Étienne Laurent

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada

Joseph Étienne Jacques Laurent (September 18, 1971 – November 3, 2009) was a Canadian racing driver who spent fourteen years in Formula One. He is the father of Formula One driver, 2022 Formula 3 champion, and 2021 FRECA champion Skyler Laurent.

## Personal life

Laurent was born September 18, 1971, to former Formula One driver Marc Laurent and his wife Amelie (née Gauthier) at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the province of Quebec, Canada and grew up in Montreal. In 1997 he married former Chinese actress Annie Li (Chinese: 李安, pronunciation: Lǐ Ān).

Laurent supposedly had multiple side relationships during his marriage, however his son with Li, Skyler, was the only child he ever had.

## Death

On November 3, 2009, Laurent died after an accident during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. At the time of the crash, Laurent was in 5th place following multiple penalties from the front field. Laurent's contract with Red Bull Racing had been terminated the race prior due to his consistent backmarking placement and his controversial behavior away from racing. Some say he was attempting to impress enough to get a seat for the next season, while others suggest he was not aiming to make it out of the race alive.
On lap 50, Laurent charged for a too-small gap between younger teammate Dustin Moore and [driver], leaving extensive damage to all three cars before they pulled away. Laurent was sent spinning into the barriers, where the fuel tank was pierced and set the car on fire. The Canadian was exposed to the flames for a minute before being extracted by track firefighters, sustaining severe burns and bone injuries.

The race was concluded and Laurent was transported to the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi for immediate treatment. Laurent suffered severe burns to his head and hands and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood, alongside a spine injury and both legs broken. He was given the last rites at the Abu Dhabi hospital, but died during transportation back to his homeland.

The funeral service was held in Montreal, on 10 November 2009. He was subsequently cremated and his ashes rest at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

## Formula One career

### Jordan Grand Prix (1995-2000)

Rising in initial popularity due to his daredevil, bullish driving style, Laurent debuted and won his only championship title in 2000 with Jordan Grand Prix.

His nickname "Bulldozer" was born following an accident in which he turned heavyhandedly into his teammate, knocking them both out of the 1998 German Grand Prix and leaving his teammate's car too mangled to compete in the following race.

### Jaguar Racing (2001-2005)

Noted as the beginning of Laurent's downfall, the Canadian scored a few more podiums and points in 2001 and 2002 before consistently falling out of the points range.

### Red Bull Racing (2006-2009)

Laurent's signing for Red Bull was contraversial due to massive dislike for the driver following news of his infidelity after the birth of his son. He did little to combat this; Laurent infamously treated his teammates, crew, and opponents very poorly, blowing his money on alcohol and arbitrary material objects.

On the October 17, 2009, Red Bull Racing announced the termination of Laurent's contract for the following season at end of the Brazilian Grand Prix. In an account by his race engineer, Laurent took the news extremely poorly and nearly assaulted the crew in the garage before storming back to his hotel.

At the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Laurent's son made his first appearance in the paddock at 2 years old accompanied by his mother. He continued to make appearances towards the end of Laurent's career, and was present at the race of Laurent's fatal accident at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

## Gallery

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