François Hesnault

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]

François Hesnault
Born (1956-12-30) 30 December 1956
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityFrance French
Active years1984–1985
TeamsLigier, Brabham, Renault
Entries21 (19 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry1985 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

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(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
Sources:[1][5]

24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1982 Switzerland C. Haldi Switzerland Claude Haldi
Panama Rodrigo Terran		 Porsche 934/5 Gr.5 SP 141 DNF DNF
1983 France A.S. École Supérieure de Tourisme France Thierry Perrier
France Bernard Salam		 Lancia LC1 Gr.C 133 NC NC
Sources:[4][5]

References
  1. 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.
  2. "Francois Hesnault". Motor Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  3. "Francois Hesnault". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  4. "François Hesnault". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  5. "Francois Hesnault Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 1 September 2023.


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