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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Andrea de Cesaris obituary | Andrea de Cesaris obituary |
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| Grand prix racing is one of the few sports in which a competitor can enjoy a long and successful career without actually winning anything. Andrea de Cesaris, who has died in a motorcycle accident aged 55, started 208 world championship races between 1980 and 1994, but never managed to finish higher than second. | Grand prix racing is one of the few sports in which a competitor can enjoy a long and successful career without actually winning anything. Andrea de Cesaris, who has died in a motorcycle accident aged 55, started 208 world championship races between 1980 and 1994, but never managed to finish higher than second. |
| He was a fast but erratic driver who owed his arrival in Formula One to a strong personal relationship with the Philip Morris tobacco company, which was then pumping money into the sport in order to promote Marlboro cigarettes. His first two teams, Alfa Romeo and McLaren, carried the red and white Marlboro livery. But the resentment provoked by his combination of good fortune and wild driving, and the curiosity aroused by his pronounced facial tic, diminished as time passed, and he had many friends in the paddock. | He was a fast but erratic driver who owed his arrival in Formula One to a strong personal relationship with the Philip Morris tobacco company, which was then pumping money into the sport in order to promote Marlboro cigarettes. His first two teams, Alfa Romeo and McLaren, carried the red and white Marlboro livery. But the resentment provoked by his combination of good fortune and wild driving, and the curiosity aroused by his pronounced facial tic, diminished as time passed, and he had many friends in the paddock. |
| Over the years, he skipped from team to team, gradually moving towards the rear of the grid, but often providing the spectators with much entertainment. In 1981, his first full season, no fewer than seven race-ending accidents persuaded some observers to begin referring to him as "Andrea de Crasheris". In that year's Dutch Grand Prix he had so many accidents during the practice sessions that the team felt it prudent to withdraw him from the race itself. | Over the years, he skipped from team to team, gradually moving towards the rear of the grid, but often providing the spectators with much entertainment. In 1981, his first full season, no fewer than seven race-ending accidents persuaded some observers to begin referring to him as "Andrea de Crasheris". In that year's Dutch Grand Prix he had so many accidents during the practice sessions that the team felt it prudent to withdraw him from the race itself. |
| Born in Rome, the son of a tobacco wholesaler, he began his career in go-karts and won a world championship before graduating in 1978 to Formula Three, where he finished second in the British championship to the Brazilian driver Chico Serra. A move up to Formula Two the following year brought him into contact with Ron Dennis, then the head of the Project 4 team, in whose car he won the Adriatic Grand Prix at Misano. | Born in Rome, the son of a tobacco wholesaler, he began his career in go-karts and won a world championship before graduating in 1978 to Formula Three, where he finished second in the British championship to the Brazilian driver Chico Serra. A move up to Formula Two the following year brought him into contact with Ron Dennis, then the head of the Project 4 team, in whose car he won the Adriatic Grand Prix at Misano. |
| Alfa Romeo had returned to Formula One after a long absence in 1979, and the following year De Cesaris was called in to replace the veteran Vittorio Brambilla at the Canadian and US grands prix. He retired with engine failure in Montreal, and a collision with Derek Daly's Tyrrell on the second lap at Watkins Glen set a pattern for the future. | Alfa Romeo had returned to Formula One after a long absence in 1979, and the following year De Cesaris was called in to replace the veteran Vittorio Brambilla at the Canadian and US grands prix. He retired with engine failure in Montreal, and a collision with Derek Daly's Tyrrell on the second lap at Watkins Glen set a pattern for the future. |
| Nevertheless, in 1981 he could be found alongside John Watson in the McLaren team, which had just been taken over by Dennis. However his numerous crashes meant that the British team were happy to see him move on at the end of the season. | |
| It was during his two years back at Alfa Romeo, where he was reunited with the great engineer Carlo Chiti, that he produced his best performances. At the 1982 US Grand Prix West, on the streets of Long Beach, California, he started from pole position and was in second place when he hit a wall and retired. He managed to finish third at Monaco, despite running out of fuel on the last lap. At Spa the following year he led for half the race, and set the fastest lap, before his engine let him down. Second places at Hockenheim and Kyalami contributed to a points total that saw him finish eighth in the drivers' championship, the high point of his career. | |
| Alfa's withdrawal sent him to Ligier for two seasons and then to Minardi, Brabham, Rial, Dallara, Jordan (where he became Michael Schumacher's first team-mate in Formula One), Tyrrell and, finally, Sauber, where he replaced Karl Wendlinger for nine races in 1994 after the Austrian driver suffered head injuries in a crash at Monaco. By that time De Cesaris could no longer summon the pace of his earlier years, although the car's unreliability was largely responsible for his career finishing with seven consecutive retirements. | Alfa's withdrawal sent him to Ligier for two seasons and then to Minardi, Brabham, Rial, Dallara, Jordan (where he became Michael Schumacher's first team-mate in Formula One), Tyrrell and, finally, Sauber, where he replaced Karl Wendlinger for nine races in 1994 after the Austrian driver suffered head injuries in a crash at Monaco. By that time De Cesaris could no longer summon the pace of his earlier years, although the car's unreliability was largely responsible for his career finishing with seven consecutive retirements. |
| After hanging up his helmet, which was decorated with the colours of the Italian flag, he disappeared from the racing scene, dividing his time between the worlds of windsurfing, mostly in Hawaii and the Caribbean, and currency trading in Monte Carlo. | After hanging up his helmet, which was decorated with the colours of the Italian flag, he disappeared from the racing scene, dividing his time between the worlds of windsurfing, mostly in Hawaii and the Caribbean, and currency trading in Monte Carlo. |
| He is survived by a daughter. | He is survived by a daughter. |
| • Andrea de Cesaris, racing driver, born 31 May 1959; died 5 October 2014 | • Andrea de Cesaris, racing driver, born 31 May 1959; died 5 October 2014 |
| • This article was amended on 7 October 2014. The original stated that De Cesaris finished third at Monaco in 1981, in a McLaren; in fact, he was third at Monaco in 1982, in an Alfa Romeo. This has been corrected. |