Philippe Alliot (born 27 July 1954) is a former racing driver who participated in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

from to and from to . He raced for RAM, Ligier,

Larrousse Larrousse Formula One was a motorsports racing team founded in 1987 by Didier Calmels and former racer Gérard Larrousse, originally under the name Larrousse & Calmels. It was based in Antony, in the southern suburbs of Paris. It was renamed Lar ...

and

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

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 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...

. He finished third in his first race and moved to the European

Formula 3 Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...

Championship in 1980. By 1983 he moved to

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

but hit the headlines that year when he finished third in the

Le Mans 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

with Michael and

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, ...

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 Jacques-Henri Laffite (; born 21 November 1943) is a French former racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . He achieved six Grand Prix wins, all while driving for the Ligier team. From 1997 to 2013, Laffite was a presenter for TF1. ...

was injured at the 1986 British Grand Prix, Alliot took his place at Ligier, where he showed an improvement. He moved to

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 James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...

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.Celebrating Winless Wonders: 20 F1 Drivers with the Most Starts without a Win
- Mike Pryson, Autoweek, 9 June 2020

Sportscars

Alliot left F1 for

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

in the early 1990s and enjoyed considerable success with the

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

team, run by

Jean Todt Jean Todt (; born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executive off ...

. This included third-place finishes at the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

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 San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby San ...

. The following year, he undertook a testing role with

due to the

connection factor. This role led to a race at the

1994 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 August 1994 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the tenth race of the 1994 Formula One World Championship. The 77-lap race was won from pole position by Mich ...

for the team as a replacement for

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three For ...

, while he was suspended. Qualifying 14th, he retired from the race itself. Alliot then replaced

Olivier Beretta Olivier Beretta (born 23 November 1969) is a professional racing driver from Monaco who raced in Formula One in 1994 for the Larrousse team, partnering Érik Comas. He participated in 10 Grands Prix, debuting on 27 March 1994. He scored no cha ...

at Larrousse for the following race, the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix ( French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of ...

. 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

Career summary

^† As Alliot was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete European Formula Three results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete International Formula 3000 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

Driver Database entry for Philippe Alliot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alliot, Philippe 1954 births Living people 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Dakar Rally drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers French Formula One drivers French racing drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Larrousse Formula One drivers Ligier Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers RAM Racing Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Trans-Am Series drivers Peugeot Sport drivers BMW M drivers Oreca drivers Team Joest drivers TOM'S drivers