Andrea de Cesaris
Andrea de Cesaris in 1982
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| Born |
31 May 1959 Rome, Italy |
|---|---|
| Died | 5 October 2014 (aged 55) Rome, Italy |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Italian |
| Active years | 1980–1994 |
| Teams | Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Ligier, Minardi, Brabham, Rial, Scuderia Italia, 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 (31 May 1959 – 5 October 2014) was an Italian racing driver. He started 208 Formula One Grands Prix but never won, holding the record for the longest career without a race victory. A string of accidents early in his career earned him the nickname "Andrea de Crasheris", and he became known for being very fast but also wildly erratic. The nickname stuck, though he went on to become a calmer, more mature driver in his later career.
In 2005 and 2006 he competed in the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired F1 drivers.
He died on 5 October 2014 after losing control of his motorcycle on Rome's Grande Raccordo Anulare motorway.
De Cesaris was born in Rome on 31 May 1959. A multiple karting champion, he graduated to Formula 3 in Britain, winning numerous events and finishing 2nd in the championship to Chico Serra. From Formula 3, he graduated to Formula 2 with future McLaren boss Ron Dennis' Project 4 team.
In 1980, de Cesaris was 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 and crashed into the catch fencing at the Junction corner after two laps.
In 1981, largely thanks to his personal Marlboro sponsorship which also happened to be McLaren's main sponsor, de Cesaris landed a seat at McLaren which had after the 1980 season merged with the Project Four Formula 2 team run by Ron Dennis. Although he was quick and he possibly would have won the British Grand Prix that year, the season was not a success, with de Cesaris crashing no less than nineteen times either in practice or the race and sometimes in both; often due to driver error. The team was so worried that he would crash the car that they withdrew his car from the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort after he qualified 13th. The Italian managed to finish only 6 of the 14 races he started. A sixth place at Imola was his best result and this was not enough to convince the resurgent McLaren team to keep him on. It was at this point in his career that the nickname "Andrea de Crasheris" was coined.
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