Joseph Théodule Marie Schlesser (18 May 1928 – 7 July 1968)[1] was a French Formula One and sports car racing driver.

Schlesser began his motor sport career in 1952, when he rallied a Panhard before, in 1954, trying the then popular French class of racing known as Monomill.

[2] His career was then interrupted for three years whilst he was working in Mozambique[2] but he returned to Europe in 1957 when he finished second in the Rome–Liège–Rome Rally in a Mercedes.

The Honda team had completed an experimental air-cooled Formula One car (the RA302) which had been tested by their works driver John Surtees.

The magnesium-bodied Honda and 58 laps' worth of fuel ignited instantly, leaving Schlesser no chance of survival.

As a result, Honda withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 1968 season after Surtees had again refused to drive the car in the Italian Grand Prix.