Bertrand Gachot
Belgian · 1989, 1991–1992, 1994–1995
Photo: Stuart Seeger · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Gachot in numbers
5 official points · best championship finish: 13th in 1991
0Drivers’ titles
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0Constructors’ titles
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0Drivers’ titles
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0Constructors’ titles
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0Drivers’ titles
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0Constructors’ titles
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0Drivers’ titles
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0Constructors’ titles
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Bertrand Gachot is, for many people, the driver whose seat went to Michael Schumacher. A Belgian born in 1962, he reached Formula 1 in 1989 with Onyx and in 1990 failed to qualify the Coloni for a single race.
1991 was his best year. With Jordan, in the team's first season, he was fifth in Canada and sixth at Silverstone and Hockenheim. Before the Belgian race he was convicted in London for spraying a taxi driver with gas during a traffic dispute months earlier, and went to prison. Jordan looked for a replacement for Spa and picked a 22-year-old German: Michael Schumacher.
In 1992 he raced the full season with Larrousse and scored once, sixth at Monaco. He came back in 1994 and 1995 with Pacific, a new team that often failed to qualify, and his career ended with it.
Five seasons with starts and five points, and a name tied for ever to the debut of the driver who would win the most in the following decade.
What if Gachot had another car?
We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 30 full seasons in each.
| Car | Team-mate | Finish | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren1988 | Alain Prost-142 pts | P2.1 | 0.6 | 0% |
| Williams1992 | Riccardo Patrese-105 pts | P3.8 | 1.1 | 0% |
| Ferrari2002 | Rubens Barrichello-116 pts | P2.3 | 2.2 | 0% |
| Red Bull2013 | Mark Webber-123 pts | P2.8 | 2.6 | 0% |
| Mercedes2016 | Lewis Hamilton-186 pts | P2.2 | 0.9 | 0% |
| Red Bull2023 | Sergio Perez-111 pts | P2 | 4.1 | 0% |
| Cadillac2026 · 11th on the grid | Valtteri Bottas-5 pts | P14.1 | 0 | 0% |
The only one who beats him is Lewis Hamilton in the 2016 Mercedes: 186 points clear over a full season.
Ver en españolRating by season
- First season
- 69 1989
- Peak
- 70 1991
- 1995
- 68 Pacific
5 seasons in the database, from 1989 to 1995. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
Tags
Best year
1991
What would Bertrand Gachot have achieved with a different car or in a different era?
His team-mates
5 team-mates across 5 seasons. When both finished the race, Gachot was ahead in 1 of 4; on the grid he started ahead in 21 of 39.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Stefan JohanssonOnyx · 3 races | · | 2-1 |
| 1991 | Andrea de CesarisJordan · 9 races | 0-3 | 2-7 |
| 1992 | Ukyo KatayamaLarrousse · 14 races | 1-0 | 10-4 |
| 1994 | Paul BelmondoPacific · 2 races | · | 2-0 |
| 1995 | Andrea MonterminiPacific · 11 races | · | 5-6 |
The first number is always Gachot's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
Compare Gachot with another driver
Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.
Keep reading
Where Bertrand Gachot comes up in what we have measured, with our own numbers.
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