Ricardo Zonta
Ricardo Zonta | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 23, 1976 Curitiba, Brazil |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | Formula One driver, Stock Car Pro Series competitor |
Ricardo Luiz Zonta (; born March 23, 1976) is a professional racing driver from Brazil. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, piloting the No. 10 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross for the RCM Motorsport team.
Early career
Originating from Curitiba, Brazil, Zonta started karting in 1987 and quickly claimed victory in his debut race. By 1991, he had won the Curitiba Karting Championship and continued to advance by securing fourth place in the São Paulo Karting Championship in 1992. Transitioning to single-seater racing in 1993, he finished sixth in the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship and improved to fifth in the Brazilian Formula Three Championship the following year. In 1995, Zonta captured both the Brazilian and the South American Formula Three titles.
In 1996, he relocated to Europe to compete in the International Formula 3000 Championship with Draco Racing, achieving two victories and concluding the season fourth overall. That same year, he became the first Brazilian driver to participate in International Touring Cars, racing for Mercedes. The following year, Zonta secured three wins en route to claiming the Formula 3000 championship and was honored with the "Golden Helmet" award as the top international driver. Building on this momentum, he joined Jordan as their official test driver before being signed by McLaren principal Ron Dennis in 1998. Throughout that year, he conducted test sessions for McLaren and triumphed in the GT1 class of the FIA GT Championship, earning a second "Golden Helmet" award recognizing his global impact.
Shortly after clinching the FIA GT title in October 1998, Zonta committed to a race seat with the newly formed B.A.R. Formula One team for the 1999 season, opting for B.A.R. over offers from both Jordan and Sauber.
Formula One career
Zonta launched his Formula One journey in 1999 with the debutant team BAR, partnering with 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. A foot injury sustained during practice at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix sidelined him for three races, and he concluded the season without scoring points. Remaining with BAR in 2000, he earned his first championship point by finishing sixth at the season opener and added further points at the Italian and United States Grands Prix, ultimately ranking 14th in the standings. In 2001, after being replaced by Olivier Panis, Zonta served as Jordan's third driver and briefly filled in for the injured Heinz-Harald Frentzen, but was not retained for subsequent races.
Zonta shifted focus to the Telefónica World Series in 2002, where he secured the championship title. He then took on a test driver role with the Toyota F1 squad during 2003 and 2004. Late in 2004, following the departure of Cristiano da Matta, Zonta competed in four Grands Prix; notably running in fourth place at Belgium until an engine failure occurred. He missed the Japanese Grand Prix when Toyota signed Jarno Trulli, but returned to race at his home event in Brazil, finishing thirteenth. Continuing as Toyota's test driver alongside Olivier Panis in 2005, Zonta substituted for an injured Ralf Schumacher at the US Grand Prix; however, Toyota and six other teams equipped with Michelin tires withdrew due to safety concerns. In 2006, he retained his position as Toyota's third and test driver before being appointed as test driver for Renault F1 ahead of the 2007 season.
Post-Formula One Endeavors
In 2007, Zonta took part in the Stock Car Brasil championship while simultaneously serving as a test driver for the Renault Formula One outfit. The following year, 2008, saw him compete in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans event representing Peugeot Sport, piloting the #9 vehicle alongside teammates Franck Montagny and Formula One development driver Christian Klien.
Additionally, he participated in the Grand Am series in the United States with Krohn Racing and managed as well as drove for his own team, RZ Motorsport, in Stock Car Brasil.
Personal Background
Within Zonta's family, two members—Billy and Brendon—have pursued careers in motorsport. Billy raced in the Sprint Race circuit until his retirement in 2016 following a battle with cancer. Brendon is currently active in the NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race continuation series, competing behind the wheel of the No. 7 Ford Mustang within the AM division.
Summary of Career
Full International Formula 3000 Results
(legend) (Entries shown in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics represent fastest lap)
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | Fastest Laps | Podiums | Points | Final Standing | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Formula Chevrolet | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |||
| 1994 | Formula 3 Sudamericana | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | |||
| 1995 | Formula 3 Sudamericana | Cesário Fórmula | 13 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 76 | Champion (1st) | |||
| 1996 | 1996 International Formula 3000 Championship | Draco Racing | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 27 | 4th place | |||
| 1996 International Touring Car Championship | Mercedes-AMG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29th place | ||||
| 1997 | 1997 International Formula 3000 Championship | Super Nova Racing | 10 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 77 | Champion (1st) | |||
| 1998 | 1998 FIA GT Championship | Mercedes-AMG | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 77 | Champion (1st) | |||
| 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | Not Classified (NC) | |||||
| 1999 | 1999 Formula One season | British American Racing | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22nd place | |||
| 2000 | 2000 Formula One season | British American Racing | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14th place | |||
| 2001 | 2001 Formula One season | Jordan Grand Prix | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19th place | |||
| 2002 | 2002 World Series by Nissan
|align=left nowrap | Gabord Competicion | 18 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 268 |
Champion (1st) |- |
2003 |
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1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Not Classified (NC) |
|
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colspan=7| Test Driver | ||||||||||
| 2004 |
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5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
22nd place | |||
| 2005 |
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1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Not Classified (NC) | |||
| 2006 |
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colspan=7 | Test Driver | |||||||||
|
2007 |
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align=left nowrap | L&M Racing |
12 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
13 |
29th place | |||
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colspan=7 | Test Driver | ||||||||||
|
2008 |
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align=left nowrap | L&M Racing |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
24th place | |||
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1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
N/A |
style="background:#FFDF9F;"
3rd place | ||||
| 2009 |
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align=left nowrap || RZ Motorsport |
9 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
48 |
16th place | |||
|
2010 |
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align="left"nowrap|| RZ Motorsport |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
36 |
20th place | |||
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12 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
75 |
8th place | ||||
|
2011 |
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align="left"nowrap|| RZ Motorsport |
12 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
51 |
15th place | |||
align="left"nowrap|| 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship
|
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|
6
|
0
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
9
|
28th place
| ||||
| 2012
|
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|
align="left"nowrap|| RZ Motorsport
|
12
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
89
|
13th place
| |||
| 2013
|
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|
align="left"nowrap|| RZ Motorsport
|
12
|
1
|
...
|
1
|
1
|
144
|
7th place
| |||
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|
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|
BMW Sport Trophy Team Brasil
|
10
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
29
|
15th place
| |||
| 2014
|
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|
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|
21
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
1
|
108
|
14th place
| |||
| 2015
|
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|
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|
Shell Racing
|
21
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
2
|
147
|
13th place
| ||
| 2016
|
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|
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|
Shell Racing
|
21
|
...
|
1
|
...
|
1
|
130
|
16th place
| ||
| 2017
|
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|
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|
Shell V-Power
|
22
|
2
|
...
|
2
|
3
|
174
|
11th place
| ||
| 2018
|
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|
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|
Shell V-Power
|
21
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
184
|
8th place
| ||
| 2019
|
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|
align="left"nowrap ||
|
Shell V-Power
|
21
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
1
|
155
|
14th place
| ||
| 2020
|
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2020 Stock Car Brasil Championship
|
align="left"nowrap||
RCM Motorsport
|
18
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
278
|
style="background:#DFDFDF;"
| ||||
| 2021
|
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2021 Stock Car Brasil Championship
|
align="left"nowrap||
RCM Motorsport
|
24
|
1
|
1
|
7
|
307
|
4th place
| ||||
| 2022
|
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2022 Stock Car Pro Series
|
align="left"nowrap||
RCM Motorsport
|
23
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
6
|
262
|
5th place
| |||
| 2023
|
|
align="right"|24 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
280 |
style="background:#FFDF9F;"
Third Place
| ||||
| 2024
|
align="right"|25
|
...
|
...
|
1
|
5
|
864
|
4th Place
|
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Championship Position |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Draco Engineering | NÜR Retired |
PAU 3rd |
PER Retired |
HOC 6th |
SIL 3rd |
SPA 9th |
MAG Retired |
EST 1st |
MUG 1st |
HOC 11th |
4th | 27 |
| 1997 | Super Nova Racing | SIL Disqualified |
PAU Retired |
HEL Retired |
NÜR 1st |
PER 2nd |
HOC 1st |
A1R 2nd |
SPA 5th |
MUG 1st |
JER Retired |
1st | 39 |
Full International Touring Car Championship Results
(legend) (Pole positions are in bold; fastest laps are marked in italics)
| Year | Team | Vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | Championship Standing |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes C-Class V6 |
style="background:#EFCFFF;" | NÜR |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | NÜR |
29th |
0 |
FIA GT Championship Full Results
| Year | Team | Category | Vehicle | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Final Position | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | AMG Mercedes | GT1 | Mercedes-Benz CLK LM | Mercedes-Benz M119 6.0L V8 | OSC 1st |
SIL 4th |
HOC 2nd |
DIJ 1st |
HUN 2nd |
SUZ 2nd |
DON 2nd |
A1R 1st |
HMS 1st |
LAG 1st |
Champion | 77 |
24 Hours of Le Mans Performance
| Year | Racing Team | Drivers | Automobile | Division | Completed Laps | Overall Result | Class Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Germany AMG-Mercedes |
Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Jean-Marc Gounon |
Mercedes-Benz CLK LM | GT1 | 31 | DNF (Did Not Finish) | DNF (Did Not Finish) |
| 2008 | Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Peugeot Sport Total |
Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Franck Montagny |
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP | LMP1 | 379 | 3rd Overall | 3rd in Class |
Comprehensive Formula One Results
(key)
| Season | Team Entry | Car Model | Engine Type | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | R18 | R19 | World Championship Standing (WDC) | Points Scored (Pts) |
|---|
| 1999 | British American Racing | BAR 01 | Supertec V10 | Retired | Did Not Qualify | — | — | — | Retired | 9th | Retired | 15† | Retired | 13th | Retired | Retired | 8th | Retired | 12th | — | 22nd | 0 | ||
| Lucky Strike BAR Honda | BAR 002 | Honda V10 | 6th | 9th | 12th | Retired | 8th | Retired | Retired | 8th | Retired | Retired | Retired | 14th | 12th | 6th | 6th | 9th | Retired | colspan=2 | — | 14th | 3 |
| Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda | Jordan EJ11 | Honda V10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7th | — | — | — | Retired | — | — | — | — | colspan=2 | — | 19th | 0 |
| Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF104 / TF104B | Toyota V10 | Test Driver* (first nine rounds) | Retired (Hungary) | 10th† (Belgium) | 11th (Italy) | Retired (China) | 13th (Brazil) | colspan=7 | — | 22nd | 0 |
| Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF105 | Toyota V10 | Test Driver* (initial eight rounds) | Did Not Start (USA) | — | Test Driver* (subsequent nine rounds) | ! Not Classified | 0 |
|---|
† Driver did not finish but was classified after completing over 90% of the race distance.
Full World Series by Nissan results
(legend) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics signify fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Gabord Competición | VAL1 1 1 |
VAL1 2 3 |
JAR 1 1 |
JAR 2 1 |
ALB 1 2 |
ALB 2 2 |
MNZ 1 5 |
MNZ 2 5 |
MAG 1 1 |
MAG 2 2 |
CAT 1 1 |
CAT 2 1 |
VAL2 1 1 |
VAL2 2 2 |
CUR 1 1 |
CUR 2 1 |
INT 1 DNS |
INT 2 5 |
Champion | 270 |
Complete Stock Car Pro Series results
| Year | Team | Car | Key outcomes | Final standing | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | L&M Racing | Peugeot 307 | Frequent retirements and low placements | 29th | 13 |
| 2008 | L&M Racing | Peugeot 307 | Several retirements, best result was seventh place | 24th | 23 |
| 2009 | RZ Motorsport | Peugeot 307 | Enhanced consistency, highest finish second, finished sixteenth overall | 16th | 48 |
| 2010 | RZ Motorsport | Chevrolet Vectra | Mixed performances with multiple retirements, ended twentieth overall | 20th | 36 |
| 2011 | RZ Motorsport | Chevrolet Vectra | Achieved a podium finish (third), steady mid-field results, finished fifteenth | 15th | 51 |
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 | Ranking | Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Reiter | Lamborghini | ABU QR 10 |
ABU CR 5 |
SIL QR |
SIL CR |
BRN QR |
BRN CR |
PRI QR 13 |
PRI CR 10 |
SPA QR 2 |
SPA CR 1 |
NÜR QR 4 |
NÜR CR 14 |
ALG QR |
ALG CR |
NAV QR 1 |
NAV CR 1 |
INT QR Ret |
INT CR Ret |
SAN QR |
SAN CR |
8th place | 75 points |
| 2011 | Sumo Power GT | Nissan | ABU QR 4 |
ABU CR Retired |
ZOL QR 12 |
ZOL CR DNF |
ALG QR 8 |
ALG CR 7 |
28th position |
9 points |
Full FIA GT Series results
| Year | Team Name | Car Model | Category | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | Round 10 | Round 11 | Round 12 | Final Standing | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | BMW Sport Trophy Team Brasil | BMW Z4 GT3 | Pro Class | NOG QR 6 |
NOG CR 9 |
ZOL QR 11 |
ZOL CR 8 |
ZAN QR 9 |
ZAN CR 5 |
SVK QR 7 |
SVK CR 4 |
NAV QR |
NAV CR |
BAK QR 14 |
BAK CR Retired |
15th place | 29 points |