Andrea de Cesaris
by Mike Flynn
Title
Andrea de Cesaris
Artist
Mike Flynn
Medium
Photograph - Photo Art
Description
Andrea de Cesaris (born May 31, 1959) is an Italian former race car driver. He started 208 races but never won; his is the longest career without a race victory. A string of accidents early in his career earned him the nickname 'Andrea de Crasheris'. Though the nickname stuck, he became a more reliable driver in his later career.
Alfa Romeo (1980)
In 1980, de Cesaris was then picked up by Alfa Romeo for the final events of the 1980 World Championship, replacing Vittorio Brambilla who had, in turn, replaced Patrick Depailler when he was killed testing at Hockenheim. At just 21 years old, his first race in Canada ended after eight laps because of engine failure. In his second race, at Watkins Glen in the United States, he went off at the Ninety corner on the first lap at the start and crashed into some catch fencing at the Junction corner on lap two.
McLaren (1981)
However, the pair of races was the start of a 14-year Formula One career, thanks in large part to family connections with the Marlboro cigarette brand. Having ready access to what, for many years, was Formula One's most lavish paymaster helped sustain the Italian's career through some depressing troughs. Only during his time with Ligier and Brabham (as well as his 1993 with Tyrrell) was Andrea's helmet free from the bright red Marlboro chevron.
His reputation within the sport was cemented in his early years. Driving for McLaren in 1981, the paddock rumour of the time was he was causing so much damage to his cars that his mechanics refused to repair them. In the 14 races he started crashed or spun off eight times, a single point at Imola was not enough to convince the resurgent McLaren team to keep him on. The one race he did not start, at Zandvoort in Holland, after he qualified 13th his car was withdrawn because the team was worried that he would crash the car again.[2] It was at this point that the nickname "Andrea de Crasheris" was coined. De Cesaris touched wheels with the Alfa Romeo of Mario Andretti at the start of the 1981 Monaco Grand Prix. Both cars retired.
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October 6th, 2012
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