After all the thrills he had given F1 since he made his debut in the middle of 1989, it would have been a shame for the Frenchman's career to fizzle out in a Prost.

F1 will be the poorer for the loss of Alesi. He is a charismatic man who looks like everyone's idea of a racing driver - and drives like it, too.

The Frenchman remained one of the sport's most exciting talents to the very end of his career.

There was always a beautiful madness to the Frenchman's driving. He was just as likely to produce a moment of utter stupidity as one of sublime skill - and he knew it. Alesi just shrugs his shoulders and says that is the way he is.

He was one of F1's best exponents of wet weather driving and, despite his mercurial reputation, he is also one of the drivers who makes the fewest mistakes.

Although, in F1 terms, he was getting on a bit at 37, Alesi could still produce the goods.

When Prost provided him with a half-sensible car, he comes up with the results the team so desperately needed - as his points positions in Monaco and Canada proved.

But he grew tired of the team's failings, so jumped at the chance to join Jordan when they controversially sacked Heinz-Harald Frentzen after the British Grand Prix.

Many observers found it hard to see team boss Eddie Jordan's logic in dropping Frentzen only to replace him with Alesi.

For all his talent, the Frenchman was prone to tantrums when things did not go his way, and even though he rarely bears a grudge, this has often ended his relationships with his teams on a sour note.

This did not happen at Jordan. Alesi enjoyed the last few races of his career.