With a balanced car, or wet conditions, Jean's driving style is clearly visible.
It is often said that Michael Schumacher is the best driver in Formula One. I believe this is true. However, I think it is mainly because he is the most complete driver in F1. All drivers have a special quality. Jacques Villeneuve is a good overtaker, Frentzen is consistent, Mika Hakkinen has the ability to get the ultimate possible time over 1 lap. Jean Alesi's great quality was ...and is his reactions, otherwise known as car-control. You will notice in on-board TV that Jean is very 'busy' at the wheel and is always flicking the wheel, correcting minute slides we cannot see.
"His Car Control is the best in the world - bar none" - Martin Brundle
It is merely the fact that Michael
Schumacher is very good in all these areas, rather then excellent in
just one. Anyway, back to Jean...
Jean's car control always comes to the fore either when the car is bad, or the
conditions are tricky. When Alesi partnered Berger, Alesi would always be much
quicker than Gerhard when the car was bad, whereas Berger seemed to be able to
extract the best out of a good car. This is Jean's only real question mark.
Does he have the ability to fine tune a good car to make it great?? - Or does
he rely on his natural ability to drive through the cars deficiencies??
Wet conditions reward driver talent over chassis efficiency. Jean always goes well for some reason......
No doubt because of his car control, Jean has always excelled in the wet, and particularly in mixed conditions. In my mind his finest race was the 1995 Japanese Grand Prix. He started from 2nd on the grid but rolled forwards before the green light and urned a stop-go penalty. He then changed to slicks (more time lost) and was driven off the circuit by a Minardi and spun 360 degrees (yet more time lost). He then shot back through the field lapping SEVEN seconds a lap faster than Michael Schumcher, who had been leading easily on the same tyres, to be just 4 seconds behind him after 40-odd laps when the the Ferrari 412T2 cried enough, as usual! A brilliant performance that ended in fraustration. The story of Jean's career!
Contrary to popular opinion, Jean's mistakes are few and far between. That this (Magny Cours '99) happened in the wet, shows how even the most talented are powerless when faced with aquaplanaing.
One thing is for sure, with his car control, Jean can probably drive a car over the limit better than most other drivers. As far as I can see, only Villeneuve is in the same league. Incidentally, M. Schumacher is very good at finding the limit and driving on it (Hungary '98) but over the limit??. Jean is also extremely consistent in season terms, contrary to popular opinion. All he needs is reliability. In 1997 he was the most consistent driver of the year. Only Mika Salo, renowned for his race reliability, was anywhere near.
Here holding off Schumacher at Silverstone '95, it is clear that no one drives a wider F1 car when under pressure!!
As if that wasn't enough, Jean Alesi is also one of the most aggrerssive racers in Formula One. His race tactics, usually due to the deficiencies of his car means that he has to hold off much quicker cars. He is very good at this, and could be one of the best defensive drivers of recent years. Races such as Europe '95 (where he held off Schumacher on worn tyres), and Magny-Cours '99 (where he held off Mika Hakkinen in a significantly quicker car for 4 laps). This sometimes leads to crashes, but they are always 'racing incidents'. That can not be said of some other drivers...
Clashes with rivals are usually recovered quickly - and in some style!
"Sometimes I get really angry in the car - but it doesn't make me brake any later..." - Jean Alesi