Motorsport Memorial -

Andrea De Cesaris

Complete name: Andrea De Cesaris

Birth date: 31.May.1959

Birth Place: Roma, Italy

Death date: 05.Oct.2014

Death Place: Roma, Italy

Nationality: Italy

Gender: male

Notes:

Andrea De Cesaris
1959 - 2014

Photo taken in 1984 by Charlotte Koelmans. Reproduced under kind permission, all rights reserved.

Italian motor racing star, former World Karting Champion, Andrea De Cesaris might not have achieved his racing goals, but his was a life that had been anything but ordinary. A very kind and genuine person, he enjoyed a 14-year Formula 1 career, competing for ten different teams: Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Ligier, Minardi, Brabham, Rial, Scuderia Italia, Jordan, Tyrrell and Sauber.

Although he did not win any of the 214 Grands Prix he entered, with 208 starts, between 1980 and 1994, holding the record for the longest Formula 1 career without a race victory, he often got his midfield machinery higher than it deserved. He achievied two second places and a total of five podiums finishes, with a sole pole position and one fastest lap. He was classified in the World Championship’s top-ten three times, eighth in 1982 with Alfa Romeo, and ninth twice, with Jordan in 1991 and Tyrrell in 1992.

After a successful karting career, former World Karting Champion he graduated to cars in 1978, competing in the British Formula 3 Championship. De Cesaris who was very young and very quick, was regarded as a young driver of exceptional promise. At the age of 19, De Cesaris and his seven-year older future Alfa Romeo team mate Bruno Giacomelli, were the only two Italian drivers living in the UK. At the time Giacomelli was part of the works BMW-March team in Formula 2, De Cesaris was starting out in the rough and tumble of Formula 3, driving a Tim Schenken-run Tiga Ralt RT1 and entertaining early Formula 1 ambitions. The pair developed a mutual respect that lasted for the rest of their careers.

De Cesaris came to wide prominence in 1979, contesting the Vandervell British Formula 3 Championship, again with Team Tiga, but this time with a March chassis rather than a Ralt. Despite his six outright wins, Andrea lost out to Chico Serra, who won the title in a factory March-Toyota. His season was marked by exuberant accidents, most famously with Nigel Mansell’s March 793-Triumph at Cascades, Oulton Park in September, when the future World Champion was hospitalised as a result of the collision. In 1979 Andrea De Cesaris took a class win, third place overall, in the Giro Automobilistico d'Italia, sharing a Lancia Stratos with Tony Carello and Renato Meiohas.

In sight of 1980, De Cesaris and his one time arch-rival and later team mate Chico Serra, joined Ron Dennis’ Project Four team for a full season in the European Formula 2 Championship. But they drove March 802-BMW cars in a season that was dominated by the Toleman-Hart pairing of Brian Henton and Derek Warwick. De Cesaris managed to win a race at Misano, finishing fifth in points – with Serra eleventh - and his team boss Ron Dennis planned for his promotion to the newly restructured Marlboro McLaren-Project Four Formula 1 team in 1981. But first, though, came his Grand Prix debut at the tail end of 1980, at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 180.

Also backed by Marlboro, the Italian team had endured a tumultuous and tragic 1980 Formula 1 season. De Cesaris made his debut in the Canadian Grand Prix in October, driving the former Patrick Depailler’s car #22, less than three months after the Frenchman's fatal testing accident at Hockenheim. It was Andrea’s friend Bruno Giacomelli who took the task of leading the team through this bleak period, producing several great performances, including an impressive pole position in the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, leading the race until his withdrawal. Andrea De Cesaris qualified eighth on his Formula 1 debut at Montreal then he drove the Alfa Romeo 180 also at Watkins Glen.

During the following season, when he raced for McLaren, he had a number of accidents, gaining the over-exaggerated nickname of De Crasheris. In the 14 Grands Prix he competed in, De Cesaris retired due to accidents or accident damage seven times. One of those was due to a puncture and another was in consequence of Gilles Villeneuve’s famous multiple pile-up at Woodcote, during the British Grand Prix.

Andrea De Cesaris at the wheel of his McLaren MP4/1-Cosworth, sixth place in the Gran Premio di San Marino at Imola on 03 May 1981.
Photo by Vincenzo Zaccaria. Reproduced under kind permission, all rights reserved.

Being still just 22-year-old, it is believed that Andrea De Cesaris really needed to be comfortable in the team, but at McLaren with the newly introduced carbonium chassis by John Barnard and with an hardly experienced team mate such as John Watson, this was not the right environment for him. Near the end of the season, the whole McLaren team knew very well that no less than Niki Lauda would join them for 1982, and De Cesaris was put aside.

That same year, De Cesaris was hired by Cesare Fiorio to join team Martini Racing Lancia, driving one of the works Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbos which competed in the World Sportscar Championship. Riccardo Patrese-Michele Alboreto won the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, leading home Andrea De Cesaris, partnered by the veteran Henri Pescarolo, in a prestigious Martini Lancia 1-2.

Promoted by Philip Morris’ boss Aleardo Buzzi, De Cesaris came back to Alfa Romeo in 1982. His single season as team mate to Giacomelli brought little joy in terms of results but also memorable performances. In the third round of the season, the US West Grand Prix at Long Beach, Andrea De Cesaris won the pole position, at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo 182, only 1.2 tenth of second head of Lauda’s McLaren MP4B-Ford, thus becoming the youngest Grand Prix polesitter since then, at the age of 22 years and 308 days. Came race day and Andrea was comfortably leading before being overtaken just by Lauda, while lapping Raul Boesel’s March 821-Ford. Unfortunately, an oil tank leak sidelined him on 42nd lap, while running in second place. And even in the sebsequent Monaco 1982 Grand Prix De Cesaris was about to take his maiden Formula 1 victory. During the chaotic final lap on the greasy streets of Monte-Carlo that 23 May afternoon, he ran dry of fuel just after climbing Massenet for the last time, and did not won the race as did Didier Pironi shortly after him and Derek Daly, who crashed at Rascasse. Riccardo Patrese crossed the finish line with his damaged Brabham but did not notice he had actually won and a desperately upset Andrea De Cesaris who was classified third, was seen crying on the guardrail.

Later in the year, at the start of the Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg, De Cesaris and Giacomelli’s friendship was tested to the full when they collided on the main straight and they didn’t speak for weeks. Giacomelli moved to Toleman in 1983 and Mauro Baldi replaced him alongside De Cesaris at Alfa Romeo, now merged with Giampaolo Pavanello’s Euroracing. De Cesaris was in the lead, also setting the fastest lap, before retiring during the Belgian Grand Prix at the revised Spa-Francorchamps circuit, and took runners-up positions in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim and in the South African Grand Prix Kyalami, driving a competitive Alfa Romeo 183T.

Erratic seasons followed, driving for Ligier – in 1984/1985, with a best finish of fourth in the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix -, Minardi in 1986, Brabham in 1987 – third place in the Belgian Grand Prix -, Rial in 1988 – a remarkable fourth in the Detroit Grand Prix - and Scuderia Italia in 1989/1990 – an astonishing third in the 1989 Canadian Grand Prix -, before Andrea De Cesaris played a key role in Team Jordan's impressive Formula 1 debut year in 1991, when he took two fourth places in Canada and Mexico and then once again was dicing for the lead in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, with no less than Piquet, Senna and Patrese. Andrea’s fairy tale run ended just three laps from the finish when the engine of his green painted Jordan blew. Ayrton Senna won the race and newcomer Michael Schumacher made his debut, just in the second Jordan 191-Ford.

De Cesaris re-joined team Martini Racing Lancia, driving their Lancia LC2-85 in the World Sportscar Championship in 1985/1986. Paired with Mauro Baldi and Bob Wollek, he finished third in the 1000 Km of Brands Hatch in 1985, also setting the best lap of the race. Then he finished second in the opening round of the following year, at Monza, sharing the car with Alessandro Nannini.

After two more year with Team Tyrrell in 1992/1993 – with another fourth place in Japan in 1992 -, Andrea De Cesaris's twelve-year Formula 1 career appeared to be over. For the first time since 1980, at the start of the 1994 season, he was without a drive. But he was soon back again, being the right choice for Jordan to deputise for the banned Eddie Irvine, after his Brazilian Grand Prix massive accident, involving Jos Verstappen and Martin Brundle. He drove at Imola and Monaco – earning another fine fourth place - and then he took the Sauber-Mercedes drive after Karl Wendlinger's horrific crash, just in the Monaco Grand Prix. De Cesaris' first race for the Swiss team was just his 200th Grand Prix, in Canada and in practice his car sported the race number #200, instead of the usual #29 on its flanks. He did not finish the race, but in the subsequent French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, he was back in the points – sixth place.

Andrea De Cesaris finally decided to quit racing at the end of 1994, working in Monte Carlo as a successful currency broker. He loved windsurfing and became a great windsurf racer after his retirement from motor racing. He competed almost professionally in many windsurf events, traveling all over the world and scoring numerous wins. He needed always to compete and windsurfing was something he used to replace the feeling of Formula 1 racing.

De Cesaris returned to race in the Grand Prix Masters Series for two seasons in 2005 and 2006, proving he had lost none of his speed, when finishing fourth in the first event at Kyalami, South Africa, behind the winner Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and his friend Riccardo Patrese.

Andrea De Cesaris died on Sunday, 05 October 2014 as a result of a road traffic accident. The 55-year-old crashed against the outer guardrail, while riding his Suzuki motorbike on the Grande Raccordo Anulare highway, nearly the Bufalotta turn-off in the northern area of Rome, Italy. He left behind his wife Angela, a daughter, Stella, and many friends and ex-colleagues in motorsport, among them the numerous team mates that he had during his long career.

Career Summary:

Sources:

Magazine MotorSport, issue of October 2012.
Magazine Autosprint, issue of 20 February 2018, pages 28/29.
Newspaper Il Messaggero (Rome, Italy), issue of Monday, 06 October 2014, page 1 and 20.
Website Daily Mail Online, article "Andrea De Cesaris dies aged 55, in motorbike accident in Rome", page http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-2781552/Formula-One-rocked-death-Andrea-De-Cesaris-dies-motorbike-crash-Rome.html .
Website Autosport.com, article "Ex-Formula 1 racer Andrea de Cesaris dies in motorcycle crash", page https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/116184/de-cesaris-dies-in-motorbike-accident .
Website Racing Sports Cars, page http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/photo/Andrea-de%20Cesaris-I.html .
Website BBC News, page https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/29501069 .
E-mail by Carlo Fertitta, dated 01 September 2023.