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François Hesnault (born 30 December 1956) is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 25 March 1984. He scored no championship points.[1]
| Born | 30 December 1956 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  French |
| Active years | 1984–1985 |
| Teams | Ligier, Brabham, Renault |
| Entries | 21 (19 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1985 German Grand Prix |
Hesnault was born to a wealthy family who owned a large transport business. He did his military service in the French parachute corps and was involved in action in West Africa. Hesnault made his racing debut competing in the French Formula Renault in 1980. He enjoyed some success in the French Formula Three Championship, finishing third in the series with two race victories in 1982 and second in 1983 with five race wins and battled Michel Ferté for the series title that he lost out by two points.[2][3] Hesnault competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, firstly in 1982 and again in 1983.[4]
The Frenchman debuted in Formula One in the 1984 season with Ligier, with a best result of 7th at the Dutch Grand Prix. For the 1985 season, he was hired to be Nelson Piquet's teammate at Brabham, but he was sacked after four uncompetitive races. He returned for a one-off at the German Grand Prix in a third Renault which carried a prototype onboard camera, making it the first use of this technology in a Grand Prix. This is also the last race in which three cars have been entered for the same team (current third drivers are not eligible to compete in the races). After this race, Hesnault retired from motor racing, having suffered a particularly heavy crash in testing at Circuit Paul Ricard shortly before parting company with Brabham.[1][3]
Racing results
editComplete Formula One World Championship results
edit(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Ligier Loto | Ligier JS23 | Renault V6 (t/c) | BRA Ret |
RSA 10 |
BEL Ret |
SMR Ret |
FRA DNS |
MON Ret |
CAN Ret |
DET Ret |
DAL Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER 8 |
AUT 8 |
NED 7 |
ITA Ret |
EUR 10 |
POR Ret |
NC | 0 |
| 1985 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT54 | BMW S4 (t/c) | BRA Ret |
POR Ret |
SMR Ret |
MON DNQ |
CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | NC | 0 | ||||||||
| Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RE60 | Renault V6 (t/c) | GER Ret |
AUT | NED | ITA | BEL | EUR | RSA | AUS | |||||||||||
24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 |  C. Haldi
|
Claude Haldi Rodrigo Terran
|
Porsche 934/5 | Gr.5 SP | 141 | DNF | DNF |
| 1983 |  A.S. École Supérieure de Tourisme
|
Thierry Perrier Bernard Salam
|
Lancia LC1 | Gr.C | 133 | NC | NC |
References
edit- ^ a b c Small, Steve (2000). "François Hesnault". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. pp. 272–273. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Francois Hesnault". Motor Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Francois Hesnault". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b "François Hesnault". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Francois Hesnault Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
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