Ex-F1 star Alesi acquitted after ‘idiotic’ firework prank backfired

The former Ferrari driver, 58, and his son Guiliano, 23, were cleared of wrongdoing at Nimes Magistrates Court in France over an incident which took place in December 2021, where his brother-in-law’s window was blown up with a firecracker. 

Alesi was acquitted of a charge of "damaging the property of others by a means dangerous to people, committed in the context of a family conflict”, reports the French news agency AFP. 

The 1995 Canadian Grand Prix winner had gone into custody in December 2021 after police were called to the house following reports of an explosion at a family party. 

Alesi defended his actions as “a bad joke”. 

“I apologise because I’ve never had such an embarrassing situation in my life. It was idiotic,” he admitted. 

“I was totally stunned by the power of the explosion. The intention was to have a laugh.”

Alesi’s brother-in-law insisted he had “no problem” with Jean, but that didn’t stop him from filing an official complaint in a bid to recover costs to replace the damaged window. 

Alesi’s lawyer Thibaut de Montbrial explained during the hearing that it is a family tradition to let off fireworks at parties. 

He added that “Jean Alesi was over the moon that night to be reunited with his son after months of separation due to Covid.”

The public prosecutor accepted there had been no “element of intent” behind Alesi’s “bad prank”, and noted he had paid for the damage caused.