Stephane Sarrazin

It is a shame that Stephane Sarrazin’s Formula 1 career was so short lived, as he did everything to put himself in the spotlight during the only opportunity he was given to shine at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix. Sarrazin added the first lines to his cv as a race car driver in French Formula 3, where he came in second in 1997. When he switched to F3000 in 1998, he immediately made his mark by winning his maiden race at a damp Oschersleben, leaving the likes of Nick Heidfeld and Juan-Pablo Montoya behind him. He finished his debut F3000 season in 6th position. In 1999, Sarrazin came in 4th, with a victory at the Hungaroring and also took up a testing role at Minardi. When Luca Badoer injured his wrist, Sarrazin was asked to fill his seat for one race only.

He qualified 7 tenths of a second ahead of teammate Marc Gene and departed in 17th position from the grid, the team's starting position that year. In spite of setting a decent pace, Sarrazin’s race was cut short when a mechanical fault forced him into the barrier. Unable to find sponsorship for a full season in F1, Sarrazin continued as a test pilot for the Prost and Toyota teams. After his short interlude in F1, Sarrazin’s race career took him to sports cars, Renault World Series and even rallying. In his long Le Mans Career he finished on the podium five times. Most recently, Sarrazin participated in the all-electric Formula E Championship.