A few days ago, news broke that Jean Alesi, a former Formula 1 driver, had been arrested for causing an explosion in his brother-in-law’s studio. Apparently, the French pilot placed and detonated a large firecracker in the window of the place that his relative uses to carry out his architectural work, in the town of Villeneuve-lès-Avigon .
The explosion caused damage to the window frame and shutters, as well as breaking the burglar-proof glass and alarming the entire neighborhood. The former Ferrari driver was accompanied by his son, fellow driver Giuliano , and a friend.
On his nocturnal adventure, Alesi borrowed a BMW from his brother José’s workshop and, despite driving with the lights off, the vehicle was identified with three people inside.
According to the information that came to light, the winner of the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix went by himself to the police station and was arrested on Monday afternoon after admitting his guilt.
Around 4:00 p.m. that same day, the Frenchman was arrested for the damage he caused to someone else’s property with an explosive device, according to the deputy prosecutor of Nîmes, Antoine Wolf , to AFP .
The former pilot stated that it was “a joke in bad taste”, however, he will have to go to court next January, along with his son Giuliano. According to the French press, the two will have to visit the courts for the facts, and face up to 10 years in prison , as well as a fine of 150,000 euros .
Alesi was not the only person arrested, but his brother-in-law, the owner of the workshop where he took the BMW, was the first arrested, but the police have released all the people they questioned due to lack of evidence.
The Avignon pilot’s brother -in-law is in the process of separating from his wife, Jean’s sister, and filed a complaint for what happened. The area prosecutor believes that this was not “a joke”, as Alesi himself described.
“I’m pretty skeptical that someone would want to make a prank like that at ten o’clock at night, without the person it’s going to knowing who I’ve done it to,” he said. “According to what he said, he bought it in Italy, but the intention was not to intimidate, and he did not imagine that it would cause so much damage.”
