François Hesnault
| Born |
30 December 1956 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 French |
| Active years | 1984–1985 |
| Teams | Ligier, Brabham, Renault |
| Entries | 21 (19 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1985 German Grand Prix |
François Hesnault (born 30 December 1956) is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 25 March 1984. He scored no championship points.
Hesnault enjoyed some success in the French Formula Three Championship, finishing third in the series in 1982 and second in 1983.
After a season with Ligier he was hired to be Nelson Piquet's team-mate at Brabham, but he was sacked after four uncompetitive races, only returning for a one-off race in a third Renault which carried a prototype onboard camera, making it the first use of this technology in a Grand Prix. This is also the last race in which three cars have been entered for the same team (current third drivers are not eligible to compete in the races). After this race, Hesnault retired from motor racing, having suffered a particularly heavy crash in testing shortly before parting company with Brabham.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Ligier Loto | Ligier JS23 | Renault V6 (t/c) | BRA Ret |
RSA 10 |
BEL Ret |
SMR Ret |
FRA DNS |
MON Ret |
CAN Ret |
DET Ret |
DAL Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER 8 |
AUT 8 |
NED 7 |
ITA Ret |
EUR 10 |
POR Ret |
NC | 0 |
| 1985 | Motor Racing Developments | Brabham BT54 | BMW S4 (t/c) | BRA Ret |
POR Ret |
SMR Ret |
MON DNQ |
CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | NC | 0 | ||||||||
| Equipe Renault Elf | Renault RE60 | Renault V6 (t/c) | GER Ret |
AUT | NED | ITA | BEL | EUR | RSA | AUS |