Joseph Théodule Marie "Jo" Schlesser (May 18, 1928 - July 7, 1968) was a French racing driver, who was killed at the 1968 French Grand Prix after crashing his Honda RA302 which then burst into flames. Schlesser had no chance of escape and burnt to death in the wreckage. The Honda team withdrew from Formula One as a mark of respect, and did not take part again until 2006.
Schlesser had previously taken part in the German Grand Prix in a Formula Two-spec Matra.
His nephew, Jean-Louis Schlesser, is also a racing driver.
Career[]
Pre-Formula One[]
1966[]
1967[]
1968[]
Death[]
Two laps into the 1968 French Grand Prix, Schlesser lost control of his car. His car slid wide and into a bank, causing the car to catch fire. Schlesser was unable to free himself from the wreckage and was killed.
As a result, Honda pulled out of Formula One at the end of the season.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Pts. | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 |  Equipe Lausanne
|
Cooper-Climax | Non-championship only | ||
 Auto-Intercouse
| |||||
| 1962 | Equipe Lausanne
|
Cooper-Climax | Non-championship only | ||
| 1963 | Auto-Intercouse
|
Brabham-Ford | Non-championship only | ||
| Jo Schlesser
| |||||
| 1965 |  John Willment Automobiles
|
Lola-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | |
 Scuderia Centro Sud
|
BRM | ||||
| 1966 | Matra Sports
|
Matra-Ford Cosworth* | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1967 | Ecurie Ford-France
|
Matra-Ford Cosworth* | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1968 |  Honda France
|
Honda | 0 | NC | Report |
- Italic donates as non-championship entrants.
- * Classified as a Formula Two entrant.
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 2 |
| Starts | 1 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Laps Raced | 2 |
| Distance Raced | 13 km (8.1 mi) |
Career Results[]
World Championship[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pts | Pos | |||||||||||
| 1966 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||||
| 10th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||
| Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||
| 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 | |||
Non-Championship[]
| Complete Non-Championship Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Pts | Pos |
| 1961 |
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— | — |
| 7th | DNQ | WD | 8th | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962 |
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— | — | |||
| 10th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963 |
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— | — | |||||||||
| Ret | 4th | WD | 11th | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1965 |
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— | — | ||||||||||||||||
| DSQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967 |
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— | — | |||||||||||||||||
| DNS | 4th | 5th | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||