Patrick Friesacher

Patrick Friesacher

Born 26 September 1980
Wolfsberg, Carinthia, Austria
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality Austria 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

Friesacher at the 2005 British Grand Prix.

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

  1. Freeman, Glenn (ed.) (August 2008). "First A1GP group test delayed after crash". Autosport 193 (7): p.16.

External links

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