Zsolt Baumgartner

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Zsolt Baumgartner
Baumgartner racing for the Minardi F1 team at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2004
Nationality	Hungarian
World Championship Career
Active years	2003 - 2004
Team(s)	Jordan, Minardi
Races	20
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	2003 Hungarian Grand Prix


Last race	2004 Brazilian Grand Prix

Zsolt Baumgartner (born January 1, 1981, Debrecen, Hungary) is a former Formula One racing driver formerly in the employ of the Minardi team. He hails from Budapest and was the first Hungarian driver in Formula One. As of March 2007 he is the test and reserve driver for Minardi Team USA.

1 Career
- 1.1 Career statistics
- 1.2 Complete Formula One results
2 Other resources
- 2.1 External links

[edit] Career

Zsolt made his race debut at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix, substituting for the injured Ralph Firman in the Jordan team; he also took part in the Italian Grand Prix that year.

Plans were made for Zsolt to drive for Jordan in 2004 with sponsorship from oil company Mol Rt. However, Zsolt failed to agree terms with Jordan, forcing him to sign with Minardi instead. This caused Mol Rt. to decrease its sponsorship amount, leading Zsolt and his management to set up a "Zsolt Baumgartner Supporter's Club", a plan similar to that employed by Justin Wilson in 2003.

Zsolt failed to distinguish himself in the 2004 Formula One season; however, after two near-misses (9th in Monaco and 10th in Canada) he managed to take Minardi's first point in over 2 years by finishing 8th (albeit second last) in the US Grand Prix. Although his speed was not spectacular, he impressed many with his hard-working and determined approach. Michael Schumacher said he was one of the most intelligent backmarkers he has encountered in recent Formula One history.

In March 2007 he was confirmed as test and reserve driver for Minardi Team USA, former boss Paul Stoddart's recently acquired Champ Car World Series team.

[edit] Career statistics

Grands Prix started: 20
Points: 1
Best championship position: 20th in 2004 (24th in 2003)
Most points in one season: 1 (2004)
Best race classification: 8th (2004 United States Grand Prix)
Best grid position: 17th (2004 Australian, Malaysian and European Grands Prix)

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Team
2003	Jordan	AUS	MYS	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	FRA	GBR	DEU	HUN Ret	ITA 11	USA	JPN			Jordan
2004	Minardi	AUS Ret	MYS 16	BAH Ret	SMR 15	ESP Ret	MON 9	EUR 15	CAN 10	USA 8	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	DEU 16	HUN 15	BEL Ret	ITA 15	CHN 16	JPN Ret	BRA 16	Minardi