François Hesnault (born 30 December 1956) is a former French Formula One driver who participated in 21 races during the 1984 and 1985 seasons. He retired from Formula One after suffering a huge accident while testing at the Circuit Paul Ricard in 1984.
At the 1985 German Grand Prix, footage from an experimental on-board camera on Hesnault's car became the first ever live on-board footage broadcast in Formula One.
Before Formula One[]
Hesnault began his racing career in Formula Renault in 1980 when he was in his mid-20s. After finishing third in the 1981 Championnat de France Formule Renault, he graduated to Formula 3 for 1982, competing in both the French and European championships with UFO Racing.
After finishing third in the 1982 Formula 3 France championship, he struck a deal with David Price to race for his championship-winning team in both the French Formula 3 championship. He narrowly lost out on the championship title to Michel Ferté by just 2 points, despite having won 4 of the 12 races and having finished on the podium of every race except one.
While racing in Formula 3, he also competed in the 1982 and 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans events.
During the 1983 Formula 3 European championship, he also participated in two races for the Elf team, finishing on the podium in one of the events.
Formula One Career[]
1984[]
It was announced that Hesnault would drive alongside Andrea de Cesaris on Ligier Loto for 1984, largely thanks to financial backing from the French government-owned oil company Antar (owned by Elf).
Hesnault's first ten races of the season were marred by a series of mechanical issues and accidents, although his pace was improving closer to his teammate's with each race.
At the 1984 French Grand Prix, de Cesaris' Friday qualifying time was deleted after it was discovered that the Italian's on-board fire extinguisher was empty. Rain on Saturday during the second qualifying session prevented him from setting a time fast enough to qualify for the race, qualifying 27th for that race that allowed for only 26 cars. Hesnault had qualified 14th on the grid, but Ligier voluntarily withdrew him from the race to allow de Cesaris to start the race from last on the grid.
The reliability of Hesnault's car improved for the final six races of the season, allowing him to finish 8th in Germany and Austria, 7th at the Dutch Grand Prix and 10th in the European Grand Prix held at the Nürburgring.
1985[]
For 1985 he signed a contract with Motor Racing Developments, racing alongside Nelson Piquet. Piquet proved to be a more challenging teammate, with Hesnault failing to match the pace of the Brazilian. A crash at the Brazilian Grand Prix and early mechanical failures in Portugal and San Marino prevented him from finishing any of the first three races of the season. He failed to qualify for the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix as well.
While testing at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Hesnault suffered a major accident in which his car became wrapped in the catch-fencing, trapping the Frenchmen inside. Elio de Angelis would be killed in a similar accident at the same area of the circuit a year later. The incident frightened Hesnault and he decided to abandon Formula One shortly after.
After leaving Formula One, Hesnault was asked to drive a third car for Equipe Renault Elf at the 1985 German Grand Prix to demonstrate a new on-board camera. During the race, footage from his car became the first ever live broadcast on-board footage used in Formula One. He only completed 8 laps of the race, retiring due to a clutch failure.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 |  Ligier Loto
|
Ligier-Renault | 0 | NC |
| 1985 |  Motor Racing Developments
|
Brabham-BMW | 0 | NC |
| Equipe Renault Elf
|
Renault |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 21 |
| Starts | 19 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Laps Raced | 464 |
| Distance Raced | 2,207 km (1,371 mi) |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pts | Pos | |||||||
| 1984 |  |
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0 | NC | |||||||
| Ret | 10th | Ret | Ret | DNS | Ret [1] |
Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8th | 8th | 7th | Ret | 10th | Ret | ||||||||||
| 1985 |
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0 | NC | |||||||
| Ret | Ret | Ret | DNQ | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes[]
- ↑ Race stopped after 31/76 Laps. Half points awarded
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