In 1977 he began racing sports cars, and in 1981 he attempted the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time, placing second with Philippe Streiff and Jacky Haran.

Schlesser was working as a test driver for Williams[2] when he gained his first taste of Formula One (F1) in early 1983 when he bought a drive in the RAM team's March-RAM 01-Cosworth.

In 1988, Williams called upon Schlesser to deputise for an unwell Nigel Mansell at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

With 26 of the 31 cars allowed to start, Schlesser qualified 22nd, and thus made his Grand Prix debut the day before his 40th birthday.

Going into the tight Rettifilo chicane at the end of the start-finish straight, Schlesser went wide, expecting Senna to pass on the inside, and in the process locked his brakes.

Wishing to keep his car on the track, Schlesser turned inside, and his left front wheel hit Senna's right rear.

[3] Twenty-five years later, at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren chairman Ron Dennis was reintroduced to Schlesser.

In 1988, he joined the Sauber-Mercedes squad full-time, winning the German Supercup and finishing the World Sportscar Championship in second place, (behind Martin Brundle).

In the 2001 Dakar he was near victory but penalised one hour for unsportsmanlike conduct after illegally blocking his closest competitor both at the start and during the penultimate stage.