2023-05-09 16:45:09
Thirty-four years later, Jonathan Palmer looks back on Jean Alesi’s sensational debut in Formula 1, which proved particularly detrimental to the Briton’s career.
From 1983 to 1989, Jonathan Palmer made a career in Formula 1 within the teams WilliamsRAM, Zakspeed and above all Tyrrell, with whom he has taken the last 45 of his 83 Grand Prix starts. Within the British team, the Englishman was rather to his advantage once morest Philippe Streiff in 1987 and Julian Bailey in 1988; however, it was Michele Alboreto who secured Tyrrell’s first podium finish in six years in early 1989. And when the Italian was replaced by a young wolf named John Alesi following a change of sponsor, the tricolor created a sensation by taking fourth place in the Grand Prix de France for its debut. Much to his teammate’s chagrin…
“I lost my steering wheel following Jean Alesi came on stage in 1989 and blew me up”says Palmer in the podcast Beyond The Grid. “It was absolutely overwhelming. I was in my sixth year in Formula 1. I had outperformed all my teammates. For his first Grand Prix, at Paul Ricard, I qualified 12th and Jean 15th, two or three tenths behind [en réalité 9e et 16e, avec six dixièmes d’écart, ndlr]. I found that impressive.”
Jean Alesi and Jonathan Palmer, with the Tyrrell 018
“But what was even more impressive was that he was extremely complimentary of my performance. I remember wondering why this guy was so stunned that I was faster. I had been racing for over six years, I was very experienced, I was very good, and this guy was like I was new and coming in! Afterwards, he was two or three tenths ahead everywhere. Then I realized that he just wasn’t the type to believe that anyone might be faster than him. He drove the racing cars with great aggression.”
“But to be honest, Jean and I got on well that year. It might easily have not been the case. He was a straight guy. He was just damn fast. I had a lot of respect for him. in that regard. He wasn’t as analytical as I was, but he got the job done, and his drive was an inspiration to people. We still get along well to this day. We have a lot of respect for each other .”
“Although I knew my time at Tyrrell was coming to an end as my three years had passed, I was talking very seriously to Jackie Oliver regarding joining Arrows for the following year, as well as to McLaren. I was certainly one of the drivers who were courted, but the advent of Jean Alesi, who exploded me in the second half of the season, completely pulled the rug out from under me. I wouldn’t say I went from hero to zero, but I really didn’t have the same intimate conversations in the motorhomes as in the first half of the season.”
The Tyrrell 018 of Jonathan Palmer and Jean Alesi
“AT less than a stroke of luck, it was clear that my career in Formula 1 was going to end. I took it without flinching. Alesi was faster. He had the same gear as me, there’s no doubt regarding that. I never felt like he was favored in any way.”
At 33, Palmer therefore had to breathe new life into his life. “That’s when I started to think regarding the direction I was going to take my career. Ron Dennis and I always got on very well, he valued my skills as a test driver, development , PR, etc. He probably thought I didn’t have the last two tenths of an Alesi but was still fast enough to help develop the cars and contribute to the programs, so I went that route.”
After having been a McLaren test driver, Palmer was above all to become a businessman and promoter of several single-seater championships, in particular Formula 2 from 2009 to 2012 (unrelated to the current F2). His son Jolyon, GP2 champion in 2014, raced with Renault F1 in 2016 and 2017.
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