Antônio Reginaldo Pizzonia Júnior (born 11 September 1980) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who has raced in
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
and the
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), ...
. Born in
Manaus
Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...
, he started his car racing career in the
Formula Vauxhall Junior series in 1997 and then progressed through various junior formulae, winning the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Festival in 1997, the Formula Vauxhall Junior and Formula Renault Winter Festival in 1998, the
Formula Renault 2.0 UK in 1999, and the
British Formula 3 Championship
The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single sea ...
in 2000.
For 2001 and 2002, he entered the
Formula 3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championship ...
, with his best championship finish being sixth in 2001. In 2003, he was signed by the
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
Formula One team, but following poor results, was released during the season. In 2004, he replaced the injured
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Schumacher won six Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons.
Born and raised in North Rhine-Westp ...
at
Williams in several events, securing his first Formula One points in the process.
In 2005, he replaced
Nick Heidfeld at Williams, but was released from his contract at the end of the season. Since then, he has competed in multiple series, such as the Champ Car World Series, the
Superleague Formula
Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...
,
Stock Car Brasil
The BRB Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car racing, touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in ...
, and the
FIA GT1 World Championship
The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...
.
Racing career
Pre-Formula One
From 1991 to 1996 he competed in various karting series. In 1997 he moved to
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and competed in
Formula Vauxhall Junior; Pizzonia placed second, and won the Winter Festival. In 1998, in addition to taking the Championship in Formula Vauxhall Junior, he won the
Formula Renault
Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to auto racing, motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before mov ...
Winter Festival.
His 1999 season was even more successful, winning the
Formula Renault 2.0 UK series and finishing second in the
Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. In 2000, Pizzonia took five wins on his way to winning the
British Formula 3 Championship
The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single sea ...
. For 2001, Pizzonia switched to the
Formula 3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championship ...
series, winning one race and finishing sixth in the championship.
Formula One
In
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, Pizzonia was hired as test driver for
Williams, but also continued in F3000, placing 8th. After impressive testing performances, he was signed by the
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
team to partner
Mark Webber for
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
, replacing the axed
Pedro de la Rosa
''Autosport'' 1 November 2002
. However, following a string of poor results, he was dropped late in the season and replaced by
Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...
's
Justin Wilson.
In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
he returned to Williams as test driver. Before the
German Grand Prix
The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...
, it was announced that Pizzonia would take over from
Marc Gené
Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams and Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory ...
, who had been filling in for the injured
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Schumacher won six Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons.
Born and raised in North Rhine-Westp ...
. At the German Grand Prix, he finished 7th to take his first 2 career points; he repeated the feat at the
Hungarian Grand Prix.
In
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, he briefly led an F1 race for the first time, but failed to finish the race due to a gearbox problem, whilst running in 3rd place. He claimed a further 2 points in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(during which he achieved the fastest ever recorded top speed in a F1 race at the time, 369.9 km/h, until Juan Pablo Montoya eclipsed this record the following year), but with the announcement of Ralf Schumacher's return for the
Chinese Grand Prix, Pizzonia's racing was over for the year.
Prior to the
2005 season, Pizzonia was in a virtual shoot-out with
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Nick Heidfeld for the second race seat at Williams alongside Webber. Despite Pizzonia's experience with the team and financial support from
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
, Heidfeld was given the seat.
Pizzonia was still employed at Williams as a test driver, and when Heidfeld complained of headaches after being
concussed in a crash during the Friday Practice Session at
Monza
Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
, Pizzonia gained the chance to race. Having not entered an F1 race since the
2004 Italian Grand Prix, the Brazilian qualified 16th, coming through the field to emulate his 2004 race result — picking up 7th place and 2 points. He then raced in the
Belgian Grand Prix. where he incurred a fine for taking out 2nd placed
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...
just a few laps from the end. Pizzonia also took the drive in the
Brazilian Grand Prix
The Brazilian Grand Prix (), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix (), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos neighborhood, Cidade Dutra, São Paulo. The in ...
, but his race was over before the first corner after taking out his own teammate
Mark Webber resulting from a collision with
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...
.
Despite some speculation that GP2 champion
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German and Finnish former racing driver and entrepreneur, who competed under the German flag in Formula One from to . Rosberg won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes, and w ...
would be given an opportunity in the last two races of the season, Pizzonia completed the season for Williams. He retired from the
Japanese Grand Prix early after spinning off, and retired from (but was classified as a finisher in) the
Chinese Grand Prix after a puncture. Having been replaced by
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German and Finnish former racing driver and entrepreneur, who competed under the German flag in Formula One from to . Rosberg won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes, and w ...
for
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
and failing to find a seat elsewhere, Pizzonia's Formula One career was over.
Post-Formula One
In 2006, he drove for
Paul Gentilozzi's
Rocketsports team in the
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), ...
'
Long Beach Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in Downtown Long Beach, downtown Long Beach, California. It was the premier race on the ...
and returned to the team towards the end of the season for races where
Tõnis Kasemets
Tõnis Kasemets (born March 17, 1974) is an Estonian racing driver and a former competitor in the CART Champ Car World Series. He won the 2022 IMSA Prototype Challenge championship.
Career
Kasemets started racing karts in 1982, winning the Bal ...
did not have sponsorship to race.
In 2007, Pizzonia was racing for
Fisichella Motor Sport
Fisichella Motor Sport is a motorsport team, founded by Italian Formula One driver Giancarlo Fisichella and his manager Enrico Zanarini.
Racing history Euroseries 3000
Fisichella Motor Sport had a team, run by Scuderia Coloni, racing in the ...
in the
GP2 series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecc ...
.
In May, he was dropped in favour of
Adam Carroll after only scoring 1 point in 5 races. After that, he returned to Brazil and entered into competition in
Stock Car Brasil
The BRB Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car racing, touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in ...
, a Brazilian national championship, from July.
He has competed in the series every year since then, and has also raced in
Superleague Formula
Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...
(
SC Corinthians) and the
FIA GT1 World Championship
The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation, SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. I ...
.
In 2012, Pizzonia made a one-off guest appearance in the
Auto GP World Series when the championship visited the Brazilian
Curitiba
Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...
circuit. Driving for the
Ombra Racing team, he won both races, immediately slotting himself into ninth position in the championship.
In 2014 and 2015, Pizzonia competed in the Auto GP series, with
Zele Racing.
Pizzonia returned to open-wheel racing in 2023, in the
BOSS GP
The BOSS GP Racing Series is a motor racing series in Europe. The category originated in 1995 as the BOSS Formula series and evolved into the EuroBOSS Series. BOSS is an acronym that stands for Big Open Single Seaters.
History
The BOSS serie ...
series, with
HS Engineering in a
Gibson-engined
Dallara T12, winning both races overall at the season-opener at
Paul Ricard
Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...
. He has subsequently won every race in his class. He won the Open class title at
TT Circuit Assen
The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT, it is popularly referred to as "The Cathedral of Speed" by motorcycle racing fans. The venue has the distinction of holding th ...
.
Racing record
Career summary
Complete British Formula Three Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula One results
(
key)
Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
American open wheel Racing
(
key)
Complete Champ Car results
IndyCar
¹ ''Run on same day''
² ''Non-points-paying, exhibition race''
Complete GP2 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Superleague Formula
2008–2009
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
2009 Super Final Results
*Super Final results in 2009 did not count for points towards the main championship.
2011
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Brazilian competitions
Stock Car Brasil
† Ineligible for championship points.
Complete Auto GP results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
‡ Position when season was cancelled.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
Complete BOSS GP Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
References
External links
News of Antônio Pizzonia (Article)Antonio Pizzonia on YouTube*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzonia, Antonio
1980 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Manaus
Brazilian people of Italian descent
British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
Brazilian Formula One drivers
Jaguar Formula One drivers
Williams Formula One drivers
Brazilian Champ Car drivers
Brazilian IndyCar Series drivers
GP2 Series drivers
Brazilian GP2 Series drivers
International Formula 3000 drivers
Superleague Formula drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Stock Car Brasil drivers
FIA GT1 World Championship drivers
Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom
Auto GP drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
Manor Motorsport drivers
Ombra Racing drivers
Scuderia Coloni drivers
EuroInternational drivers
Alan Docking Racing drivers
Conquest Racing drivers
Rocketsports Racing drivers
Brazilian racing drivers