tonight, I’ve organised a party and I want to talk about a project.’ It was the sponsor of one of my friends, Olivier Pla, and Olivier said, ‘Please come, because he’s helped me with sponsorship.’ He sponsored David Price Racing and Lewis Hamilton in GP2.”

“I got to the boat and they said, ‘Okay, you need to sign a document because I’m making a deal with Ron Dennis [the head of McLaren]. He’s moving into his new building and we’re going to create a B team in the old building.’ I replied, ‘Of course, I’m very interested, but I’d like to see the documents first.'”

“When I returned to the hotel, it was late and Ron called me to say, ‘Come see me tomorrow, we need to talk.’ Ron then told me, ‘Okay, he wants you as team director, but I have to run the team.’ I replied, ‘Ron, that’s better for me, no problem.’ But it didn’t go very well because this person was a dreamer. The first step was good, but when it came to hiring people, organizing everything…”