I honestly fail to see how Philippe Alliot managed to stay in Formula 1 that long, starting over 100 Grand Prix and earning a scant 7 points. True that most of his career was spent driving for French teams Larrousse and Ligier, but I find that there were better Frenchmen to support around during this period. So much for editorial. Alliot started late, and entered Formula 1 at 30 years of age, after many seasons of F3 and F2, without much accomplishment. He was hired by RAM, with a long list of retirements and accidents in the course of two seasons. In 1986 he went back to F3000, but found a berth replacing poor Laffite at Ligier. The Ligier was not a bad machine that year, but the best Alliot managed was 6th in Mexico, posting his maiden point. For 1987, Alliot began his long association with Larrousse, driving a non turbo Lola. He managed two good 6th places, in Spain and Mexico, and was often the winner of the non-turbo brigade. For 1988, Alliott continued at Larrousse, with a season best 9th place. The Lolas got Lamborghini power for 1989, and this proved to be Alliott’s best year, when his driving seemed more solid. By the end of the year he was qualifying in or near the top ten, a huge achievement for the team, with a season best 6th place in Spain. Alliot was hired by Ligier for 1990, where things did not go that well. His season’s best finish was 9th (twice) and a single top 10 qualifying effort. At least he managed to qualify for most races, which was a bid deal in a 33-car entry list. He came back to drive for Larrousse in 1994, and although the first two starts were promising, not much was achieved during the course of the year, except for a career best 5th place in San Marino.  By 1994 Alliott was 40, and on the strength of his association with Peugeot, he managed to be called to drive for McLaren in Hungary. Not surprisingly, he qualified only 14th and retired. He would get a last crack at the top, driving for Larrousse in Belgium, with a further retirement.