Patrick Friesacher
 Friesacher at the 2005 United States Grand Prix | |
| Born |
26 September 1980 Wolfsberg, Carinthia, Austria |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Austrian |
| Active years | 2005 |
| Teams | Minardi |
| Races | 11 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 3 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 2005 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last race | 2005 British Grand Prix |
Patrick Friesacher (born 26 September 1980 in Wolfsberg) is an Austrian racing driver who drove for the Minardi Formula One team during the first half of the 2005 season.
Early career
Friesacher began Kart racing at the age of 10 in 1990 and became the first Red Bull junior driver in 1994. In 1998, he moved to the French Formula Campus series, finishing third in the season. In 1999, Friesacher advanced to the French Formula 3 'B' class, before moving to the German Formula 3 series in 2000.
In 2001, Friesacher jumped to Formula 3000, where he scored three top-six finishes for the Red Bull Junior team. He stayed with Red Bull throughout the next two years, winning a race at the Hungaroring in 2003 after recovering from a broken arm sustained during a race earlier in the season. Later that year, he joined the Super Nova squad; in 2004, he won another race (again in Hungary), this time for the Coloni team. At the end of 2004, Friesacher was dropped from the Red Bull Junior Team.
Formula One
In November 2004, Friesacher tested for Minardi at the Misano circuit in Italy, impressing team principal Paul Stoddart. On 14 February 2005, he signed a one-year deal to race alongside Christijan Albers, another former Formula 3000 driver and F1 rookie. ITV's Martin Brundle noted during his debut race that he felt Friesacher had never looked like a potential F1 driver.
In the 2005 United States Grand Prix he picked up three Formula One Championship points despite finishing last; this is because he came sixth out of the six drivers who competed as seven teams pulled out for tyre safety reasons.
On 19 July 2005, it was announced that Friesacher had been dropped from the Minardi team due to the failure of his personal sponsors to pay Minardi the amounts agreed at the start of the season. He was replaced in the lineup by Robert Doornbos, who completed the rest of the season for Minardi.
A1GP Commitments
In 2006, Friesacher joined the A1 Grand Prix of nations racing for his home country, Austria for the Mexican Grand Prix, clinching 18th in his first A1GP qualifying session. He then went on to finish tenth and ninth, scoring a total of three points for the team. He has also been a test driver of the new A1 GP chassis scheduled for introduction in the 2008–09 season. During a test session at the Magny-Cours circuit in August 2008, a suspension failure caused the car to crash. Friesacher sustained three crushed vertebrae in the accident.[1]
Re-emergence in ALMS
In early 2008, American Le Mans Series team Risi Competizione announced that Friesacher had been hired to co-drive the team's second Ferrari F430 racing car. Partnered with the young Harrison Brix, Friesacher made his series debut at the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, a sprint event held on a street-course in Saint Petersburg, Florida. He missed part of the season due to his back injury sustained in A1 GP testing.
Racing record
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 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Red Bull Junior Team F3000 | INT Ret |
IMO 5 |
CAT 8 |
A1R Ret |
MON Ret |
NUR 10 |
MAG 4 |
SIL 19 |
HOC 11 |
HUN 4 |
SPA 10 |
MNZ Ret |
13th | 8 |
| 2002 | Red Bull Junior Team | INT 10 |
IMO 5 |
CAT 11 |
A1R 5 |
MON 2 |
NUR 4 |
SIL 7 |
MAG 7 |
HOC Ret |
HUN 6 |
SPA 16 |
MNZ Ret |
10th | 14 |
| 2003 | Red Bull Junior Team F3000 | IMO 2 |
CAT Ret |
A1R | MON | NUR Ret |
MAG 11 |
SIL 5 |
HOC 3 |
HUN 1 |
MNZ 2 |
5th | 36 | ||
| 2004 | Super Nova Racing | IMO 9 |
CAT 4 |
MON 5 |
NUR Ret |
5th | 33 | ||||||||
| Coloni Motorsport | MAG 3 |
SIL 5 |
HOC DNS |
HUN 1 |
SPA 5 |
MNZ Ret |
Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Yr | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Minardi Cosworth | Minardi PS04B | Cosworth V10 | AUS 17 |
MAL Ret |
BHR 12 |
21st | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Minardi PS05 | SMR Ret |
ESP Ret |
MON Ret |
EUR 18 |
CAN Ret |
USA 6 |
FRA Ret |
GBR 19 |
GER | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | BRA | JPN | CHN |
Complete A1 Grand Prix 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 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | A1 Team Austria | GBR SPR |
GBR FEA |
GER SPR |
GER FEA |
POR SPR |
POR FEA |
AUS SPR |
AUS FEA |
MYS SPR |
MYS FEA |
UAE SPR |
UAE FEA |
RSA SPR |
RSA FEA |
IDN SPR |
IDN FEA |
MEX SPR 10 |
MEX FEA 9 |
USA SPR |
USA FEA |
CHN SPR |
CHN FEA |
19th | 14 |
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Patrick Friesacher. |
- Official website for Patrick Friesacher
- Patrick Friesacher profile and statistics
- F1 Rejects profile