Jeff Arden

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Jeff Arden Lopez, better known as Jeff Arden, is a retired British Formula One driver. He has won one race, in the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, and also has had 11 podiums in his career, including his lone win. He also has two fastest laps and one pole position. Despite his less than stellar stats, Arden is considered to be one of the greatest drivers of all time, having battled through bad machinery and had various challenges. He maintained popularity throughout his career, including his career ending injury at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix following a freak accident with Marc Gene. Since then, he has become an advocate for road safety for road cars in Europe.

Early Life

Arden was born in London, England, with his two parents from Spain, but they immigrated into Great Britain, where Arden was born. As a result, Arden has two last names, his official name is Jeff Arden. Arden was a star in junior karting, although he couldn't win championships, he did win numerous races. He won the 1987 Formula Ford championship and was on his way to winning another in 1988 when he got a test for the Lotus F1 team. Arden's pre-F1 career is unique since he did not enter F3000 at all in his career.

Formula One Career

1989 - Coloni and Minardi

Arden started out with the Coloni team in 1989. Five races into the season and only getting through Pre-Qualifying once, he left the team to join Minardi. He got his first start in the Canadian GP only to retire with electrical problems. He didn't qualify his Minardi in the French Grand Prix after crashing the car. Arden then placed 10th and 11th in Britain and Germany respectively. At Belgium, Arden crashed at lap 4 at Eau Rouge. After barely placing himself on the grid at Monza, Arden placed 7th, then his highest finishing position. He placed 7th again in Portugal. In Australia, Arden went as high as 5th before retiring with six laps to go due to an engine problem.

1990 - Ligier and Arrows

Arden signed for Ligier in 1990. He crashed in his debut in Phoenix. Arden ran up to seventh before retiring due to engine problems. While right ahead of Ayrton Senna in Monaco, Arden slipped his car and ran into Massenet. Senna continued on with the race. Arden was up to eighth in Canada before retiring due to suspension problems. In Mexico at the last lap Arden was in sixth but retired at Turn 13 due to an oil leak, and was relegated to 10th. Mad that he didn't score a point, Arden threatened to quit the team, due to not finishing on the lead lap. He was eventually sacked due to not placing in the top 10 on the lead lap, and signed for Arrows in the second half of the season. In Hungary, he battled intensely with Larrousses' Eric Bernard, eventually placing seventh in the race. Arden again finished seventh in Italy. For the most of the Spanish Grand Prix Arden ran in sixth before having handling problems and succumbing his position to Aguri Suzuki. Finally, at the Japanese Grand Prix, Arden overtook Nicola Larini (his replacement at Ligier), Satoru Nakajima and Thierry Boutsen at the final chicane after he made an error, to take fifth place and his first two points in F1.

1991-92: Tyrrell

Arden signed with the Tyrrell team before the season. He had promised that he would honour his contract until the end of the season, unlike with Ligier in 1990. In San Marino Arden ran up to third before being punted off the track by the lapped Ivan Capelli; Arden was not pleased and nearly fought with him before marshals had to break up the fight. Arden did place sixth in the Monaco GP. He also placed sixth at the British GP. In the German GP, Arden got ahead of Senna for the first time as Senna ran out of fuel. (Arden finished 7th) He scored his third point of the F1 season as he finished sixth in Belgium. In Portugal, Arden was running fourth when his engine expired. This caused the fans who were cheering Arden to shout curse words about the Ford engines. It also caused Ford sales in Portugal to drop 50%. Then, Arden crashed out in the new Barcelona circuit. This would mark three straight retirements for Arden.

A stunner to everyone, Arden re-signed with Tyrrell despite rumours that he would get the Jordan seat. He had engine problems in South Africa and crashed in Mexico. In Brazil Arden had gearbox problems ending his race; his third straight retirement. However, he got back as he finished 6th in Spain. Arden finished seventh in San Marino, intensely competing with Pierluigi Martini's Dallara, but could have finished higher since he had a first-lap crash with Martini. In Monaco Arden retired by crashing into Massenet. Arden managed to score points in Canada and France by driving the car well. For Britain and Germany Arden retired with gearbox problems, with Germany having Arden run as high as fourth. He rebounded in Hungary as he managed to beat Ivan Capelli's Ferrari for sixth place. In Italy he retired with engine problems and crashed in Portugal. He was rumored to have been offered the drive to replace Ivan Capelli in Ferrari but reportedly turned it down, citing "mutual consent." In Japan, Arden was in fourth at the final lap only for his engine to go up in smoke. The photo of him kicking the car is a classic picture and perhaps the example of Arden's career. In Australia Arden crashed into Martini causing him to crash heavily into the barriers. Arden was ok, but claimed that an accident like his "might kill someone trying to get back their reputation someday." This accident caused his fourth straight retirement - a personal record - and finished only six times in the season, although he always finished in the top eight to make up for the number of retirements (whether his fault or not).

1993: Sauber

Arden signed with the new Sauber team for 1993. He spun into retirement at South Africa. Arden finished fourth in Brazil; his best career finish at the time. He kept finishing but not as consistently as he did with Tyrrell. Arden crashed heavily at the tunnel in Monaco. Arden placed 6th in Canada. Arden was up to 3rd in Germany but got a flat tyre as a result of Damon Hill's flat tyre, taking both out of the race. Arden lost is right rear wheel on the first lap of Belgium, causing him to go three laps down. He was not classified at the end of the race. After overtaking Riccardo Patrese on the final lap of Italy he finished fifth. He also finished sixth in Portugal.

1994-1995: McLaren

Arden was sacked from Sauber, but was signed by McLaren for a two-year contract, the first in his career. Damon Hill nearly took out Arden in Brazil. Arden responded by giving Hill the finger. Neither were pleased after the race. While trying to get through Martini in the Pacific GP, Arden collided with him and crashed heavily. Nobody took no notice. At San Marino, Arden had a bad start, and was already lapped by Ayrton Senna. Not too shortly after, Senna fatally crashed at Tamburello. Arden claimed to have witnessed the accident, and when he circled back, he was so horrified he considered retiring. He didn't finish the race, but made plans to start the next one. In Monaco, Arden qualified fourth and made it to second from the start. On lap 34, Arden overtook Michael Schumacher to take the lead, and never stopped, taking his first career win and podium. At the podium ceremony, a teary-eyed Arden waved the Brazilian flag that Rubens Barrichello gave to him shortly after San Marino, and vowed to keep it for "all eternity."

Arden followed with a fourth in Spain and a third in Canada. He then started to fall behind, not scoring in Germany due to having front wing problems, and a fifth and fourth in France and Hungary, compared to Schumacher's and Damon Hill's constant appearances on the podium. Arden crashed at Eau Rouge ending his race in Belgium. Arden finished fifth in Italy, but was none too happy when Jean Alesi nearly took him out when he retired. A dismal tenth at Portugal showed shades of Arden's days at Ligier, but his sixth place at Europe quickly changed people's minds. Arden finished off the season by placing second in Adelaide. Most people believe that Arden's win in Monaco may have altered the championship; had he not won, Schumacher would have had more points than Hill. But, Hill won the championship with 91 points to Schumachers' 88. Arden finished third in the drivers' championship and had firmly secured his McLaren drive in 1995.

Arden started off 1995 with a 4th place in Brazil. He placed 3rd in Argentina but mainly complained that Jean Alesi's Ferrari was in the way most of the race. Arden crashed at the former Tamburello corner at San Marino, since Arden hit an oil patch and spun. His second place at Spain was marred by an engine failure. Arden kept complaining to the team that the engine failure was going to be the start of things. Despite finishing a lap down Arden placed sixth on the near one-year anniversary of his maiden win in Monaco. In Canada Arden earned his first pole position but went down to third at the start, but by the 3/4 point, Arden had regained the lead, only to retire due to an oil leak. He did not run well in France finishing eighth. He also missed out in the points in Britain finishing ninth due to having a two-stop strategy.

In Hungary Arden was up to second on the final lap when he suffered an engine failure. Once again Arden kicked his car, then attempted to rip off the back wing, but it stayed on, and Arden went behind the wall. Arden said that after the race, he got an offer from Ferrari, and put it on hold. In Belgium, Arden crashed heavily into Eau Rouge trying to avoid Pedro Lamy's already lapped Minardi. He went on to earn 3rd in Italy after the two Ferrari's of Alesi and Berger retired. He then turned down the offer from Ferrari calling them "really unreliable." After a sixth in Portugal, Arden spun out at the Nurburgring. He said in a post-race interview, "don't know how that happened." After a fifth place in Japan, Arden held on for fourth after laying off due to technical problems. He retired due to an engine problem at the final race. "I don't know how many times that's happened this season," he memorably quoted. He finished off by saying "sorry I was so sh*t this year folks. You can blame the pr**ks at Mercedes if you're looking for someone to blame." He then threw out a racial slur to Germans. Arden apologized for his incident with the press.

1996-97: Jordan

Due to his inconsistency, Arden was fired by McLaren and replaced there by David Coulthard. He claims to have been offered the test position for Williams, but Arden turned it down, saying that "test drivers do sh*t compared to the second driver." He tried to get a seat at Benetton, but was once again offered a test seat, and turned it down. So he got hired by Jordan to fill in the void. The season-opener at Australia was unfortunate as Arden clumsily went into the wall at the final corner of the third lap, ending his race. A huge number of spins in Brazil relegated Arden to 8th place. He retired from Argentina due to a wheel not being fastened on properly after a pit stop. His rear wing fell off during the European Grand Prix, forcing him to retire from that Grand Prix. He ran up to fourth before going off the track, damaging his front wing in San Marino. He eventually finished eighth. Arden's engine failed on Monaco but thankfully there were enough cars retired already so Arden finished fifth in the grand prix. Arden finished sixth in Spain. Arden finished sixth again in Canada.

Arden's point streak ended in France where he finished ninth. He then said in the British Grand Prix that Eddie Irvine was "desperately slow," causing a bitter rivalry. Arden finished sixth whilst Irvine retired due to a technical problem. He also finished sixth in the German grand prix, but retired in Hungary due to his wheel falling off after a pit stop. After an anonymous race in Belgium, Arden finished fourth in Italy. After retiring in Portugal, Arden hoped to go out of the 1996 season with a bang. However, he finished outside the points.

With Williams, Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren booked for 1997, Arden resigned with Jordan. 1997 started off with a throttle trouble and retirement in Australia. He was off the pace in Brazil and finished 8th. He recovered in Argentina with a solid fifth. He finished fifth again in San Marino. His car failed in Monaco resulting in a DNF. Arden was off the pace at Spain and Canada and finished 8th and 10th respectively. After an unspectacular 9th in France, rumours were circling that Arden would be replaced at the end of the season. Arden dismissed the rumours, claiming that bad luck hampered his chances of a points position. He proved the critics wrong despite being behind Damon Hill's Arrows most of the race, he passed Hill on the last lap to take sixth position.

In Germany he was proving the critics wrong running up to third until an electrical problem made Arden pit with two laps remaining. He still finished in the points in sixth place. In Hungary he finished a respectable fifth (ahead of teammate Ralf Schumacher), but lost to the Arrows of Damon Hill. Arden called it an "insult that he lost to a crapbox." In Belgium he fared much better than Ralf Schumacher but that didn't really mean much as he spun out at Eau Rouge in the wet weather. He then said that he was leaving Jordan at the end of the season. After racing a horrific eleventh in Italy, Arden was sacked and Giancarlo Fisichella replaced him.

1998-00: Benetton

With Gerhard Berger retiring from the sport, Jeff Arden took his seat at Benetton. He was partnered (ironically) by Giancarlo Fisichella. Arden said that he took the partnership in good jest. When asked about his lacklustre preformance since his meteoric 1994 season he responded "I wouldn't be racing if I wasn't enjoying it. I enjoy racing, and I plan to keep it that way. I'll race for an eternity, if I have to!"

He started out the season impressively passing defending champion Jacques Villeneuve for fifth place in Australia. He improved in Brazil placing fourth, the first time that happened since the 1996 Italian Grand Prix (with Jordan). After an anonymous race in Argentina (placing ninth) and in San Marino (retiring due to a gearbox problem), Arden passed Jacques Villeneuve (again) for position twice during the race, finishing fifth. When asked about the defending champion, he said that "the car makes the driver. Unfortunately, the Williams looks like sh*t. I'm glad I didn't consider joining that team." Arden then crashed out of Monaco after apparently trying to avoid Jacques Villeneuve who was behind him. "I didn't want to get collided by that idiot," Arden said after the race. In Canada, Arden qualified fifth. He got a great start and went up to second; but the race was red flagged and he had to take the restart in fifth. Furious, he flipped the middle finger at one of the officials. Other than that, Arden rode to his first podium since the 1995 Italian Grand Prix with McLaren, with a third place (Fisichella placed one spot ahead of him in second). Another podium position would result in a third in France, the first consecutive podiums since 1994. His run of points ended in Britain when he spun twice in a row thus over revving his engine and causing it to fail.

Once again Arden beat Villeneuve by finishing sixth in Austria. A third in Germany by beat Villeneuve again results him jumping Fisichella in the standings. He saw the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen in Hungary but failed to capitalize and finished seventh. In Belgium Arden retired relatively early in what would become a high attrition race, with Jordan winning a 1-2 victory. When interviewed about this, Arden said "luck. Now we're supposed to hail both drivers as young legends??" The problem with the quote was, Damon Hill was 38 at the time of the victory, dismissing Arden's "young legend" theory.

Arden finished fifth in Italy and sixth in the Luxembourg GP (which was actually at the Nurburgring in Germany). The final race of the season saw Arden finish fifth, capping a season with 25 points scored and three podiums (all third places).

Arden resigned with Benetton for 1999. He had hydraulic problems ending his races in Australia and Brazil. He scored a point in San Marino. He crashed in Monaco at the first corner. In Spain Arden started fourth and finished fifth (it was his best qualifying performance in a while) In Canada Arden rammed into the Wall of Champions and went out of the race. In France Arden had reliability problems and finished eighth.

At Austria Arden rebounded by placing fourth. He also placed fourth in Germany and sixth in Hungary. He crashed at Eau Rouge again in Belgium. At the end of the race, he said "I seem to have bad luck here don't I?" After an uneventful race in Italy, Arden got second place in an eventful race in the Nurburgring. In Malaysia he did not start the race (the first time that happened since 1989, his rookie season) due to his car failing on the warmup lap before the race. In Japan he thought Irvine could pass Michael Schumacher and win the drivers' championship - but he couldn't have won the championship had he passed Schumacher unless Hakkinen retired - which he didn't - but Arden did not want to get in the way of a title - and pulled into the pits - while in fourth - claiming there was an electrical problem. When he was cleared from pitlane with no electrical problems whatsoever. Arden was let out of the pits in fifth position - out of the way of the two Ferraris of Irvine and Schumacher. Five laps later Arden retired with a suspension problem. He called the incident "bad luck."

Arden was resigned for 2000. Arden had fleeting hopes for the season but he said that the team was "like a dream," since they enjoyed his output and input into the car. He finished 14th in Australia and retired in Brazil. After a 10th in San Marino, he scored points in Britain and Spain. He scored in Europe after switching to wets right before everyone else, and moved up 10 positions to finish 4th. However, in Monaco during qualifying Arden crashed at the Tabac corner heavily and suffered a mild concussion. He withdrew from Monaco and was replaced for the next two races, missing Canada and France. His return in Austria was not enthusiastic as he crashed on Lap 12 into the backmarker of Pedro de la Rosa. Arden was not pleased and called the Spaniard a "wanker." Arden was not punished due to this, but did get some scrutiny from the media. In Germany Arden scored again placing sixth, and fifth in Hungary. Arden retired in Belgium due to a technical problem of the engine. In Italy Arden suffered a horrific crash. At lap 15 Arden spun his car on the Curve de Lesmo. Shortly after, Marc Gene's Minardi struck Arden, exploding the Benetton into pieces, seriously injuring him. Gene got out of the car without injuries, but Arden was airlifted to the hospital. He survived, but his injures will mean that he will be out for quite some time. The weekend was already sad since the first-lap collision claimed the life of a track marshal. Arden was replaced by Alexander Wurz, and the doctors have confirmed that Arden would not race in 2001.

Failed Comeback in 2003

There were rumours that Jeff Arden would comeback in Formula One for the 2003 season, despite missing the last 2 years due to injury. Arden, still under contract from Benetton (now Renault) was still up in arms about what to do with his contract. Although the doctors said that he would probably be unfit for driving, but Arden was still adamant that he would race. After Jenson Button left Renault to race for BAR, Arden was to race for Renault in the 2003 season. However, Arden failed his physical and could not race. As a result, Fernando Alonso drove for the team instead.

Off-track Life

Arden has had three wifes during his life, his first was a Spanish model whom he married in 1994. He divorced in 1995. Then he married British model Elizabeth Smith after meeting her after the 1996 British Grand Prix. He was married to Smith until 2001. Arden then remarried again, this time to another Spanish model in 2005, whom he is currently married to this day. He has one child, Sarah Maya Arden, who was born in 1997 to Smith. She has no plans to be involved in motorsport.

After his Formula One career, Arden has become an advocate for road safety in Europe. This is after his accident which ended his motorsport career, and after he got involved in many accidents around his residence in Spain.

Results

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points
1989 Coloni SpA FC188B C3 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 BRA
DNPQ
SMR
DNPQ
MON
DNPQ
MEX
DNQ
USA
DNPQ
NC 0
Minardi Team SpA M189 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 CAN
Ret
FRA
DNQ
GBR
10
GER
11
HUN
Ret
BEL
Ret
ITA
7
POR
7
ESP
Ret
JPN
11
AUS
9†
1990 Ligier Gitanes JS33B Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 USA
Ret
BRA
14
SMR
Ret
MON
Ret
CAN
Ret
MEX
10†
FRA
11
GBR
12
16th 2
Footwork Arrows Racing A11 Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8 GER
9
HUN
7
BEL
Ret
ITA
7
POR
8
ESP
7
JPN
5
AUS
Ret
1991 Braun Tyrrell Honda 020 Honda RA101E 3.5 V10 USA
8
BRA
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
6
CAN
Ret
MEX
10
FRA
11
GBR
6
GER
7
HUN
Ret
BEL
6
ITA
Ret
POR
Ret
ESP
Ret
JPN
8
AUS
16
15th 3
1992 Tyrrell Racing Organisation 020B Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10 RSA
Ret
MEX
Ret
BRA
Ret
ESP
6
SMR
7
MON
Ret
CAN
6
FRA
6
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN
6
BEL
8
ITA
Ret
POR
Ret
JPN
Ret
AUS
Ret
12th 4
1993 Sauber C12 Ilmor 2175 3.5 V10 RSA
Ret
BRA
4
EUR
9
SMR
7
ESP
10
MON
Ret
CAN
6
FRA
8
GBR
6
GER
15†
HUN
9
BEL
NC
ITA
5
POR
6
JPN
7
AUS
11
11th 8
1994 Marlboro McLaren Peugeot MP4/9 Peugeot A6 3.5 V10 BRA
6
PAC
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
1
ESP
4
CAN
3
FRA
5
GBR
3
GER
9
HUN
4
BEL
Ret
ITA
5
POR
10
EUR
6
JPN
3
AUS
2
3rd 40
1995 Marlboro McLaren Mercedes MP4/10 Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10 BRA
4
ARG
3
SMR
Ret
ESP
Ret
MON
6
CAN
Ret
FRA
8
GBR
9
GER
5
HUN
8†
BEL
Ret
ITA
3
POR
6
EUR
Ret
PAC
5
JAP
4
AUS
Ret
7th 20
1996 B&H Total Jordan Peugeot 196 Peugeot A12 EV5 3.0 V10 AUS
Ret
BRA
8
ARG
Ret
EUR
Ret
SMR
8
MON
5†
ESP
6
CAN
6
FRA
9
GBR
6
GER
6
HUN
Ret
BEL
7
ITA
4
POR
Ret
JPN
8
11th 9
1997 B&H Total Jordan Peugeot 197 Peugeot A14 3.0 V10 AUS
Ret
BRA
8
ARG
5
SMR
5
MON
Ret
ESP
9
CAN
10
FRA
9
GBR
6
GER
6
HUN
5
BEL
Ret
ITA
11
AUT
LUX
JPN
EUR
12th 8
1998 Mild Seven Benetton Playlife B198 Playlife GC37-01 AUS
5
BRA
4
ARG
9
SMR
Ret
ESP
5
MON
Ret
CAN
3
FRA
3
GBR
Ret
AUT
6
GER
3
HUN
7
BEL
Ret
ITA
5
LUX
6
JPN
5
5th 25
1999 Mild Seven Benetton Playlife B199 Playlife FB01 AUS
Ret
BRA
Ret
SMR
6
MON
Ret
ESP
5
CAN
Ret
FRA
8
GBR
10
AUT
4
GER
4
HUN
6
BEL
Ret
ITA
7
EUR
2
MAL
DNS
JPN
Ret
8th 16
2000 Mild Seven Benetton Playlife B200 Playlife FB02 AUS
14
BRA
Ret
SMR
10
GBR
5
ESP
6
EUR
4
MON
PO
CAN
FRA
AUT
Ret
GER
6
HUN
5
BEL
Ret
ITA
Ret
USA
JPN
MAL
9th 9

†Classified but retired