Jean Alesi on Eddie Jordan: "He saved my life!"

When did Eddie Jordan come into your life?

At the end of 1988, I was uncertain about the upcoming season. I then told myself that winning the Macau GP F3 could help me relaunch my career, and I asked my brother José to bring out our good old 3 Dallara F1986. I finished 2^e of the first round behind Eddie Irvine. In the second, he crashed at 1^er corner and I found myself in the lead. Combined, I had won the race, but at the start of the last lap of the second heat, I slipped to the back. Out of rage and because I never give up, I finished the lap on three wheels. Seeing this, Eddie rushed to my brother to ask him what I was going to do next season. "F3000 if Marlboro continues with Oreca", Jose explained to him. "Don't count on it. It's dead," Eddie replied. A few days later, we were in his office talking about the 3000 F1989 season. That started it all. He saved my life.

That same 1989 season, you also made your big debut in F1. What role did he play?

Essential! The week before the French GP, my teammate Martin Donnelly had signed with Arrows to replace Derek Warwick who had injured himself. When I learned this, I called Eddie quite furiously to tell him that it wasn't fair, that I was leading the F3000 championship, that it was the French Grand Prix and that the seat should have been mine. What I didn't know was what was happening at Tyrrell where Ken (director) and Michele Alboreto had abruptly broken off their collaboration. A few days earlier, Ken had signed a major contract with Camel while Michele was tied to Marlboro. This time, Eddie suggested me, because we were affiliated with Camel!

Twelve years later, after the career we know, you chose to end up at Jordan at the end of 2001. Was that a way of coming full circle?

I didn't experience it like that, because I was coming out of this break with the team. Cheers Grand Prix that I didn't enjoy. Eddie needed a driver then, and I went there without knowing that it was to finish my career there. At the end of the season there was this Bridgestone press conference in Tokyo before the Japanese GP where a Japanese journalist asked me what I was going to do since Jordan had just signed (Giancarlo) Fisichella and (Takuma) Sato was expected. I replied: "Istop! "It wasn't premeditated, it just came out, but it's good that it happened that way with Eddie.

How are you coping with his death?

Hardly. He was a real father to me. I will never forget him.

Comments collected by Jean-Michel Desnoues

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