François Hesnault (born 30 December 1956) is a former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. He participated in 21

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 ...

Grands Prix, debuting on 25 March 1984. He scored no championship points. Hesnault enjoyed some success in the

French Formula Three Championship The French Formula Three Championship was a motor racing series for Formula Three cars held in France between 1964 and 2002. The series was merged with the German Formula Three Championship The German Formula Three Championship was the national ...

, finishing third in the series in 1982 and second in 1983. The Frenchman debuted in Formula One in the season with Ligier, with a best result of 7th at the

Dutch Grand Prix The Dutch Grand Prix ( nl, Grote Prijs van Nederland) is a Formula One motor racing event held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 to 1985 and from 2021 onwards. It was a part of the World Championship from 1952, ...

. For the season, he was hired to be

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motors ...

's teammate at

Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won fo ...

, but he was sacked after four uncompetitive races. He returned for a one-off at the German Grand Prix in a third

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

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 The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit ha ...

shortly before parting company with Brabham.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

Profile at grandprix.com
1956 births Living people Sportspeople from Neuilly-sur-Seine French racing drivers French Formula One drivers Ligier Formula One drivers Brabham Formula One drivers Renault Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers {{f1-bio-stub