The 32-podium driver who once signed for Ferrari, Williams and Jordan at the same time, ‘it’s unbelievable’

Follow us on Google Discover

In 2022, Alpine announced that they had promoted reserve driver Oscar Piastri to a Formula 1 seat for the following season. He would be their replacement for Fernando Alonso, bound for Aston Martin.

But Piastri had no knowledge of such an agreement. In fact, he released a remarkable statement stating that Alpine’s announcement was categorically untrue.

The Australian, left on the sidelines for a year after winning the F2 title, had instead been poached by McLaren. The dispute would be resolved by the Contract Recognition Board (CRB).

A team of lawyers, tasked with ruling on such disputes, considered Alpine’s appeal. They determined that Piastri was ‘entitled’ to race for McLaren, and he could now become world champion in just his third season.

Jean Alesi’s Ferrari move shows why F1 introduced the Contract Recognition Board

The CRB was formed in the early 1990s and is widely tied to Michael Schumacher’s controversial move from Jordan to Benetton. Schumacher made just one appearance for Eddie Jordan’s eponymous squad before Flavio Briatore snatched him.

But the Jean Alesi case may also have played a part. In a conversation with Christijan Albers, an F1 driver between 2005 and 2007, Alesi revealed that he once signed for three teams at once.

The Frenchman made commitments to Ferrari, Williams and Jordan at the same time back in 1991. The Prancing Horse ultimately won the race for Alesi, who had scored two podiums for Tyrrell as a rookie.

He presented his lawyer with his Williams and Jordan contracts and instructed him to find a way out. The CRB has now prevented such practices.

Albers said on the Telesport podcast earlier this year: “We were eating in the Mercedes-Benz hospitality and the stories came out. He said, ‘Christian, at one point I wanted to drive for Ferrari, and I had also signed with Williams, and I had signed with Jordan’.

“Three contracts! I said, ‘How did you do that then?’. He said, ‘It’s no problem.’ He just went to his lawyer, he threw down three contracts and said, ‘I want to drive there’, and left. It’s unbelievable.

“Then the Contract Recognition Board came about because drivers simply started signing multiple contracts.”

How Jean Alesi played a role in the rise of Laurent Mekies

Alesi stayed with Ferrari until 1996, when he signed for Benetton after Schumacher’s departure. He would also have stints with Sauber, Prost and, belatedly, Jordan before he retired.

Prost teammate Luciano Burti raved about Alesi’s raw talent, calling him the most gifted driver he’d seen. He only won one race but did score 32 podiums.

Alesi received an F1 legends award before the season launch ceremony in London earlier this year. That reflects the esteem in which he’s held despite arguably failing to fulfil his potential.

Alesi inadvertently helped Laurent Mekies, now the Red Bull team principal, break into F1 as an engineer. Little did he know that would have a significant impact on the sport’s history nearly a quarter of a century on.