Ferrari is to test the flamboyant former F1 star Jean Alesi, an old hero of the tifosi and a driver who is synonymous with the red grand prix racing cars, in a F430 GT with an eye to the Frenchman returning to the wheel of the Maranello racing cars in Gran Turismo racing.

A brief statement issued by Ferrari has announced that the Frenchman is set to test with AF Corse next Tuesday, the Italian team that has just wrapped up, once again, the FIA GT Championship title. "Thanks to the never-ending work of AF Corse on 13 October Jean Alesi will be back behind the wheel of a Red on the Fiorano circuit. The Frenchman, official driver of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro from 1991 to 1995, will sit behind the wheel of a Ferrari 430 GT2 from the team managed by Amato Ferrari. The extraordinary event - a test drive of 60 laps - will fulfil a long-cherished desire and rate with this in-depth contact with the car a possible engagement of Alesi in the International Gran Turismo competitions," the press release added.

Born in 1964, Alesi first made a name for himself using Alfa Romeo rather than Ferrari power, when in the 1986 French F3 Championship he drove a privately-owned, sponsorless Dallara to two wins and eight podium finishes, marking the youngster as one to watch for the future. And it proved to be the case as three years later he had wrapped up the F3000 championship title with Eddie Jordan and that sealed a move to F1 mid-season the next year with Tyrell, where he announced his arrival in the top flight no uncertain terms with fourth place on his debut in his home French Grand Prix. However at the end of the next season, again with the Tyrell team, Alesi snubbed Williams with whom he had signed a pre-contract letting his heart rule his decision as he signed for Ferrari in 1991, the start of five seasons with the Scuderia where he became beloved of the tifosi if achieving little else. His arrival in Maranello, where he lined up alongside his French compatriot Alain Prost, also marked the start of a sharp downturn in the team's fortunes as the Italian V12 engine was outpaced by the new V10s and it also coincided with Williams embarking on a winning spree that made it the most successful team of the decade.

Alesi's first year at Ferrari, behind the wheel of the V12-engined 642/2 and 643 cars netted three visits to the podium, 21 points and seventh place in the championship; meanwhile Prost quit the team at the end of the season. It was a position Alesi repeated the next year with the F92A, but this time with two podium visits and 18 points. In 1993 his famous partnership at Ferrari with Austrian star Gerhard Berger kicked off and with the F93A he went up one notch to finish sixth in the championship, with 16 points. His penultimate season at Maranello netted four podiums and fifth place in the championship with 24 points, driving the 412T1. In 1995, the final year of his contract with Ferrari he had his best year with the Italian team, and with the 412T2 he collected 42 points that left him fifth in the championship, and along the way he etched his name into the role call of red winners by taking victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, one of five visits to the podium he made that year. Released by Ferrari at the end of that year he went on to drive for the Benetton team, while stints at Sauber, Prost and Jordan followed before his F1 career came to an end at the end of the 2001 season after 201 races and having collected 242 points. Since then Alesi, who also maintains a well-regarded vineyard, has raced until 2006 in the DTM series and most recently popped up with a string of his era drivers in the Middle Eastern Speedcar Series.