Andrea de Cesaris facts for kids
Andrea de Cesaris in 1982
|
|
| Born | 31 May 1959 Rome, Italy |
|---|---|
| Died | 5 October 2014 (aged 55) Rome, Italy |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Active years | 1980–1994 |
| Teams | Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Ligier, Minardi, Brabham, Rial, Dallara, Jordan, Tyrrell, Sauber |
| Entries | 214 (208 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 5 |
| Career points | 59 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 1980 Canadian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1994 European Grand Prix |
Andrea de Cesaris (born May 31, 1959 – died October 5, 2014) was a racing driver from Italy. He competed in Formula One for many years. He started 208 Grand Prix races, which is a record for the most races without ever winning one. Early in his career, he had a lot of accidents. This gave him a reputation for being very fast but also a bit wild on the track.
After his Formula One career, he also raced in the Grand Prix Masters series in 2005 and 2006. This was a special race series for retired F1 drivers.
Andrea de Cesaris passed away on October 5, 2014. He was in a motorcycle accident on a motorway in Rome.
Driving Career
Before Formula One
Andrea de Cesaris was a champion in Kart racing. This is a type of racing with small, open-wheel vehicles. After karting, he moved up to Formula 3 racing in Britain. He won many races there and finished second in the 1979 British Formula Three Championship. From Formula 3, he then joined Formula Two with a team called Project 4. This team was run by Ron Dennis, who later became a boss at McLaren.
Formula One
Alfa Romeo (1980)
In 1980, Andrea de Cesaris joined the Alfa Romeo team. He raced in the last two events of the 1980 Formula One season. His first race in Canada ended early because of an engine problem. In his second race in the United States, he crashed after only two laps.
McLaren (1981)
In 1981, de Cesaris got a spot at McLaren. This was partly because of his sponsor, Marlboro, which also sponsored McLaren. He showed he could be very fast, especially on quick race tracks. However, he also crashed his car 19 times that year. These crashes happened either during practice or in the actual races. Because of his many accidents, people started calling him "Andrea de Crasheris." His team boss, Ron Dennis, was so annoyed that he did not keep de Cesaris for the next season. He also never hired another Italian driver for McLaren after that.
In July 1981, de Cesaris also raced in a 6-hour endurance race in New York. He and his teammate finished second in their Lancia car.
Alfa Romeo (1982–1983)
De Cesaris returned to Alfa Romeo in 1982. At the Long Beach Grand Prix, he became the youngest driver ever to get a pole position. This means he started the race from the very front. He led the race for a while. But he made a mistake while trying to pass another car, and Niki Lauda took the lead. De Cesaris later crashed due to a brake problem.
In 1982, he also achieved a podium finish at Monte Carlo. A podium finish means he finished in the top three. He also scored a point in Canada.
In 1983, his Alfa Romeo car had a new turbo engine. This helped him get two second-place finishes. One was at the 1983 German Grand Prix and the other at the 1983 South African Grand Prix. He almost won a race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. He was leading comfortably, but a slow pit stop and then an engine problem ended his race.
Ligier (1984–1985)
In 1984, de Cesaris moved to the Ligier team. Even though their car had a good engine, he only scored three points that season.
At the end of 1984, de Cesaris raced in the 1984 Australian Grand Prix. This was before it became a Formula One World Championship race. He started in 5th place. After a small delay at the start, he drove very well. He finished 3rd, even though he was almost a lap behind at the beginning.
In 1985, he started the season well, including a fourth-place finish at Monaco. But the season turned bad after he had a huge crash at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix. His car flipped over many times in the air. Because of this, the team boss, Guy Ligier, fired him. Ligier said he could not afford to keep him, even though Marlboro paid most of de Cesaris's salary.
Minardi (1986)
In 1986, de Cesaris joined Minardi. He did not score any points that season. This was the first time in his career he went a whole season without scoring points. He retired from almost every race.
Brabham (1987)
In 1987, de Cesaris switched to Brabham. He had better results with this team. At the 1987 Belgian Grand Prix, he finished third. This was his first podium finish in almost four years. However, he did not finish any other races that season.
Rial (1988)
For 1988, de Cesaris joined the new Rial team. He managed to qualify for all 16 races that season. He also took fourth place at the 1988 Detroit Grand Prix. He ran out of fuel twice in the last laps while he was in a points-scoring position.
Dallara (1989–1990)
In 1989, de Cesaris moved to the Scuderia Italia team, which was sponsored by Marlboro. He was one of the more experienced drivers by now. He was on track for a podium finish at Monte Carlo. But he was taken out of the race by three-time world champion Nelson Piquet. De Cesaris was very angry after the crash. Two races later, he crashed into his own teammate, Alex Caffi. This cost his team a possible podium finish. However, he finished third at the next race in Canada. This was his last time on a Formula One podium.
In 1990, de Cesaris was involved in many incidents. He crashed out at the start of races in Brazil and San Marino. He also nearly crashed into Nigel Mansell's Ferrari during a race. The Dallara car also had many reliability problems. De Cesaris did not score any points that season.
Jordan (1991)
After leaving Dallara, de Cesaris was signed by Eddie Jordan for his new Formula One team in 1991. Eddie Jordan had worked with de Cesaris before in Formula 3.
De Cesaris showed good form at Monaco. He was running in the points until his car's throttle cable broke. In the next race in Canada, he finished fourth. He repeated this result in Mexico. The next race in France, he finished sixth.
At the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, de Cesaris drove very well. He moved up through the field and was in second place. But his car's engine broke down. This was because the oil tank was too small for a new type of engine part. De Cesaris finished the season in 9th place overall. This was his best result since 1983.
Tyrrell (1992–1993)
.jpg)
In 1992, Ken Tyrrell hired de Cesaris for his Tyrrell team. De Cesaris finished fifth in the second race of the season in Mexico. He scored points three more times that season. His best result was a fourth place at the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix.
.jpg)
For the 1993 season, the Tyrrell car used a new Yamaha engine. This changed how the car performed and its reliability. The team also introduced a new car mid-season, but it was not successful. For the third time in his career, de Cesaris did not score any points. He left Tyrrell at the end of the season.
Jordan and Sauber (1994)
In 1994, Andrea de Cesaris did not have a Formula One seat at the start of the season. But during the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix, another driver, Eddie Irvine, caused a big accident. Irvine was banned for three races. So, Eddie Jordan brought de Cesaris back to the team for two races.
His return did not start well. He damaged a car chassis during testing. He also crashed again at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. This was partly because he had not raced a full distance in six months. However, he bounced back at Monte Carlo. There, de Cesaris drove carefully and finished in fourth place.
After Irvine returned, the Sauber team noticed de Cesaris's good performance. They signed him to replace an injured driver. De Cesaris's first race for Sauber was his 200th Grand Prix. He scored points at the next race, the 1994 French Grand Prix.
Andrea de Cesaris's career ended when he retired from the 1994 European Grand Prix due to car problems. He finished his career with 208 Grand Prix starts. At the time, only Riccardo Patrese had started more races. Many other drivers have since passed his total.
Legacy
Andrea de Cesaris took part in 214 Grand Prix races. He achieved 5 podium finishes and one pole position. He scored a total of 59 championship points. He holds the record for the most Grand Prix starts (208) without ever winning a race. He also holds records for the most consecutive non-finishes (18 races in 1985 and 1986) and the most non-finishes in a single season (12 in 1987). He scored points for 9 out of the 10 teams he raced for.
Retirement
After he stopped racing, de Cesaris became a successful currency broker. He worked in Monte Carlo. It was said that he spent half the year working and the other half windsurfing. He windsurfed in places like Hawaii, Mexico, and other spots around the world. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, de Cesaris gave a large donation to a company whose factory in Sri Lanka was destroyed.
Helmet
Andrea de Cesaris's racing helmet was white. It had three diagonal lines on top that looked like the Italian flag. There was also a red line between two green lines on the chin area.
Racing revival
After being away from Formula One for a long time, de Cesaris appeared at the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix. He was warmly welcomed by Bernie Ecclestone, his former team boss and the head of Formula One. A few months later, it was announced that de Cesaris would race in the new Grand Prix Masters series. This series was for retired Formula One drivers. He even set the fastest time in the first test for the series. In the first race in South Africa, de Cesaris qualified well and finished fourth. He had a tough battle with another driver, Derek Warwick.
Death
Andrea de Cesaris died in a road accident on October 5, 2014. He was 55 years old. He was riding his Suzuki motorbike when he lost control. He crashed into a guard rail on a motorway in Rome and died instantly.
Images for kids
-
De Cesaris driving for Ligier in the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix.
-
De Cesaris at the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix.
-
De Cesaris at the 1993 British Grand Prix.
-
De Cesaris driving the Sauber C13 at the 1994 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
See also
In Spanish: Andrea De Cesaris para niños
