The relationship between team-mates in Formula 1 can be as precarious as walking a tightrope made of stilton. They can be fractious like Prost and Senna, regimented like Schumacher and Barrichello, or seemingly harmonious and friendly like the subjects of my next profile – Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.
Like the majority of Formula 1 drivers past and present, Alesi and Berger’s beginnings were in the lower formulae. Alesi was French Formula 3 champion in 1987, and Formula 3000 champion in 1989. Berger was a multiple race winner in European Formula 3 in 1983 and 84, and both men were similar in that their Formula 1 careers overlapped with their lower formula commitments.
In Alesi’s title-winning 3000 season of 89, he made his debut for the Tyrrell team at the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, and was on the pace straight away, finishing fourth. Berger’s latter drives in Formula 3 coincided with his debut in Formula 1 with ATS in 1984.
Berger had signed an agreement with Arrows for 1985, but a week before the 84 season ended, he was seriously injured in a road accident in his native Austria, in which he was thrown from his BMW on a mountain road, leaving him with a broken neck and broken bones in his back. By sheer luck, the car travelling behind was occupied by two surgeons who specialised in spinal injuries. After radical surgery, Berger managed to hide the extent of his injuries from Arrows boss Jackie Oliver and convinced him he was fit to drive in 85.
After a number of drives in the latter half of the 1989 season, Alesi was given a full-time seat at Tyrrell for 1990, and he immediately set tongues wagging at the opening round at Phoenix. Starting fourth on the grid, he led going into turn one, a lead which he held for 25 laps before being passed by Ayrton Senna. To everyone’s amazement, Alesi immediately retook the lead of Senna, but was soon overtaken again, and stayed second. Another second place followed at Monaco and by mid-season, a number of teams were queuing-up to secure his services for 1991. In a move that undoubtedly shaped his career for the worse, Alesi allegedly reneged on an agreement with Williams to sign for Ferrari in 1991.
The recognisable talent Berger possessed was unable to be shown to its full potential in his first full season, driving a poor Arrows chassis that hindered the speed of its BMW engine. His talent was noticed by Benetton, who signed Berger for 1986. The more competitive Benetton car gave Berger a chance to shine, which he did so throughout the season. He looked on for a maiden win at his home race in Austria, but a flat battery forced him into the pits, and eventually he finished seventh, some three laps down. He didn’t have to wait long to break his duck though, as three races later in Mexico, Berger drove a commanding race and won by 25 seconds ahead of Alain Prost. It was soon after than Berger received the call from Ferrari, and replaced Stefan Johansson for 1987.
When Alesi signed for Ferrari, the Scuderia were still championship contenders, with Alain Prost narrowly missing out on the 1990 title. Sadly for Alesi, the decision to join Ferrari proved to be the beginning of a run of bad luck that seemed to follow him throughout his F1 career. Coinciding with a resurgence of the Williams teams, Ferrari suffered a reversal of fortune, failing to record a single race win all season, with Prost being sensationally fired with one race remaining for describing the car’s handling akin to “a truck”. Alongside Italian Ivan Capelli, Alesi only managed to finish six races in 1992, two of them on the podium in Spain and Canada, in another disappointing season for Ferrari.
Berger also struggled in his early years at Ferrari. ’87 and ’88 proved to be tough seasons, as he won only three races over both seasons, the third coming at the Italian Grand Prix, leading home a Ferrari 1-2 with Michele Alboreto just weeks after the death of Enzo Ferrari.
1989 paired Berger with Nigel Mansell, who defied early reliability issues by winning the opening race in Brazil. At the next round at Imola, Berger survived a brush with death after a heavy crash at Tamburello, in which his Ferrari caught fire. Due to the quick action of the medical teams, he suffered only minor burns to his hands and missed a solitary race. The reliability problems were never fully resolved all season, and Berger only finished three races all season, one being victory at Portugal. When Ferrari announced Prost’s arrival for 1990, Berger moved the other way and joined Ayrton Senna at McLaren.
In his three seasons with the Woking-based team, he only won five races, owing to bad luck and Senna’s status as team leader. Despite the superiority of Senna, the two enjoyed a close friendship which lasted until his death. After aiding Senna to two successive titles in 90 and 91, Berger only finished a point behind the Brazilian in 1992 in a season which Williams dominated, with McLaren fighting out a best-of-the-rest race with Benetton.
Despite his closeness to Senna, the prospect of playing second to him for another season proved too frustrating, and he was persuaded by Ferrari to return, partnering Alesi in the hope that they would recapture the success that was now eluding them more and more. The 1993 season continued in a similar fashion, however, with only three podiums all season as the Scuderia amassed only 28 points.
Although Ferrari could not keep up with Williams and Benetton in 1994, it was a more successful season, with Berger winning in Hockenheim, the team’s first win since 1990. Berger finished third in the drivers’ standings, matching the team’s constructors’ fairing.
1995 was another season of indifferent results and reliability problems. Berger lost the lead late-on at Imola after stalling in the pit-lane, eventually finishing third behind Alesi. After an incident-packed race in Canada, Alesi came through, on his 31st birthday, to win his first and only Grand Prix. Both he and Berger were on for a 1-2 finish at Monza, but both failed to finish. Berger suffered suspension damage after being hit by a mirror flying off Alesi’s car, and Alesi himself retired from the lead with only seven laps to go with wheel bearing failure. Alesi came close to victory again at the European Grand Prix but was overtaken by Michael Schumacher with just two laps remaining. Alesi and Berger finished fourth and fifth respectively in the championship, amassing 73 points between them, earning Ferrari third in the constructors’ table.
In the close-season of 1995, Michael Schumacher surprised everyone by leaving Benetton to join Ferrari, with Eddie Irvine partnering him. Berger and Alesi were soon signed to fill both vacant seats at Benetton, giving them what seemed to be a more realistic shot at winning the title. Sadly, however, it wasn’t to be, as Williams dominated the season. The closest the team got to a victory was with Berger at Hockenheim, whose engine blew with three laps remaining as he defended his lead from Damon Hill. With Williams romping away with the constructors’ title, Benetton narrowly missed out on second, ending the season just two points behind Ferrari.
1997 began badly for Alesi, retiring in Australia after running out of fuel despite the team calling him in five laps previously. But it proved to be only one of three retirements Alesi had all season, with five finishes being on the podium. Berger’s season started well with a second place finish in Brazil, but he missed three races later in the season due to illness and the death of his father. His return was at Hockenheim, and proved to be a fairy-tale return, qualifying on pole position and winning commandingly.
Despite rumours of a third spell at Ferrari and an offer from Sauber, Berger decided to retire at the end of the season, and ended his career with a fourth place finish at the European Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on the last podium place. Sauber did offer a drive to Alesi, who signed up with the Swiss team for 1998.
Alesi’s time at Sauber was a struggle, only scoring eleven points over two seasons, his best result being third at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1998. For 2000, Alesi joined-up with compatriot and former team-mate Alain Prost to drive for his eponymous team. It was an uncompetitive and unreliable car, finishing 22nd in the championship with no points and only four finishes, his highest being ninth at the Nurburgring. Alesi scored four points for the Prost team in 2001, including a sixth place at Hockenheim, which proved to be his last race for the team, after a dispute which saw him replaced by Heinz Harald Frentzen, who was sacked by Jordan.
Alesi moved the other way, taking Frentzen’s seat, reuniting with Eddie Jordan for the first time since winning the 1989 Formula 3000 title with his team, to drive the final five races of the season. He scored a solitary point in Belgium, and with the final race of the season approaching, Alesi announced his retirement from F1, deciding to race in the German Touring Car Championship in 2002. Alesi failed to finish his final race in Japan after a heavy crash with Kimi Raikkonen, which prevented him from achieving the feat of finishing every race of the season.
After their retirements from F1, Berger and Alesi went down different career paths. Alesi continued to race, winning four races in DTM over five seasons. After flirting with stockcar racing and the Le Mans Series, Alesi became an ambassador for Lotus and announced his intention to qualify for the Indy500 in a Lotus car. After qualifying 33rd, he retired soon after the beginning of the race due to his car being too slow to keep pace with the rest of the field.
Berger decided against racing in any other form of motorsport, and after a couple of seasons away from F1 altogether, he was soon seen in the paddock again as Competitions Director with BMW, overseeing their return to Formula 1 in 2000, powering the Williams team. In 2006, Berger bought half of the Toro Rosso F1 team, which brought Sebastian Vettel his first Grand Prix win at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Later that same year, he sold his share in the team. Since 2012, Berger has been President of FIA Single Seat Commission.
Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi, although never world champions, gained big fan-bases over the world for their combative styles of driving, and proved that in the highly-competitive and serious world of Formula 1, you can still drive to a high standard whilst treating it as the hobby it really is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKb5qEHx4NI
