Philippe Alliot


Philippe Alliot is a former racing driver who participated in Formula One from to and from to. He raced for RAM, Ligier, Larrousse and McLaren.

Early career

Prior to his career in Formula One he competed during 1976 and 1977 in Formule Renault, and won the championship in 1978, in the BP Racing team. With said team he also won the French Formula Renault championship and went on to French Formula Three. He finished third in his first race and moved to the European Formula 3 Championship in 1980. By 1983 he moved to Formula Two but hit the headlines that year when he finished third in the Le Mans 24 Hours with Michael and Mario Andretti in a Kremer Porsche.

Formula One

In 1984 Alliot joined the Skoal Bandit RAM F1 team, but did not enjoy much in the way of success. After Jacques Laffite was injured at the 1986 British Grand Prix, Alliot took his place at Ligier, where he showed an improvement. He moved to Larrousse for 1987, but returned to Ligier in 1990, gaining a reputation for accidents. This led to heavy criticism from team members, other drivers and even sports commentators, such as James Hunt calling Alliot "one of the worst Grand Prix drivers ever to drive a Grand Prix car". He has the record of most race starts without any lead lap finish.

Sportscars

Alliot left F1 for sports car racing in the early 1990s and enjoyed considerable success with the Peugeot team, run by Jean Todt. This included third-place finishes at the 1992 and 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Return to Formula One

Alliot made another attempt at F1 with Larrousse in 1993, achieving the best finish of his F1 career, fifth, at the San Marino Grand Prix. The following year, he undertook a testing role with McLaren. This role led to a race at the 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix for the team as a replacement for Mika Häkkinen, while he was suspended. Qualifying 14th, he retired from the race itself. Alliot then replaced Olivier Beretta at Larrousse for the following race, the Belgian Grand Prix. Starting from 19th on the grid, he retired with engine failure and this proved to be his last race in F1. Alliot left Formula One as the driver with the most race starts who had never achieved at least one of a podium finish, a pole position, or a fastest lap.

Later life

After announcing his retirement from Formula One in 1995, he decided to try a career in politics, also did some TV commentary and competed in ice racing and the Paris–Dakar Rally, but ended running his own GT racing team.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Three results

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789101112131415Points
1980Automobiles MartiniMartini MK31ToyotaNÜR
2		ÖST
3		ZOL
2		MAG
2		ZAN
19		LCA
DNQ		MUG
8		MNZ
4		MIS
4		KNU
6		SIL
Ret		JAR
3		KAS
11		ZOL
2		5th39
1981Automobiles MartiniMartini MK34Alfa RomeoVAL
5		NÜR
2		DON
5		ÖST
3		ZOL
4		MAG
1		LCA
1		ZAN
5		SIL
9		CET
Ret		MIS
10		KNU
Ret		JAR
3		IMO
Ret		MUG3rd41
1982Automobiles MartiniMartini MK37Alfa RomeoMUG
DNQ		NÜR
6		DONZOL
8		MAG
4		ÖST
4		ZAN
5		SIL
DNS		MNZPERLCA
1		KNU
Ret		NOG
4		JAR
3		KAS6th25

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789101112Pts
BMW FranceMartini 001BMWSIL
Ret		THR
5		HOC
8		NÜR
DNS		VALPAU
Ret		JAR
Ret		DON
Ret		MIS
Ret		PER
12		ZOL
5		MUG
Ret		12th4

Complete International Formula 3000 results

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789101111Pts
1985BS AutomotiveMarch 85BFord CosworthSILTHRESTNÜRVALPAUSPADIJ
6		PERÖSTZANDON19th1
1986OrecaMarch 86BFord CosworthSIL
Ret		VAL
8		PAU
Ret		SPA
1		IMO
13		MUG
Ret		PERÖSTBIRBUGJAR9th9

Complete Formula One World Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213141516WDCPoints
1984Skoal Bandit Formula 1 TeamRAM 02Hart Straight-4BRA
Ret		RSA
Ret		BEL
DNQ		SMR
Ret		FRA
Ret		MON
DNQ		CAN
10		DET
Ret		DAL
DNS		GBR
Ret		GER
Ret		AUT
11		NED
10		ITA
Ret		EUR
Ret		POR
Ret		NC0
1985Skoal Bandit Formula 1 TeamRAM 03Hart Straight-4BRA
9		POR
Ret		SMR
Ret		MON
DNQ		CAN
Ret		DET
Ret		FRA
Ret		GBR
Ret		GER
Ret		AUT
Ret		NED
Ret		ITA
Ret		BEL
Ret		EUR
Ret		RSAAUSNC0
1986Equipe LigierLigier JS27Renault V6BRAESPSMRMONBELCANDETFRAGBRGER
Ret		HUN
9		AUT
Ret		ITA
Ret		POR
Ret		MEX
6		AUS
8		18th1
1987Larrousse CalmelsLola LC87Cosworth V8BRASMR
10		BEL
8		MON
Ret		DET
Ret		FRA
Ret		GBR
Ret		GER
6		HUN
Ret		AUT
12		ITA
Ret		POR
Ret		ESP
6		MEX
6		JPN
Ret		AUS
Ret		17th3
1988Larrousse CalmelsLola LC88Cosworth V8BRA
Ret		SMR
17		MON
Ret		MEX
Ret		CAN
10		DET
Ret		FRA
Ret		GBR
14		GER
Ret		HUN
12		BEL
9		ITA
Ret		POR
Ret		ESP
14		JPN
9		AUS
10		NC0
1989Larrousse CalmelsLola LC88CLamborghini V12BRA
12		26th1
1989Equipe LarrousseLola LC89Lamborghini V12SMR
Ret		MON
Ret		MEX
NC		USA
Ret		CAN
Ret		FRA
Ret		GBR
Ret		GER
Ret		HUN
DNPQ		BEL
16		ITA
Ret		POR
9		ESP
6		JPN
Ret		AUS
Ret		26th1
1990Ligier GitanesLigier JS33BCosworth V8USA
EX		BRA
12		SMR
9		MON
Ret		CAN
Ret		MEX
18		FRA
9		GBR
13		GER
DSQ		HUN
14		BEL
DNQ		ITA
13		POR
Ret		ESP
Ret		JPN
10		AUS
11		NC0
1993Equipe LarrousseLarrousse LH93Lamborghini V12RSA
Ret		BRA
7		EUR
Ret		SMR
5		ESP
Ret		MON
12		CAN
Ret		FRA
9		GBR
11		GER
12		HUN
8		BEL
12		ITA
9		POR
10		JPNAUS17th2
1994Marlboro McLaren PeugeotMcLaren MP4/9Peugeot V10BRAPACSMRMONESPCANFRAGBRGERHUN
Ret		NC0
1994Tourtel Larrousse F1Larrousse LH94Ford V8BEL
Ret		ITAPOREURJPNAUSNC0