It was with a heavy heart that Motor Sport heard of the death of de Cesaris in a motorbike accident in Rome on Sunday October 5.

The Italian started 208 Grands Prix between 1980 and 1994 and, despite not scoring a GP victory, he finished on the podium five times and raced for 10 teams. After retiring from the cockpit he found his new “adrenaline buzz” windsurfing in Hawaii. The rest of his time he spent as a currency dealer.

In 2012 our senior contributing writer Rob Widdows interviewed him for the magazine and found a “charming individual who was happy to have been a racer”.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

The bigger picture (taken from the October 2012 issue of Motor Sport)

Andrea de Cesaris reckons the British press only homed in on the trip-ups in his 14-year, 10-team Formula 1 career. We flew to Rome to let him paint the wider scene
By Rob Widdows

Big breath. I have to go there. The matter has to be raised. So best get it out of the way, no point pussy-footing around the edges.

So I look him in the eye, this man who retains a rather dubious record for starting the most Grands Prix, 208 to be exact, without a single victory. But he is smiling, I am pleased to see, clearly keen to have his say. There’s also that rather cruel nickname that has stayed with him for so long. The cappuccinos will just have to wait…

To read the full feature, in Motor Sport‘s archive, click here.