Pedro Diniz
Pedro Paulo Diniz ( May 22nd, 1970 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian entrepreneur and former racing driver. From 1995 to 2000 he was active in Formula 1.
- 3.1 Statistics in Formula 1 3.1.1 Individual Results
Racing career
Beginnings in motorsport
Diniz started in 1987 and so unusually late with the karting on. His extremely wealthy family financed the young Brazilian his hobby. Formula Ford came Diniz, 1990 in the South American Formula 3, before he decided to pursue professional motorsport and for that to go to Europe. In 1991 he moved to the British Formula 3 in England. His compatriot Rubens Barrichello, while Diniz was very unsuccessful in this series champions in the same year. After another year in Formula 3, he decided to change the formula in 3000. Here he remained for two years without success, before the Italian Forti team paved the way from the formula in the 3000 Formula 1 sponsor with millions of his father. In return Diniz received one of the two racing cockpit and had thus made the leap to the highest class of motorsports.
Formula 1
Forti (1995 )
At the Grand Prix of Brazil 1995 Diniz debuted with the yellow Forti racers in Formula 1 The car, however, was too slow and unreliable, as the Brazilians would thus be able to achieve any success - let alone to advance only in the points. At the start of his F1 career Diniz was also ridiculed by the international press as " pay driver " who owes his place in the starting line-up just the bulging purse of his father. After he but his experienced team-mate Roberto Moreno again and again was able to leave behind, even the criticism of Diniz was quieter.
Ligier (1996 )
Since he saw no successful future in Forti, Diniz is a cockpit bought for the 1996 season using an Italian dairy company unceremoniously in the French tradition Ligier team, which the British racing magnate Tom Walkinshaw belonged at this time. There Diniz went to the side of the force as quickly and reliably Frenchman Olivier Panis the JS43. During rainy race in Spain Diniz managed a sixth place his first championship point. Experts rated the performance of the Brazilian but a lucky hit, which would be due to the fact many failures. Additional confirmation received by the critics, the fact that Panis was always the faster Ligier - pilot, even managed a sensational victory in Monaco.
Arrows (1997-1998)
After the Ligier team had been sold to the former world champion Alain Prost, who wanted to shape it into a French national team, there was no room for Diniz. He moved along with his former team boss to Arrows where Walkinshaw had bought himself. In addition to the Japanese partner Yamaha Motor Walkinshaw won a lot of money with the reigning world champion Damon Hill, who was no longer welcome at Williams to drive for him. While Hill nearly won the Hungarian Grand Prix 1997, Diniz managed a fifth place at the Nurburgring as the best performance of the season.
Although Hill the team left after only a year, and Yamaha withdrew from Formula 1, Diniz was during the 1998 season on board and got as teammates fast Finn Mika Salo placed on the page. Arrows Yamaha bought from the previous engines and developed them in-house. Diniz took three championship points as many a as be stronger eingeschätzter teammate Salo.
Sauber (1999-2000)
For the following year, he moved with his sponsor Parmalat against the Swiss team Sauber, where he met the former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi. While Alesi could only enter two points, Diniz managed to sensation: He ran three times at number six and thus had at the end of three championship points - one more than the highly rated Alesi.
Diniz ' last season took him to the 2000 season at Sauber with his old team -mate Mika Salo together. But this time the Brazilians against the Finn did not succeed in the lurch. Salo drove a six championship points and thus distanced Diniz, who succeeded no counter. After the season Diniz retired from active motorsport, to devote himself to the management.
Career after active motor sports
In 2000, the family Diniz bought 40 percent of Prost racing team, Pedro Diniz took over as a result the management of the team. After the team was disbanded, however, due to financial difficulties at the end of 2001, the name Diniz finally disappeared from Formula 1
Since then, Diniz endeavor whose family owns the supermarket chain Pão de Açúcar and one of the richest families in Brazil is to promote the South American Formula Renault.