Enrique Bernoldi

Enrique Bernoldi
Born	(1978-10-19) October 19, 1978 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Occupation	Racing driver
Years active	1995–present
Known for	Competed in Formula One for Arrows (2001–2002), test driver for BAR/Honda (2004–2006), IndyCar Series competitor (2008), FIA GT World Championship competitor (2009–2011)

Enrique Antônio Langue e Silvério de Bernoldi (; born 19 October 1978) is a retired Brazilian professional racing driver who competed for the Arrows Formula One team during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Between 2004 and 2006, he worked as a test driver for British American Racing (which later became Honda). Bernoldi transitioned to IndyCar competition in 2008 and took part in the FIA GT World Championship from 2009 through 2011, along with participation in several other racing series.

Early career

Born on 19 October 1978 in Curitiba, Paraná, Bernoldi initially aspired to become a jockey. However, after receiving a go-kart for his seventh birthday, he found inspiration in fellow Brazilian drivers Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. Starting karting at age nine, he secured numerous regional and national titles, including victories in the Brazilian Paulista Kart Championship from 1989 to 1991 and the Brazilian Kart Championship in both 1990 and 1991. Additionally, he achieved notable placements in South American and Pan-American karting competitions.

At sixteen, Bernoldi relocated to Europe to begin his car racing career, entering the Formula Alfa Boxer series in Italy where he finished fourth in his first race. Following a strong performance in the Championnat de France Formule Renault, he won on his debut at the final round of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. The subsequent year, he dominated by winning nine out of eleven races to capture the championship before moving up to the British Formula Three with Promatecme in 1997. Despite suffering a road accident prior to his F3 debut, he claimed victory at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, ultimately finishing fifth overall and securing third place at the Macau Grand Prix. In 1998, continuing with Promatecme, Bernoldi earned six wins and finished second behind fellow Brazilian Mario Haberfeld, with strong showings at both the Masters of Formula 3 and Macau Grand Prix.

In 1999, Bernoldi advanced to the International Formula 3000 series as part of the Red Bull Junior Team, piloting a Lola T99/50-Zytek. His rookie season concluded with two points and an eighteenth-place standing; he improved modestly in 2000 by scoring five points and finishing sixteenth overall. Although considered a frontrunner for the 2001 championship following impressive testing sessions, he did not compete that year.

Bernoldi also tested for Sauber’s Formula One team during both seasons through Red Bull’s affiliation with them and participated in tests for Prost Grand Prix in 2000. While linked with potential drives at Prost, Minardi, or Sauber for the 2001 season, he ultimately signed a three-year deal with Arrows, replacing Pedro de la Rosa due to Bernoldi bringing essential sponsorship backing.

Formula One

Competing in the 2001 season behind the wheel of the A22-Asiatech car, Bernoldi demonstrated potential by occasionally matching teammate Jos Verstappen’s qualifying pace but struggled during races. He notably drew attention at the Monaco Grand Prix by holding up faster McLaren driver David Coulthard for thirty-five laps, which led to criticism from McLaren and its team principal, Ron Dennis. However, team principal Tom Walkinshaw defended Bernoldi’s performance. The season was plagued by engine failures and driver mistakes, resulting in ten retirements over seventeen starts without scoring points; his best race finish was eighth place at the German Grand Prix. Despite improving his driving skills throughout the year, Bernoldi did not contribute significantly to car development and ended the season without points in the World Drivers' Championship standings.

Although only Verstappen scored points for Arrows during 2001, Bernoldi was retained for the following year’s campaign alongside teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen, driving the Cosworth-powered A23. At the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang, he made headlines by overtaking seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher after an incident on the opening lap; however, his driving style attracted criticism from commentator Allan McNish. Financial troubles forced Arrows to withdraw from competition approximately three-quarters through the 2002 season, with Bernoldi failing again to score points across eleven races entered. Afterward, he shifted focus to the World Series by Nissan to revive his racing career following a collapsed opportunity with Jordan Grand Prix caused by legal complications.

2003–2007

During his inaugural season in the World Series by Nissan, Bernoldi secured sixth place overall, achieving two victories. He took part in an extensive Alfa Romeo evaluation aimed at securing a 2004 European Touring Car Championship drive but ultimately remained in the World Series, where he ended 2004 third in the standings with an additional two wins. Around mid-2004, Bernoldi began working as a test driver for BAR, conducting sessions at Circuito de Jerez to alleviate travel demands on the primary drivers. He also tested BAR's hybrid "Concept Car," which combined elements from their 2004 and 2005 Formula One cars. Bernoldi continued as BAR’s test driver throughout 2005 and maintained this role with the rebranded Honda Racing F1 Team in 2006, albeit with a reduced testing schedule.

Although he demonstrated strong performance during a Champ Car test for Rocketsports, his only competitive outing in 2006 was in Argentina’s TC 2000 series. In 2007, Bernoldi competed in Stock Car Brasil, taking part in 11 of 12 events and finishing the season 13th overall, including two podium finishes.

IndyCar Series

Bernoldi joined Rocketsports for the 2008 Champ Car World Series season. However, following the merger of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, Rocketsports withdrew from the unified series. Subsequently, Bernoldi signed with Conquest Racing for the 2008 IndyCar Series season. His best Champ Car result was fourth place at Long Beach, while his top finish in the merged IndyCar Series was fifteenth at the 2008 Indianapolis 500. A collision involving teammate Jamie Camara at Watkins Glen sparked public criticism of the team and rumors regarding Bernoldi’s potential exit. A thumb injury forced him to miss the final two races of the season, with Alex Tagliani stepping in as his replacement.

2009–present

In 2009, Bernoldi raced full-time for Flamengo in the Superleague open-wheel series and participated part-time in Stock Car Brasil. He also competed in the FIA GT Championship representing Sangari Team Brazil, where he earned his first victory at Paul Ricard.

The following year, he entered the newly established FIA GT1 World Championship with Vitaphone Racing, securing pole position and winning his home event at Interlagos.

For 2011, Bernoldi remained active in the series driving a Nissan GT-R for Sumo Power GT and also contested four rounds of GT Brasil with Ford GT Racing Team BMG.

In 2012, he competed in the Italian GT Championship for Vita4One Team Italy before appearing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with AF Waltrip. That year also marked his debut in the International GT Open with AF Corse piloting a Ferrari 458 GT2, alongside participation in the SPEED EuroSeries for Team JD. Additionally, he took part late in the year at the 500 Milhas de Kart do Beto Carreiro.

Bernoldi joined the International Challenge of the Stars event organized by Felipe Massa in 2013.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	Points	Position
1995	Formula Alfa Boxer	?	8	2	4	?	4th
	Championnat de France Formule Renault	?	1	0	1	?	NC
	Formula Renault Europe	?	1	1	?	32	11th
1996	Renault Spider Europe	Team Ghinzani	6	0	1	38	12th
	Championnat de France Formule Renault	?	4	2	1	?	NC
	Formula Renault Europe	Tatuus JD Motorsport	11	9	8	218	1st

Full British Formula Three Championship results

(key) (Races shown in bold denote pole positions; those in italics represent fastest laps.)

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Bolded races denote pole position; italicized races indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	Category	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Position	Points Scored
1997	Promatecme	Dallara F397	Renault	A	DON 3rd	SIL	THR	BRH 14th	SIL 6th	CRO 5th	OUL Retired	SIL 10th	PEM 8th	PEM 2nd	DON 8th	SNE 2nd	SNE 3rd	SPA 1st	SIL 2nd	THR 3rd	5th overall	127
1998	Promatecme UK	Dallara F398	Renault Sodemo	A	DON 1st	THR 1st	SIL 2nd	BRH 1st

Year	Team Entry	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final Standing	Points Accumulated
1999	RSM Marko (Red Bull Junior)	IMO 9th	MON 15th	CAT Retired	MAG 12th	SIL 20th	A1R Retired	HOC 5th	HUN 8th	SPA DNQ	NÜR DNQ	18th place finish	2 points earned

Year	Team Entry	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final Standing	Points Accumulated

Superleague Formula

(Races highlighted in bold denote pole positions; races shown in italics signify fastest laps)

Year	Team	Operator	1		2		3		4		5		6		Final Standing	Total Points
2009	Flamengo	Delta Motorsport	MAG		ZOL		DON		EST		MOZ		JAR		16th	191
			6	8	7	18	18	14	13	3			11	12

Super Final Results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6
2009	MAG DNQ	ZOL N/A	DON DNQ	EST DNQ	MOZ	JAR

Full GT1 World Championship Results

Year	Team	Vehicle	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final Position	Points Scored
2010	Vitaphone Racing Team	Maserati MC12 GT1	ABU QR Ret	ABU CR 6	SIL QR 9	SIL CR 15	BRN QR 7	BRN CR 6	PRI QR 5	PRI CR Ret	SPA QR 11	SPA CR 4	NÜR QR 7	NÜR CR 12	ALG QR 13	ALG CR Ret	NAV QR Ret	NAV CR 12	INT QR 4	INT CR 1	SAN QR 16	SAN CR 4	15th	53

Year	Team	Vehicle	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final Position	Points Accumulated
2011 FIA GT1 World Championship season	Sumo Power GT	Nissan GT-R GT1	ABU QR 4	ABU CR Ret	ZOL QR 12	ZOL CR Ret	ALG QR 8	ALG CR 7	SAC QR 4	SAC CR 4	SIL QR 4	SIL CR 7	NAV QR Ret	NAV CR 12	PRI QR 10	PRI CR 7	ORD QR 5	ORD CR Ret	BEI QR 10	BEI CR 6	SAN QR 4	SAN CR 4	12th	64

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External links

• Profile on IndyCar.com