Pedro Diniz

Pedro Diniz
Born 22 May 1970 (1970-05-22) (age 41)
São Paulo, Brazil
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Brazilian
Active years 1995–2000
Teams Forti, Ligier, Arrows, Sauber
Races 99 (98 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 10
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First race 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last race 2000 Malaysian Grand Prix

Pedro Paulo Diniz (born in São Paulo on May 22, 1970) is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 99 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 26, 1995. He scored a total of 10 championship points.

Contents

Biography

One of the richest men ever to sit in a Formula One cockpit, Diniz's motor racing career progressed as a result of his father, Abílio dos Santos Diniz, owning the Brazilian distribution company Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição and the supermarket chain Pão de Açúcar.[1] After several years in junior formulae, he joined the Forti F1 team in 1995, largely funded by the Diniz family's wealth and sponsorship connections. This in turn led to a long-term marketing deal with Parmalat, backing he took throughout his career.[2] Diniz's first year was unsuccessful; the Forti cars proving to be at least several seconds a lap slower than the ultimate pace.

Diniz moved to the more established Ligier team for 1996, a blow to the Forti team's finances which saw it fail to complete its second season in the sport. At the Argentine Grand Prix, his car burst into flames after a pit-stop due to its fuel valve sticking open; British newspaper The Sun famously printed the photo alongside the headline "Diniz in the Oven".[3] However, he also scored his first championship points at the Spanish and Italian Grands Prix, both races of attrition in which he impressed by staying in the race.

For 1997, Diniz moved to the Arrows team, where he was partnered by reigning champion Damon Hill after the latter's departure from the Williams outfit. Diniz embarrassed Hill by outqualifying him at the challenging Spa circuit in Belgium, and then again at the tough Suzuka Circuit. He also took a personal best finish of fifth at the Luxembourg Grand Prix. He remained at the team in 1998 alongside Mika Salo, matching his higher-rated team-mate for points.

Two seasons with Sauber were largely unspectacular in terms of results, although he outscored team-mate Jean Alesi in 1999. He had a huge crash in the 1999 European Grand Prix, from which he was lucky to walk away after his car's roll hoop failed as a result of the impact. While his reputation had advanced from his early days, it dropped again in 2000 after he failed to score a point for the first time since 1995. At Hockenheim he side-swiped Alesi (now driving for Prost) resulting in a huge crash, and was also given a stop-go penalty for an incident in Austria which damaged several cars.[4] He decided to retire at the end of the season, buying into the Prost team, which folded a year later.[1] By that time his relationship with team-owner Alain Prost had soured.[5]

After Formula One

Diniz returned to Brazil and operated the Brazilian Formula Renault championship from 2002 to 2006. Currently, he operates several companies in the country.

Helmet

Diniz's helmet design is a base colour of dark blue with three arrows shaded from yellow to red: two around the sides and one over the top. It is based on the design of compatriot Carlos Pace.

Racing record

Prior To F1

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 DC Points
1993 Forti Corse DON
Ret		 SIL
Ret		 PAU
DNQ		 PER
7		 HOC
Ret		 NÜR
16		 SPA
14		 MAG
11		 NOG
14		 NC 0
1994 Forti Corse SIL
Ret		 PAU
Ret		 CAT
10		 PER
Ret		 HOC
Ret		 SPA
9		 EST
4		 MAG
Ret		 13th 3

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 WDC Points
1995 Parmalat Forti Ford Forti FG01 Ford EDB 3.0 V8 BRA
10		 ARG
NC		 SMR
NC		 ESP
Ret		 MON
10		 CAN
Ret		 FRA
Ret		 GBR
Ret		 GER
Ret		 HUN
Ret		 BEL
13		 ITA
9		 POR
16		 EUR
13		 PAC
17		 JPN
Ret		 AUS
7		 NC 0
1996 Equipe Ligier Gauloises Blondes Ligier JS43 Mugen Honda MF301HA 3.0 V10 AUS
10		 BRA
8		 ARG
Ret		 EUR
10		 SMR
7		 MON
Ret		 ESP
6		 CAN
Ret		 FRA
Ret		 GBR
Ret		 GER
Ret		 HUN
Ret		 BEL
Ret		 ITA
6		 POR
Ret		 JPN
Ret		 15th 2
1997 Danka Arrows Yamaha Arrows A18 Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 AUS
10		 BRA
Ret		 ARG
Ret		 SMR
Ret		 MON
Ret		 ESP
Ret		 CAN
8		 FRA
Ret		 GBR
Ret		 GER
Ret		 HUN
Ret		 BEL
7		 ITA
Ret		 AUT
13		 LUX
5		 JPN
12		 EUR
Ret		 16th 2
1998 Danka Zepter Arrows Arrows A19 Arrows T2-F1 3.0 V10 AUS
Ret		 BRA
Ret		 ARG
Ret		 SMR
Ret		 ESP
Ret		 MON
6		 CAN
9		 FRA
14		 GBR
Ret		 AUT
Ret		 GER
Ret		 HUN
11		 BEL
5		 ITA
Ret		 LUX
Ret		 JPN
Ret		 14th 3
1999 Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C18 Petronas SPE-03A 3.0 V10 AUS
Ret		 BRA
Ret		 SMR
Ret		 MON
Ret		 ESP
Ret		 CAN
6		 FRA
Ret		 GBR
6		 AUT
6		 GER
Ret		 HUN
Ret		 BEL
Ret		 ITA
Ret		 EUR
Ret		 MAL
Ret		 JPN
11		 14th 3
2000 Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C19 Petronas SPE 04A 3.0 V10 AUS
Ret		 BRA
DNS		 SMR
8		 GBR
11		 ESP
Ret		 EUR
7		 MON
Ret		 CAN
10		 FRA
11		 AUT
9		 GER
Ret		 HUN
Ret		 BEL
11		 ITA
8		 USA
8		 JPN
11		 MAL
Ret		 18th 0

References

  1. ^ a b "The Diniz Family buys into Prost". Grandprix.com. 2000-11-30. http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns03225.html. Retrieved 2007-01-13. 
  2. ^ "Forti - getting ready for action". Grandprix.com. 1995-02-06. http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns00011.html. Retrieved 2007-01-13. 
  3. ^ "Stan the Man signs off". ITV-F1.com. unknown. http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Thru_The_Lens&PO_ID=33717. Retrieved 2007-01-13. 
  4. ^ "Mika makes a comeback". Grandprix.com. 2000-07-16. http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr656.html. Retrieved 2007-01-13. 
  5. ^ "Sauber v Prost". Grandprix.com. 2001-05-23. http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ftdt035.html. Retrieved 2007-01-13. 

External links