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Team | Prost |
Date of Birth | 11 June 1964 | |
Nationality | French | |
Car Number | 22 | |
Marital Status | Co-habiting |
Jean Alesi began his Formula1 career with Tyrrell in 1989 before moving to Ferrari, where he spent five years. During this spell he recorded his one and only victory - at the Canadian Grand Prix in 1995.
From there he went to Benetton and, after two difficult years, moved to Sauber for the start of the 1998 Championship, his tenth season in Grand Prix. A third place in the carnage at Spa was one of only four points scoring appearances that year, and his frustration expressed itself in his dissatisfaction at team mate Johnny Herbert.
1999 was also not kind to the French Sicilian and it culminated in a typically emotional outburst after the Hungarian Grand Prix , when he announced that he would be leaving Sauber. It was a frustrating year of non-finishes and disappointing performances, indeed he retired from half the races of the season, and his best result was sixth place in San Marino and Japan.
2000 with Prost was no great improvement, despite the fact that he was working with his great friend Alain Prost. Alesi retired from 12 of the 17 races that he competed in and did not manage to score a single championship point. He tangled with team mate, Nick Heidfeld, twice on track and a strained atmosphere soon developed between the two until the close of the season.
This year looks likely to be an improvement, with Ferrari supplying Prost with engines and the AP04 already setting much improved times in preseason testing. Alesi is now entering his 13th year in the sport, and will partner the inexperienced Gaston Mazzacane.
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Team | prost |
Date of Birth | 08 May 1975 | |
Nationality | Argentinian | |
Car Number | 23 | |
Marital Status | Single |
Gaston Mazzacane began his career as runner-up in a regional Kart championship before moving on to South American Formula3. He was then crowned Under 23 Italian Formula 2000 champion, which led to International Formula 3000 for three years.
In 1999 he acted as test driver for the Minardi team, before being taken on as a full-time race driver in 2000. Despite his then team mate predicting that the Argentinean could be the 'surprise of the season' Mazzacane was not able to score a point on tracks that he was unfamiliar with.
He produced some courageous drives whilst struggling with an underpowered Minardi, but 8th was the highest he ever finished. Following the disintegration of his personal sponsor, PSN's, deal with Minardi and subsequent partnership with Prost it was not a surprise when he was announced as Jean Alesi's partner in January.
However, there are rumours that he is on a conditional contract and that should he fail to match up to these conditions he could be replaced by reserve and test driver, Pedro de la Rosa. Mazzacane has taken a steady approach to familiarising himself with the AP04 during preseason testing, and has not been one of the quickest drivers so far.