Formula Three After graduating from the Formula Opel Euroseries, Rosset competed in the
British Formula 3 Championship in
1993 for
Alan Docking Racing. He finished joint sixth in the standings, tied with
Pedro de la Rosa, with his best finish being one second place at
Silverstone. Rosset moved to the AJS team in
1994, and improved to fifth in the standings in a season dominated by
Jan Magnussen. He won his first F3 race that year at
Snetterton, albeit on an occasion where Magnussen retired.
Formula 3000 Rosset made his début in
International Formula 3000 with the
Super Nova Racing team in
1995. His teammate was the more experienced
Vincenzo Sospiri, who won the drivers' championship that year. In 1995, Rosset came second to his teammate – winning two races, including his first ever F3000 race – and finished second in the championship.
Formula One Footwork (1996) Although he had an opportunity to join
Minardi, Rosset was hired by
Footwork in as teammate to
Jos Verstappen. He never matched the Dutch driver's pace (Verstappen was quicker in qualifying for all the races), although the team largely stopped development on the car when
Tom Walkinshaw bought it. Rosset later stated that the cash-strapped team were unable to provide two identical cars, with a lack of spares, and they concentrated on the faster driver, Verstappen.
Lola (1997) during the
1997 Australian Grand Prix meeting. In , Rosset's only option in Formula One was to join
MasterCard Lola, where he was partnered with his former F3000 teammate
Vincenzo Sospiri. However, the team pulled out of Formula One after one failure to qualify at the
1997 Australian Grand Prix due to an uncompetitive and underdeveloped car, the
Lola T97/30, and a breakdown in sponsorship from
MasterCard. Rosset was left without a drive for the rest of the season. although Rosset later stated Tyrrell's choice was
Norberto Fontana. The 1998 season was another unsuccessful one for Rosset, and led to increasing criticism of his abilities. Failing to qualify at
Monaco, he spun towards the end of the qualifying session, and embarrassingly beached his car on the kerb when he tried to spin the car round to the face in the right direction. When
Murray Walker suggested that people were debating whether Rosset was F1 quality, co-commentator and ex-F1 driver
Martin Brundle replied, "it's a fairly short debate, Murray". Rosset has countered the criticism against him, claiming that, for journalists, making a driver look stupid is more lucrative than discovering the truth. He blamed a worn clutch for the incident: "That's why it looks so bad... the clutch wasn't working." Rosset later said, "I never saw that. Maybe behind the scenes, the mechanics, they were saying that. I remember something like that... I don't doubt it." Rosset said in 2019 that Kristensen drove the same car as he did, with only a change of seat and minor adjustments. Rosset's problems included missing out on qualification for the
Spanish Grand Prix by 0.06s, and an injury during practice for the
German Grand Prix which prevented him from taking part in qualifying, while in
Belgium he crashed into the carnage of the 14-car pile-up on the first lap after being unsighted by the heavy spray, and was unable to take the restart. A further failure to qualify at Tyrrell's final race in
Japan, where he was hindered by a neck injury caused by a crash in practice, marked the end of his Formula One career. Rosset later stated his belief that Tyrrell concentrated heavily on his Honda-backed teammate Takagi, and gave the Japanese driver an advantage in order to win favour from Honda. "They wanted him to look good... so I was somebody not very welcome," he said. "For sure, they weren't behind me." At the end of the season, the pair had won four times in their
Ford GT and finished second in the overall standings. Encouraged by this performance, Rosset bought the
Footwork FA17 chassis that he raced in 1996, and planned to enter it in a historic F1 series in 2009, but ultimately did not. He later bought his 1998
Tyrrell 026 on eBay, and keeps both cars at his home. He has said of his Formula One career, "I was very grateful I had the chance... I did my best, the best I could do. I pushed as hard as I could... What people say, it doesn't bother me." ==Racing record==