At the French Historic Grand Prix in Le Castellet, I had the opportunity to interview my friend Jean Alesi, the organizer of a truly fantastic event that took me back in time. It was a pleasant conversation during a weekend filled with fans and emotions. Here is the full interview:
Giorgio: Jean Alesi is deeply involved and has significantly increased both the event’s prestige and the lineup, because there are truly fantastic personalities and cars here.
Jean Alesi: Thanks, Giorgio. You know how important it is to have the right people, drivers, and machines when you organize an event like this. It is a parade of history and drivers: we had three French drivers who are in Formula 1 today—Isack Hadjar, Pierre Gasly, and Esteban Ocon—alongside legends like Alain Prost, Mika Häkkinen, Jacques Villeneuve, and others. I made sure to have this “mélange,” but also some incredible cars; when you look at the starting grid, there are machines from ’68 all the way to 2000 lined up together, and they made for a spectacular sight.
Giorgio: Yes, but beyond that, I also saw a crowd and a level of passion that you hardly see in modern Formula 1. There is an incredible turnout, and people are deeply interested in the cars themselves.
Jean Alesi: It’s true, because the people who come here know exactly what they are coming to see, and that is why you need a great… how should I say, a mix of years and models. That way, there is always someone saying, “Oh, I don’t want to miss this car,” and it works. It works in the sense that people love motorsport. Today we have modern motorsport with technologies used on today’s and tomorrow’s cars. This is the past: a V12 that hits 16,000 rpm, a 10-cylinder, a boxer, a flat-12… in short, there is a wealth of engines and machines that made history.
Giorgio: And here you are driving a very important car for you.
Jean Alesi: I am driving chassis 161, which is the 1995 Ferrari I used to win the Canadian Grand Prix. Therefore, this car is the last V12 to ever win a Grand Prix. It is an honor to have it and to drive it.
Giorgio: It’s a car that, by the way, I’ve been promising to draw for years. Now I’m going to the department and I will finally draw it.
Jean Alesi: Yes, I want to put you in a cell… there’s that castle in Marseille where the Count of Monte Cristo was kept. I’ll put you in that cell until you’ve finished the drawing!
Giorgio: I promise I’ll do it, thank you.
