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Formula One has had numerous drivers in its history who have attracted positive and negative attention. Some remain etched in our memory, the late Ayrton Senna, the British champions, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill or the seemingly always happy Jean Alesi. Others though have become forgotten in amongst the current drivers of today. Each week, we'll revive some of the famous names in their respective eras that graced the paddock. This week, Andrea De Cesaris.
Name: Andrea De Cesaris.
Age: 49.
Teams: Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Ligier, Minardi, Brabham, Rial, Scuderia Italia, Jordan, Tyrrell, Sauber.
Nationality: Italian.
Races: 214.
Championships: 0.
Wins: 0.
Podium finishes: 5.
Career points: 59.
Pole positions: 1.
Fastest laps: 1.
First race: 1980 Canadian Grand Prix.
Last race: 1994 European Grand Prix.
ANDREA De Cesaris is remembered for being renowned at crashing or spinning frantically off the race track, in whatever car, at whichever race, or in whatever situation he was in.
The former McLaren driver who was signed by soon-to-depart team principal Ron Dennis in Dennis' first year in charge, became instantly notorious for his hap-hazard driving style.
Although often quick in qualifying and setting a decent pace against major rivals, including Nelson Piquet, the late Gilles Villeneuve and Carlos Reutemann early on in his career for his first teams Alfa Romeo and McLaren, De Cesaris, often dubbed "De Crasheris" went on to claim just five podium finishes in his career, with his most successful season in 1983 for Alfa's Italian V8 engine car.
In 1983, De Cesaris gained notable 2nd place finishes at Germany's old Hockenheim circuit - before it was radically modified in 2002 by Austrian designer, Hermann Tilke - and 2nd in the former South African Grand Prix, whilst gaining three points by finishing 4th at the European Grand Prix's British, Kent based circuit, Brands Hatch. He eventually finished 8th in the championship with 15 points.
However, De Cesaris failed to fulfil his early career potential and eventually began to disappoint and make sporadic points place finishes - notably for the under-equipped short-lived German team, Rial Racing in 1988 where he gained a 4th place finish in the US Grand Prix at the Detroit street circuit.
De Cesaris' best finish after his most successful 1983 season, was the nine championship points haul for Eddie Jordan's 7UP Jordan-Ford team in 1991, in a season where he challenged the then rookie five times world champion, Michael Schumacher at Belgium for the victory, but sadly retired with engine failure.
But the Italian driver will always remain affectionately remembered for his ability not to stay on the circuit. At 1985's Austrian Grand Prix, De Cesaris suffered one of his worst accidents when he smashed in to a grass bank after 13 laps and proceded to somersault his Ligier in to an armco barrier without a tyre covering. Luckily and perhaps staggeringly, he sustained no injuries and walked away unharmed - this before radical safety alterations to Formula One cars after Ayrton Senna's death in 1994 at San Marino.
French team boss Guy Ligier subsequently fired De Cesaris after a poor season where he later spun in to a wall at the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal.
Despite securing BMW power in 1987, signing for the Brabham team who succeeded in lifting numerous world titles with Nelson Piquet senior, De Cesaris failed to utilise the often powerful-but unreliable German turbo engine, which frequently expired whenever "De Crasheris" had a chance of securing points.
And when De Cesaris signed for independent team, Dallara, in 1989, he robbed the underachievers of a famous podium, when he accidentally collided with team-mate and fellow countryman, Alex Caffi, who was running in third place, only to drag him in to the wall.
The Italian retired from Formula One after a final fleeting appearance for Sauber in 1994 and remains a driver with the odd notable achievement, gaining one pole position and one fastest lap, but one of whom could have achieved so much more. He remains infamous for the record 12 successive non-finishes in a season in 1987 and the most non-finishes in a season, 14, in the same year.
Whilst De Cesaris competed admirably at the Grand Prix Masters tournament in 2005 - a competition for ex-drivers - securing a 4th place finish in South Africa at Kyalami, battling fiercely with ex-Formula One driver, Britain's Derek Warwick, he instead attracts greater memories for his erratic form; and perhaps always will.
Mistakes in this article have been corrected.