Ricardo Zonta

Ricardo Luiz Zonta (born March 23, 1976) is a Brazilian professional racing driver.

Ricardo Zonta
Zonta in 2007, as a Stock Car Brasil driver
BornRicardo Luiz Zonta
(1976-03-23) 23 March 1976
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Brazilian
Active years19992001, 20042005
TeamsBAR, Jordan, Toyota
Entries38 (36 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points3
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1999 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry2005 United States Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1998, 2008
TeamsAMG-Mercedes, Peugeot
Best finish3rd (2008)
Class wins0

Early career

Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Zonta began karting in 1987, winning his first race shortly thereafter. The following year, he was runner-up for the Curitiba Karting Championship, and in 1991, he won the title. He continued karting until 1992, finishing fourth in the São Paulo Karting Championship before progressing to single-seaters for 1993. He finished 6th in the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship, and then in 1994, came fifth in the Brazilian Formula Three Championship. A year later, Zonta won both the Brazilian and South American Formula Three Championships.

Moving to Europe in 1996, Zonta competed in the International Formula 3000 Championship for Draco Racing, winning two races and finishing fourth overall. In the same year, he became the first Brazilian to compete in International Touring Cars, with Mercedes. In 1997, he won three races and the Formula 3000 championship. He also took home the "Golden Helmet" award for best international driver for his efforts. The Jordan Formula One team signed him as their official test driver following his championship, and in 1998, he was signed by McLaren boss Ron Dennis. Zonta tested with the McLaren Formula One team in 1998, and concurrently won the FIA GT Championship (GT1 class) and the "Golden Helmet" award in the "world prominence" category.

In October 1998, immediately after winning the FIA GT championship, Zonta signed up with the B.A.R. Formula One racing team as one of its race drivers for the 1999 season,[1][2] after rejecting offers from Jordan and Sauber.[3]

Formula One career

Zonta qualifying in place of an injured Ralf Schumacher at the 2005 United States Grand Prix.

In 1999, Zonta started as a Formula One racing driver alongside 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve at new team BAR. He injured his foot in an accident during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and was forced to miss three races. He also had a large accident at Spa-Francorchamps, and finished the season with no championship points. Zonta remained with BAR for the 2000 season, scoring his first world championship point with a sixth place in the opening race. He had another large accident when his front suspension broke during testing at Silverstone, but continued the season, scoring points in both the Italian and United States Grands Prix, to finish 14th in the championship. Replaced by Olivier Panis for the 2001 season, Zonta became the third driver for the Jordan team, replacing the injured Heinz-Harald Frentzen for one race, and then again when Frentzen was sacked, but was overlooked to replace him for the remainder of the season.

In 2002, he decided to focus on the Telefónica World Series, which he won. Zonta was then hired as test driver for the Toyota F1 team in 2003, retaining the position in 2004. Toward the end of the season, the team sacked Cristiano da Matta from a race seat, and Zonta drove in four Grands Prix. In Belgium, he was running in fourth place three laps from the finish when his engine failed. In Suzuka the team hired Jarno Trulli and Zonta had to sit the event out, but the team allowed him to compete in his home race, the Brazilian Grand Prix, which he finished in 13th. He continued as a test driver for Toyota in 2005, alongside veteran French pilot Olivier Panis. At the US Grand Prix later that year, he stood in for the injured Ralf Schumacher and took his place on the grid, only for Toyota, like the other six Michelin-shod teams, to withdraw from the race due to safety concerns. 2006 saw Zonta continue with Toyota as the team's third and test driver. He was confirmed as test driver for the Renault Formula One team for the 2007 season on 6 September 2006.[4]

After Formula One

In 2007, Zonta entered the Stock Car Brasil series in parallel with the work for the Renault team.[5] In 2008, he contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot Sport, driving the #9 car alongside Franck Montagny and Formula One tester Christian Klien. He is also driving in the Grand Am Championship in America with Krohn Racing, while also being the team owner and driver of Panasonic Racing in Stock Car Brasil.

Racing career

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1996 Draco Engineering NÜR
Ret
PAU
3
PER
Ret
HOC
6
SIL
3
SPA
9
MAG
Ret
EST
1
MUG
1
HOC
11
4th 27
1997 Super Nova Racing SIL
DSQ
PAU
Ret
HEL
Ret
NÜR
1
PER
2
HOC
1
A1R
2
SPA
5
MUG
1
JER
Ret
1st 39

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1998 AMG-Mercedes Jean-Marc Gounon
Christophe Bouchut
Mercedes-Benz CLK LM GT1 31 DNF DNF
2008 Peugeot Sport Total Franck Montagny
Christian Klien
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 379 3rd 3rd

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 WDC Pts.
1999 British American Racing BAR 01 Supertec V10 AUS
Ret
BRA
DNQ
SMR MON ESP CAN
Ret
FRA
9
GBR
Ret
AUT
15
GER
Ret
HUN
13
BEL
Ret
ITA
Ret
EUR
8
MAL
Ret
JPN
12
NC 0
2000 Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda BAR 002 Honda V10 AUS
6
BRA
9
SMR
12
GBR
Ret
ESP
8
EUR
Ret
MON
Ret
CAN
8
FRA
Ret
AUT
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN
14
BEL
12
ITA
6
USA
6
JPN
9
MAL
Ret
14th 3
2001 B&H Jordan Honda Jordan EJ11 Honda V10 AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN
7
EUR FRA GBR GER
Ret
HUN BEL ITA USA JPN 19th 0
2004 Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF104 Toyota V10 AUS
TD
MAL
TD
BHR
TD
SMR
TD
ESP
TD
MON
TD
EUR
TD
CAN
TD
USA
TD
FRA
TD
GBR
TD
GER
TD
22nd 0
Toyota TF104B HUN
Ret
BEL
10
ITA
11
CHN
Ret
JPN BRA
13
2005 Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF105 Toyota V10 AUS
TD
MAL
TD
BHR
TD
SMR
TD
ESP
TD
MON
TD
EUR
TD
CAN
TD
USA
DNS
FRA GBR
TD
GER
TD
HUN
TD
TUR
TD
ITA
TD
BEL
TD
BRA
TD
JPN
TD
CHN
TD
NC 0

Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete Stock Car Brasil results

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Pos Points
2007 L&M Racing Peugeot 307 INT
DNQ
CTB
22
CGD
26
INT
Ret
LON
Ret
SCZ
11
CTB
Ret
BSB
25
ARG
9
TAR
Ret
RIO
15
INT
22
29th 13
2008 Panasonic Racing Peugeot 307 INT
14
BSB
Ret
CTB SCZ CGD INT RIO LON
22
CTB BSB
7
TAR
Ret
INT
5
24th 23
2009 RZ Motorsport Peugeot 307 INT
DSQ
CTB
6
BSB SCZ INT
25
SAL RIO
10
CGD
14
CTB
14
BSB
2
TAR
Ret
INT
13
16th 48
2010 RZ Corinthians Motorsport Chevrolet Vectra INT
Ret
CTB
13
VEL
15
RIO
Ret
RBP
8
SAL
Ret
INT
Ret
CGD
5
LON
21
SCZ BSB
Ret
CTB
5
20th 36
2011 Crystal Racing Team Chevrolet Vectra CTB
3
INT
8
RBP
Ret
VEL
11
CGD
16
RIO
22
INT
15
SAL
7
SCZ
21
LON
5
BSB
20
VEL
25
15th 51
2012 Linea Sucralose Chevrolet Sonic INT
26
CTB
Ret
VEL
6
RBP
19
LON
12
RIO
24
SAL
14
CGD
22
TAR
10
CUR
Ret
BRA
8
INT
5
13th 89
2013 BMC Racing Chevrolet Sonic INT
23
CUR
6
TAR
4
SAL
28
BRA
9
CAS
14
RBP
18
CAS
29
VEL
5
CUR
8
BRA
8
INT
1
7th 144
2014 RZ Motorsport Chevrolet Sonic INT
1
24
SCZ
1

17
SCZ
2

5
BRA
1

5
BRA
2

24
GOI
1

Ret
GOI
2

Ret
GOI
1

17
CAS
1

14
CAS
2

22
CUR
1

31
CUR
2

DNS
VEL
1

5
VEL
2

5
SCZ
1

23
SCZ
2

16
TAR
1

6
TAR
2

3
SAL
1

7
SAL
2

Ret
CUR
1

Ret
14th 108
2015 Shell Racing Chevrolet Sonic GOI
1

21
RBP
1

Ret
RBP
2

Ret
VEL
1

13
VEL
2

8
CUR
1

24
CUR
2

Ret
SCZ
1

12
SCZ
2

14
CUR
1

6
CUR
2

18
GOI
1

3
CAS
1

2
CAS
2

14
MOU
1

11
MOU
2

12
CUR
1

Ret
CUR
2

9
TAR
1

5
TAR
2

9
INT
1
8
13th 147
2016 Shell Racing Chevrolet Sonic CUR
1

5
16th 130
Chevrolet Cruze VEL
1

14
VEL
2

DNS
GOI
1

16
GOI
2

4
SCZ
1

10
SCZ
2

9
TAR
1

Ret
TAR
2

8
CAS
1

2
CAS
2

10
INT
1
22†
LON
1

Ret
LON
2

5
CUR
1

14
CUR
2

Ret
GOI
1

Ret
GOI
2

DSQ
CRI
1

DSQ
CRI
2

DNS
INT
1
13
2017 Shell Racing Chevrolet Cruze GOI
1

Ret
GOI
2

1
VEL
1

Ret
VEL
2

6
SCZ
1

7
SCZ
2

18
CAS
1

18
CAS
2

DSQ
CUR
1

22
CRI
1

4
CRI
2

10
VCA
1

17
VCA
2

11
LON
1

16
LON
2

1
ARG
1

14
ARG
2

12
TAR
1

13
TAR
2

10
GOI
1

2
GOI
2

19
INT
1
13
11th 174
2018 Shell V-Power Chevrolet Cruze INT
1
4
CUR
1

20
CUR
2

8
VEL
1

2
VEL
2

7
LON
1

13
LON
2

11
SCZ
1

13
SCZ
2

13
GOI
1

6
MOU
1

12
MOU
2

DSQ
CAS
1

16
CAS
2

9
VCA
1

8
VCA
2

4
TAR
1

3
TAR
2

Ret
GOI
1

DSQ
GOI
2

Ret
INT
1

1
8th 184
2019 Shell V-Power Chevrolet Cruze VEL
1

11
VCA
1

DSQ
VCA
2

DSQ
GOI
1

2
GOI
2

21
LON
1

26
LON
2

17
SCZ
1

5
SCZ
2

11
MOU
1

19
MOU
2

20
INT
1
8
VEL
1

12
VEL
2

18
CAS
1

14
CAS
2

15
VCA
1

6
VCA
2

4
GOI
1

18
GOI
2

7
INT
1
Ret
14th 155
2020 RCM Toyota Corolla GOI
1

1
GOI
2

Ret
INT
1
3
INT
2
1
LON
1

11
LON
2

13
CAS
1

9
CAS
2

Ret
CAS
3

2
VCA
1

12
VCA
2

4
CUR
1

12
CUR
2

6
CUR
3

5
GOI
1

Ret
GOI
2

5
GOI
3

10
INT
1
2
2nd 278

Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

FIA GT Championship results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rank Points
1998 AMG Mercedes GT1 Mercedes-Benz CLK LM Mercedes-Benz M119 6.0L V8 OSC
1
SIL
4
HOC
2
DIJ
1
HUN
2
SUZ
2
DON
2
A1R
1
HMS
1
LAG
1
1st 77

GT1 World Championship results

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Points
2010 Reiter Lamborghini ABU
QR

10
ABU
CR

5
SIL
QR
SIL
CR
BRN
QR
BRN
CR
PRI
QR

13
PRI
CR

10
SPA
QR

2
SPA
CR

1
NÜR
QR

4
NÜR
CR

14
ALG
QR
ALG
CR
NAV
QR

1
NAV
CR

1
INT
QR

Ret
INT
CR

Ret
SAN
QR
SAN
CR
8th 75
2011 Sumo Power GT Nissan ABU
QR

4
ABU
CR

Ret
ZOL
QR

12
ZOL
CR

Ret
ALG
QR

8
ALG
CR

7
SAC
QR
SAC
CR
SIL
QR
SIL
CR
NAV
QR
NAV
CR
PRI
QR
PRI
CR
ORD
QR
ORD
CR
BEI
QR
BEI
CR
SAN
QR
SAN
CR
28th 9

FIA GT Series results

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Points
2013 BMW Sport Trophy Team Brasil BMW Z4 GT3 Pro NOG
QR

6
NOG
CR

9
ZOL
QR

11
ZOL
CR

8
ZAN
QR

9
ZAN
CR

5
SVK
QR

7
SVK
CR

4
NAV
QR
NAV
CR
BAK
QR

14
BAK
CR

Ret
15th 29

References

  1. Grandprix.com article, retrieved September 6, 2006
  2. Gazeta do Povo, retrieved April 3, 2007
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Cristiano da Matta
Brazilian Formula 3 Championship
Champion

1995
Succeeded by
Pedro Piquet
(2014)
Preceded by
Gabriel Furlán
Formula 3 Sudamericana
Champion

1995
Succeeded by
Gabriel Furlán
Preceded by
Jörg Müller
International Formula 3000
Champion

1997
Succeeded by
Juan Pablo Montoya
Preceded by
Bernd Schneider
FIA GT Championship
Champion

1998
With: Klaus Ludwig
Succeeded by
Olivier Beretta
Karl Wendlinger
Preceded by
Franck Montagny
World Series by Nissan
Champion

2002
Succeeded by
Franck Montagny
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