"Hello. I am Jean Alesi. I am not Gerhard Berger." Nice.

He deserved so much more than only 1 win..

Jean's' favourite F1 memory - Suzuka '95. He retired on lap 25. I think that says everything you need to know about Jean. It wasn't the result - it was the journey. Anyone who watched that race at the time will understand.

I wish Mika Häkkinen would take part in one of the pod cast

You can see that Alesi was a true driver at heart and a true Ferrari man

Many of us called for Jean Alesi and you have delivered. Excellent. I echo the calls for Jenson Button to come on the podcast.

28:16 Jean must be the only person to ever have said "feuck you" to Niki.

"is it a prototype??" OMG I was laughing in tears!!!

Interview Alex Zanardi. What a legend!

Jean and Ayrton were my childhood heroes. I wished a team with them as team mates. When Jean left Ferrari i stopped being a Ferrari fan. Monza 94, Monaco 95 and Suzuka 95 broke my heart

this accent is a joy to listen to

Beyond the grid this year's better than the races :p so many legends. Waiting for Nelson Piquet next 👍

Probably the greatest French accent you'll ever hear.

I love how he drops the f-bomb and they let it in.

"Have you guessed who it is yet??" yes Tom I clicked on a video with his name in the title. Didn't take a genius to figure it out, its Gerhard Berger of course.

One of my all-time favourite drivers! He had the talent to become world champion but none of the luck.

How about Sir Stirling Moss, I mean we had some drivers from the 60s and 70s, but he has been a part of F1 almost since the beginning. Get him, while he's still alive

Jean was my favourite driver (possibly ever) in the 90s. His story about how his first Ferrari contact was negotiated shows how much he undervalued his own talent and how modest he was. Great interview! Thanks TC

What a legend! Just watched 1995 Japanese Grand Prix the other day, what a drive before another mechanical failure.

So humble and comes across a nice fella. Waiting on the Piquet and Keke interviews please!

Jean Alesi I used to hero worship him as far back as 1990 when he pushed in an uncompetative Tyrrell, My heart sank when I learned he signed for Ferrari as I was never a fan of that team, but Jean was always a joy. He drove his heart out, sometimes it cost him, sometimes it was brilliant. But he was the last driver as far as I'm concerned that made watching F1 fun, his passions and bad luck did rob him of top spots. I'm supposed to like Michel Schumacher, as Germany is my home. But his accomplishments feel very hollow to me. Jean Alesi is the driver I think of most when I think of Formula 1. I miss him behind the wheel so much, man aging sucks. Jean merci pour tout les beau temps. Merci d'avoir partager ton passion avec le mien. Tu me manque beaucoup.

Jean never got the machinery to showcase his talent,I just feel really bad that he only won 1 race,still love him. Alesi should have been world champion

A 1 hour F1 podcast is more exciting than a 2 hour F1 race. Keep it up!

I wish you would've asked him about his helmet as a tribute to Elio de Angelis? The connection to Gilles is well known, but I've never heard anyone mention his connection to Elio.

Jean Alesi had better control of his cars than any other driver in F1 history.

What a superb rain/wet track driver (one of the best I've seen) ... Oh, the days when F1 cars race in heavy rain...

Thank you F1, all of these podcasts are incredible

Such a nice guy and great spectacular driver. Also the Nelson Piquet story is great. I heard about it before, but hearing Alesi tell it himself is fantastic. Always liked Piquet too, shows he’s not only the opponent Mansell met (which was hilarious to me as well)

That moment you realise this guy has the same number of wins as Pastor Maldonado...

A Ferrari man at heart, he had the option of joining either Williams or Ferrari in 1991 and imagine if he had picked Williams instead.

Alesi was my favorite driver in the 90ties as I was discovering F1. It was great to hear what goes on behind the scenes and what they didn't have in terms of equipment, managers etc.....

My two favorite drivers back to back. This is awesome

I admired Jean Alesi when he was racing in F1. Then he retired from F1 then moved to another race series I was happy to hear it and I hoped the best for him. All of a sudden he appeared on Top Gear and I was so happy to know he was with the Lotus team so I know he is still not done with Formula cars yet. Still love him, a great driver

One of my youth all time favorite driver, it is such a pleasure to listen to him, I even think he talks more when speaking in english than when he speaks french !!! that story with the lancia on the parking lot is hilarious, thank you so much for this podcat TC

Love the reaction to the Flavio vs Jean Todt question.

A true Ferrari lad!

wow! loved this one too: another genuine, authentic f1 driver from the golden era of f1. i especially appreciate his perspective on his turn of event with the williams, and he was spot on! winners in life cannot possibly approach it with a constant wonder of "what if"! and in this particular case, given his passion and his style (he drove with his heart just like ayrton) he made the right decision to go to ferrari. and it is my humble personal opinion that going to williams in 94' was the single biggest mistake ayrton made and it cost him his life!

"Things that just happened that I didn't think would have happened today. Jean Alesi, who I used to hero-worship, is playing with my genitals."

Allez, allez, Jean Alesi (!) Also DTM winner on a Merk .

I’m listening to Jean Alesi and laughing every 10 seconds. Brilliant! Great stories and insights to his legendary formula careers

YEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Tom for doing this!!!!!!! he's so freaking cool. stats don't do this legend justice.

I've been hooked on this podcast for the past month, great stuff from Jean and awesome hosting by TC, as always. Please bring Nelson Piquet, Mika Hakkinen or Pastor Maldonado next.

I wonder what it would've been like of he stayed at Ferrari with Schumacher instead of Irvine. I heard he left because he didn't want to be no.2 to him but I think he could've possibly won more races in '97 and '98. He might've won the championship in '99 when Schuey broke his leg.

As a lifelong Ferrari fan, Alesi is one of my all-time absolute favorite drivers. He absolutely was world champion material.

I remember when Jean drove his last race and did some no-shame doughnuts after the last lap. He was so unlucky though, time and time again he suffered failures, issues, pit-stop headaches etc. He deserved better tbh.

"yeah, for fun" jesus christ man, i love you

Tom Clarkson is contractually obligated to set an alarm for 4am, and scream BOSE!!! out of his bedroom window sorry i'm late ;)

I would love to have an episode with eddie irvine. One of my heroes back then

Great stuff Tom long may this continue x

What a beautiful guy! I knew he was cool from seeing him on other shows but what a great guy

Fantastic Tom :D really enjoyed that :D

God I enjoy these interviews. Thank you, team.

Tom you are a fantastic interviewer Thank you very much.

For me, my no1 F1 driver, style and passion riding side by side with just being humble.

If you just listened to the Berger podcast and then this podcast, that opening by Jean cements the fact these two are best mates lol

My best moment with this driver happened in Japan 1995 when he passed Damon Hill on the outside of the final chicane before the pit straight

28:16 best moment ;-)

Another brilliant interview. A shame I will not live to race, nor have the opportunity to help my son or daughters race.

Yes Mr Demontezemolo I want an F40 with that too......amazing story what a guy!

My three favourite drivers in F1 all have the letter 'A' in common ... Alesi, Alain (Prost), Alonso! Awesome guys!

Another great driver, with some skills, burned my heart like it's tires on donuts... live long Jean!

One of the most interesting men in the sport. Always great to hear from the French Sicilian 👍🏻 🇫🇷 🇮🇹

Nelson Piquet is a trip.

I remember the interviews with Takuma Sato, only spoke a few words of English lol. Great guy

Great driver! Piquet was surely there for him! Nice to know

28:17 “Niki Fuck you” Yes! My man Jean

OMG, thank you!

Jean Alesi, the greatest driver in the Wet. (for me of course)

"Fuck you Niki, I Don't need mo money" Classic line.

Taki Inoue next please

My 90s F1 hero, after Prost retired

We’ve watched grand prix racing stray from its glorious, daring and thrilling origins to a tepid parade of underpowered, under fueled cars circling increasingly dull tracks in far-off dictatorships while legendary circuits and audiences in the sport’s traditional fan-base are put on the back-burner. To name a few: the emergence of dull, impersonal circuits in far-off kleptocracies, and, conversely, the disappearance of legendary tracks as F1 demands tens of millions for hosting races; a stunning lack of competition and the resulting predictability of race standings; a lack of personality in racers; an increasingly disparate prize purse that sees winning teams scoop up large sums while struggling teams become anemic; a complicated set of engine regulations focused on eco-friendly alternatives and energy renewal - at the expense of the noise, grit and raw power of motor racing.

Frentzen would be a good one 👍🏻

What about some back marker drivers? any Minardi drivers? Lamy, Martini, Moreno, Gene, Katayama,

I would love it if you can do a podcast with Max Mosley if not Max than Bernie Ecclestone about the 70s racing era to this era of racing, Like safety, tracks, teams, bring in Sid Watkins as race doctor, racing scandal & more.

Legend !

une légende !

#Alesi27 was my fave back then, Ferrari were likeable too

he was the fighter on the track

Architect love the way he pronounces.

Tom and everybody responsible for the podcasts, they are great but do all fans a favor and try to interview legendary pilots before it's too late!!! Everyone who loves the sport loses a bit of history when unfortunate events like these happen! Niki, you've been amazing and thank you so much for doing so much for the sport, you'll be truly missed because you are a LEGEND!! Condolences on behalf of all F1 fans across the world to the family and friends of Mr. Lauda! RIP!!

“I’m not Gerhard Berger”. 😂😂😂😂

Heinz harald Frentzen next?

I don't get it about negotiations contract with Williams team for 1991. How Mansell contract negotiations influence the Alesi's decision go to the Ferrari?

Awesome! Can we do Nikki??

I never realised how much Alesi looked like Leclerc.

Can somebody explain to me, when Jean is saying at the end "when you have your heart broken by a girl and throw in the bin 1 and half million." What is he talking about? I feel like there is a real profound story and meaning behind that, but I'm missing something.

Takuma Sato for the next podcast please!

How about beyond the grid with Jenson Button?

haha wonderful

Williams really were terrible with negotiating contracts with drivers.....

Funny fact: Alesi still looks like Leclerc)))) (Leclerc fans don't beat me)

I thought he said Behind The Grid at first 😂

Ferrari paid Frank the buyout clause to hire Alesi

(y) *Jean ALESI*, patril a stále (!) patrí medzi mojich *top 5 obľúbencov Scuderia FERRARI* (!!!), ale keď, že sa toto interview nedá nastaviť na *SLOVAKIA* preklad tak žiaľ ani ja si to nemôžem vypočuť :( ...,!!! :-) ;)

We don't have the chance to get Niki on the show now.

He looks like Stewart Freisen....if you know you know

Jean Alesi forza Ferrari!

These podcasts are really interesting, i am working through them somewhat randomly but i feel you really interrupt Jean here, which you haven't done with other interviewees.

Peter Windsor next!