Ex-Formula 1 star arrested after explosion - is a family quarrel the reason?
Created: 12/21/2021, 8:21 PM
From: Kai Hartwig
The Frenchman Jean Alesi drove in Formula 1 until 2001. © Erwin Scheriau / dpa
Ex-Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi has to remain in police custody after an explosion.
The French speak of a joke - the prosecutor sees it differently.
Villeneuve-les-Avignon - Former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi is threatened with trouble with the judiciary.
The former Ferrari driver was temporarily taken into custody by the police in Villeneuve-les-Avignon after an incident with a New Year's Eve firecracker.
According to police, the 57-year-old had detonated a firecracker on his brother-in-law's office window late on Sunday evening (December 19).
The explosion, which caused property damage, startled some of the Alesi's brother-in-law's neighbors.
They called the police.
Ex-Formula 1 star Alesi arrested: Firecracker explodes at his brother-in-law's house
Subsequently, a vehicle with the lights switched off moved away from the “crime scene”.
The car could be assigned to Alesi's brother Jose.
After his arrest, Alesi went to the police station to investigate the incident.
However, he was taken into custody along with his son and a friend who were both in the car with the ex-racing driver.
The responsible public prosecutor's office told the
AFP
news
agency
that Alesi only wanted to make a “bad joke” according to his own statement.
The Frenchman does not want to have expected the damage caused.
In his testimony, Alesi described the explosion as "fireworks".
Prosecutor Antoine Wolf, on the other hand, described the incident in other words: Here an “explosive device” was detonated that “damaged someone else's property”.
Explosion at Alesi's brother-in-law: was a family quarrel the motive for the crime?
Rather, a possible background to the crime could be a family quarrel.
According to information from "L'Èquipe", Alesi's sister and brother-in-law separated only recently.
"I am quite skeptical when it is said that a 'joke' will be made at 10 p.m. without the person concerned knowing who it is," said Public Prosecutor Wolf, commenting on his assessment of the situation.
Alesi drove in Formula 1 between 1989 and 2001 and completed 201 races.
He competed for the traditional Italian racing team Ferrari and the teams Tyrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost and Jordan.
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