Alesi won the French Formula Three Championship in 1987, establishing himself as a significant talent in European junior single-seaters. He graduated to the International Formula 3000 series in 1988, a category designed as the primary feeder series for Formula One. His first season in F3000 was disappointing — he finished tenth in the championship with two podium finishes, hampered significantly by problems within his team. The experience was nonetheless formative, and Alesi used the setbacks to prepare for a stronger campaign the following year.
For 1989, Alesi joined the Jordan Formula 3000 team, a move that proved transformative. He drove the Reynard 89D chassis and mounted a consistent title challenge throughout the season, engaging in a closely contested battle with Érik Comas. The championship went to the final reckoning and the two drivers ended the season tied on points — an exceptionally rare outcome. The title was decided on countback by number of race victories: Alesi had scored three wins to Comas's two, and was accordingly awarded the 1989 International Formula 3000 Championship.
The title win was a watershed moment. While still contesting the final rounds of the F3000 season, Alesi was simultaneously drafted into Formula One by Ken Tyrrell. Tyrrell had signed Camel cigarette sponsorship ahead of the 1989 French Grand Prix, which created a contractual conflict with existing driver Michele Alboreto, who was personally sponsored by rival brand Marlboro. Tyrrell's solution was to look to whoever was leading the F3000 standings at that moment — which was Alesi — and sign him as Alboreto's replacement.
Alesi made his Formula One debut at the 1989 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, finishing fourth having run as high as second during the race. He continued his F3000 campaign in parallel with his F1 outings, occasionally giving up the Tyrrell to Johnny Herbert when the two series clashed. He clinched the F3000 championship while also establishing himself as an immediate force in Grand Prix racing.
Alesi's F3000 championship win directly shaped his Formula One trajectory. The manner of the title — won on countback in a dead-heat with Comas — gave his career an early narrative of intensity and drama that would follow him throughout his F1 years. The Jordan team that ran him in F3000 was itself at an early stage of its own ascent, and the combination of the two served both parties well.
The 1989 season also demonstrated Alesi's capacity to manage two simultaneous campaigns at the highest junior level and debut in F1 without missing a beat. By the time the F3000 season concluded, he had already scored two Formula One points finishes. The foundation built in those two seasons of Formula 3000 — particularly in the 1989 Jordan — established him as one of the most coveted young drivers in Europe and led directly to a full-time F1 drive with Tyrrell for the 1990 season, the beginning of a twelve-year Grand Prix career.
After leaving F3000, Alesi spent two seasons at Tyrrell before joining Ferrari in 1991, a partnership that would define his public image. He scored his sole Formula One victory at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, on his thirty-first birthday, in circumstances made memorable by a late mechanical failure for Michael Schumacher's Benetton which handed Alesi the lead. He went on to race for Benetton, Sauber, Prost, and Jordan before retiring from Formula One after the 2001 season. In total, Alesi holds the joint record for the most consecutive podium finishes before a first win, having stood on the podium fifteen times before his sole victory in Canada.