Antônio Pizzonia is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One during the early 2000s. Known for his blistering speed in junior categories and strong testing performances, Pizzonia’s F1 career featured flashes of talent—though it ultimately stalled amid missed opportunities and bad timing. After his time in Formula One, he went on to race in Champ Car, Superleague Formula, Stock Car Brasil, and the FIA GT1 World Championship.
| Nationality | Brazilian |
|---|---|
| Born | Antônio Reginaldo Pizzonia Júnior 11 September 1980 Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil |
Early Career and Rise Through the Ranks
From Manaus, Brazil, Pizzonia launched his car racing career in 1997 in the British-based Formula Vauxhall Junior series. He immediately made an impact, winning the Winter Festival that year. More success followed in 1998, when he claimed both the Formula Vauxhall Junior and Formula Renault Winter Festival titles. In 1999, he secured the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship, and capped off his junior dominance with victory in the 2000 British Formula 3 Championship.
From there, Pizzonia graduated to International Formula 3000 in 2001 and 2002, achieving a best finish of sixth in the championship standings. His raw speed earned him attention from Formula One teams—and a shot at the big time.
Formula One Career
Williams Test Driver & Jaguar Debut: 2002–2003
In 2002, Pizzonia was signed by Williams as a test driver, while still racing in F3000. Despite only finishing eighth in the series, his F1 testing pace was enough to secure him a race seat for 2003 with Jaguar Racing, lining up alongside Mark Webber. He replaced Pedro de la Rosa and entered the season with high expectations.
However, the partnership quickly soured. Pizzonia struggled to match Webber’s pace and consistency, and after a string of underwhelming performances, Jaguar dropped him late in the year. He was replaced by Justin Wilson, who joined from Minardi.
Comeback with Williams: 2004
Pizzonia returned to Williams in 2004 as the team’s test and reserve driver. When Ralf Schumacher suffered a serious injury mid-season, Pizzonia was called up to race—initially Marc Gené had been given the seat, but after two poor showings, Williams turned to the Brazilian for the 2004 German Grand Prix.
He made an immediate impact. At Hockenheim, he scored his first Formula One points by finishing seventh. He matched that result at the 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix, proving a capable stand-in. In Belgium, Pizzonia even led briefly and was running in third before a gearbox failure ended his charge. He added another two points at Monza, and along the way, recorded what was then the fastest top speed in F1 history: 369.9 km/h (229.8 mph)—a record that stood until Juan Pablo Montoya topped it the following year.
Despite his solid performances, Pizzonia returned to the sidelines when Ralf Schumacher was cleared to return for the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix.
Back in the Spotlight: 2005
Ahead of the 2005 season, Pizzonia found himself in a head-to-head shootout with Nick Heidfeld for the second Williams race seat. Despite his familiarity with the team and backing from Petrobras, it was Heidfeld who got the nod.
Pizzonia resumed his duties as Williams’ test driver, but an unexpected opportunity came at Monza when Heidfeld was sidelined with concussion symptoms following a crash. Pizzonia was drafted in at the last minute and delivered once again—qualifying 16th and finishing seventh to score two more points.
He kept the seat for the remaining races of the year. In Belgium, however, he collided with Juan Pablo Montoya late in the race, eliminating the McLaren driver while he was running second. At the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix, Pizzonia’s race ended almost instantly—taken out at Turn 1 in a chain reaction that also ended teammate Webber’s race.
Despite speculation that Nico Rosberg—newly crowned GP2 champion—might get a shot in the final two races, Williams stuck with Pizzonia. He retired early from the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix after a spin, and limped to the end of the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix with a puncture, classified but not running at the finish.
Exit from Formula One
With Rosberg signed as a full-time driver for 2006 and no other offers on the table, Pizzonia’s time in Formula One came to an end. Over the course of his career, he made 20 Grand Prix starts, scoring a total of 8 championship points.
Antonio Pizzonia Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2003–2005 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Jaguar, Williams |
| Entries | 20 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 8 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 2003 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2005 Chinese Grand Prix |
Antonio Pizzonia Teammates
| 3 Drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Webber | 16 | 2003 | 2005 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 4 | 2004 | |
| Nick Heidfeld | 1 | 2005 |
Antonio Pizzonia Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Jaguar Racing F1 Team | Jaguar R4 | Cosworth V10 | AUS 13 † | MAL Ret | BRA Ret | SMR 14 | ESP Ret | AUT 9 | MON Ret | CAN 10 † | EUR 10 | FRA 10 | GBR Ret | GER | HUN | ITA | USA | JPN | 21st | 0 | |||
| 2004 | BMW Williams F1 Team | Williams FW26 | BMW P84 3.0 V10 | AUS | MAL | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER 7 | HUN 7 | BEL Ret | ITA 7 | CHN | JPN | BRA | 15th | 6 | |
| 2005 | BMW Williams F1 Team | Williams FW27 | BMW P84/5 3.0 V10 | AUS | MAL | BHR | SMR | ESP | MON | EUR | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | TUR | ITA 7 | BEL 15 † | BRA Ret | JPN Ret | CHN 13 † | 22nd | 2 |
