Andrea de Cesaris

Andrea de Cesaris struggled to shed his image as an unpredictable racer for over a decade, but by the early 1990s, he had grown into a seasoned and reliable driver.

Nationality	Italian
Born	Andrea de Cesaris 31 May 1959 Rome, Italy
Died	5 October 2014 (aged 55) Rome, Italy

At just 18, de Cesaris, a former world karting champion, raced in the 1978 British BP F3 Championship, managing a Ralt car under Tim Schenken of Tiga. He continued the next year with Team Tiga’s March, securing six wins in the Vandervell series. However, early signs of the blunders that would mark his Formula 1 career prevented him from clinching the championship, finishing second to Chico Serra.

In 1980, de Cesaris joined Ron Dennis’s Project Four. He impressed in the New Zealand Pacific series with wins at both Pukekohe races before moving up to Formula 2 with a March 802. Despite starting alongside Serra, de Cesaris quickly outperformed him, culminating in a win at Misano that earned him a spot with the McLaren team for the 1981 season.

That season, he started disastrously with a crash at Long Beach and a troubling series of accidents. Yet, after his Formula 1 debut with Alfa Romeo for two races at the end of the 1980 season, alongside his F2 drivers, Alfa Romeo welcomed him back. Over two seasons, de Cesaris delivered some remarkable drives, including leading the first half of the Spa race in 1983 before encountering issues. After Alfa Romeo transitioned to Pavanello’s Euroracing in 1984, de Cesaris moved to the Ligier team, where his previous year’s success briefly lapsed. A dramatic crash in Austria in 1985 nearly ended his career, but he survived and continued racing.

Never one to give up, de Cesaris led Minardi in 1986 but was often outshone by his teammate Alessandro Nannini. He then moved to Brabham in 1987, displaying flashes of brilliance despite inconsistent performances. His tenure at Rial in 1988 included a commendable fourth-place finish in Detroit. His subsequent years at Dallara were marked by erratic drives, with his aggressive racing style often prevailing.

De Cesaris’ career seemed to be winding down until Jordan picked him for their 1991 lineup. He excelled, nearly finishing second at Spa, and though not kept by Jordan, moved to Tyrrell in 1992 where he helped secure valuable points. However, by 1993, with Tyrrell struggling, the impressive de Cesaris of previous years was seen less.

After 14 seasons, he started 1994 without a team but returned briefly for Jordan. A commendable fourth place in Monaco briefly revived his prospects, yet after finishing sixth in France, his Formula 1 journey concluded without further comebacks.

Beyond F1, in 2005 and 2006, de Cesaris raced in the Grand Prix Masters series, a racing competition for retired Formula One drivers. Tragically, he passed away on October 5, 2014, after a motorcycle accident on the Grande Raccordo Anulare motorway in Rome.

Andrea de Cesaris Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	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 Teammates

19 drivers	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Bruno Giacomelli	18	1980	1982
John Watson	15	1981
Mauro Baldi	16	1983	1987
François Hesnault	16	1984
Jacques Laffite	11	1985
Alessandro Nannini	16	1986
Riccardo Patrese	15	1987
Stefano Modena	1	1987
Alex Caffi	16	1989
Gianni Morbidelli	2	1990
Emanuele Pirro	14	1990
Bertrand Gachot	10	1991
Michael Schumacher	1	1991
Roberto Moreno	2	1991
Alessandro Zanardi	3	1991
Olivier Grouillard	16	1992
Ukyo Katayama	16	1993
Rubens Barrichello	2	1994
Heinz-Harald Frentzen	9	1994

Complete Formula One Results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Pts
1980	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 179	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN Ret	USA Ret			NC	0
1981	Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren M29F	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	USW Ret	BRA Ret	ARG 11	SMR 6	BEL Ret												18th	1
		McLaren MP4	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8						MON Ret	ESP Ret	FRA 11	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT 8	NED DNS	ITA 7 †	CAN Ret	CPL 12
1982	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 179D	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12	RSA 13																17th	5
		Alfa Romeo 182	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12		BRA Ret	USW Ret	SMR Ret	BEL Ret		DET Ret	CAN 6 †	NED Ret	GBR Ret	FRA Ret	GER Ret	AUT Ret	SUI 10	ITA 10	CPL 9
		Alfa Romeo 182B	Alfa Romeo 1260 3.0 V12						MON 3 †
1983	Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 183T	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t	BRA EX	USW Ret	FRA 12	SMR Ret	MON Ret	BEL Ret	DET Ret	CAN Ret	GBR 8	GER 2	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret	EUR 4	RSA 2		8th	15
1984	Ligier Loto	Ligier JS23	Renault EF4 1.5 V6 t	BRA Ret	RSA 5	BEL Ret	SMR 6 †	FRA 10	MON Ret	CAN Ret	DET Ret	DAL Ret	GBR 10	GER 7	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret			18th	3
		Ligier JS23B	Renault EF4 1.5 V6 t															EUR 7	POR 12
1985	Équipe Ligier Gitanes	Ligier JS25	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t	BRA Ret	POR Ret	SMR Ret	MON 4	CAN 14	DET 10	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	17th	3
1986	Minardi Team	Minardi M185B	Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 1.5 V6 t	BRA Ret	ESP Ret	SMR Ret	MON DNQ	BEL Ret	CAN Ret	DET Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret		AUT Ret					NC	0
		Minardi M186	Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 1.5 V6 t											HUN Ret		ITA Ret	POR Ret	MEX 8	AUS Ret	NC	0
1987	Motor Racing Developments Ltd.	Brabham BT56	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4 t	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	BEL 3 †	MON Ret	DET Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	AUT Ret	ITA Ret	POR Ret	ESP Ret	MEX Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 8 †	14th	4
1988	Rial Racing	Rial ARC1	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	MEX Ret	CAN 9 †	DET 4	FRA 10	GBR Ret	GER 13	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	POR Ret	ESP Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 8 †	15th	3
1989	BMS Scuderia Italia	Dallara F189	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	BRA 13	SMR 10	MON 13	MEX Ret	USA Ret	CAN 3	FRA DNQ	GBR Ret	GER 7	HUN Ret	BEL 11	ITA Ret	POR Ret	ESP 7	JPN 10	AUS Ret	16th	4
1990	BMS Scuderia Italia	Dallara F190	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8	USA Ret	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	CAN Ret	MEX 13	FRA DSQ	GBR Ret	GER DNQ	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 10	POR Ret	ESP Ret	JPN Ret	AUS Ret	NC	0
1991	Team 7UP Jordan	Jordan 191	Ford HBA4 3.5 V8	USA DNPQ	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	CAN 4	MEX 4	FRA 6	GBR Ret	GER 5	HUN 7	BEL 13 †	ITA 7	POR 8	ESP Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 8	9th	9
1992	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell 020B	Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10	RSA Ret	MEX 5	BRA Ret	ESP Ret	SMR 14 †	MON Ret	CAN 5	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN 8	BEL 8	ITA 6	POR 9	JPN 4	AUS Ret	9th	8
1993	Tyrrell Racing Organisation	Tyrrell 020C	Yamaha OX10A 3.5 V10	RSA Ret	BRA Ret	EUR Ret	SMR Ret	ESP DSQ	MON 10	CAN Ret	FRA 15									NC	0
		Tyrrell 021	Yamaha OX10A 3.5 V10									GBR NC	GER Ret	HUN 11	BEL Ret	ITA 13 †	POR 12	JPN Ret	AUS 13
1994	Sasol Jordan	Jordan 194	Hart 1035 3.5 V10	BRA	PAC	SMR Ret	MON 4	ESP												20th	4
	Broker Sauber Mercedes	Sauber C13	Mercedes 2175B 3.5 V10						CAN Ret
	Sauber Mercedes	Sauber C13	Mercedes 2175B 3.5 V10							FRA 6	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	POR Ret	EUR Ret	JPN	AUS

Sources: Wikipedia.com and historicracing.com