 Ribeiro in 2021 | |
| Born | 7 November 1948 Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Brazilian |
| Active years | 1976 - 1977, 1979 |
| Teams | Hesketh, March, Fittipaldi |
| Entries | 20 (10 starts) |
| Career points | 0 |
| First entry | 1976 United States Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1979 United States Grand Prix |
Alex Dias Ribeiro (born November 7, 1948) [1] is a former racing driver from Brazil. He entered in 20 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix but scored no World Championship points.
After solid graduation from the lower formulae (he placed fifth in the 1976 European Formula Two season), Ribeiro paid for his drive in the March Formula One team for the 1977 season (his main sponsors were Caixa Econômica Federal and Souza Cruz).
However, the season turned into a nightmare. March owner Max Mosley hired four drivers, and the team simply could not provide for them all. Ribeiro's reputation as a driver suffered.
In 1978, he tried to save his credentials as a racing driver and set up a privately owned F2 team to enter the 1978 European Formula Two season, a year dominated by the March factory team. His car was painted with the words "Jesus Saves", which he also painted his Formula One cars. [2] Ribeiro managed to win the Nürburgring round dramatically after favorites Bruno Giacomelli and Marc Surer retired from the race. The rest of the season, however, bore no fruit.
Then, in 1979, the fellow Brazilian Fittipaldi team offered him two chances to qualify a second car, for the Canadian and American Formula One Grand Prix. However, the team was concentrating on former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, and Ribeiro failed to qualify for both events.
He subsequently went on to perform chaplaincy at the F1 events he attended as the driver of the Medical Car and is arguably the most accomplished driver in the 'Christians In Motorsport' group.
In 1994, he joined the Brazil national football team as a pastor at the FIFA World Cup in the United States. He held worship services for the team and later wrote a book about the team's journey to victory, titled "Who won the '94 World Cup?" (¿quién Ganó La Copa Mundial?). [3]
At the 2000 Monaco Grand Prix, Ribeiro crashed her Medical Car at the Tabac curve before Saturday morning practice, and passenger doctor Sid Watkins broke three ribs. At the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, Ribeiro was involved in a potentially serious incident. During the morning warm-up on race day Sunday, Enrique Bernoldi crashed his Arrows in Turn 2. When Ribeiro, driving the Medical Car, went out to check on Bernoldi, he opened the door to the car. Just as he opened it, Nick Heidfeld came along in his Sauber and smashed into the open door. Both Ribeiro and Heidfeld were uninjured.
In 1981, Ribeiro wrote an autobiographical book called "Mais Que Vencedor" (rough translation "More Than A Winner"), in which he names March owner Max Mosley "Mack Mouse" and March engineer Robin Herd "Robin Hood". He owned a motorbike shop in Brasilia where both Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno worked as young mechanics, therefore having the unusual distinction that the same shop produced 3 Formula One drivers.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | March Engineering | March 752 | BMW | EST | THR | HOC | NÜR | PAU | HOC | SAL | ROU | MUG | PER | SIL | ZOL | NOG | VAL Ret | NC | 0 |
| 1976 | March Engineering | March 762 | BMW | HOC 13 | THR 2 | VAL 3 | SAL 5 | PAU 6 | HOC Ret | ROU Ret | MUG 4 | PER 2 | EST 3 | NOG 5 | HOC Ret | 5th | 31 | ||
| 1977 | March Engineering | March 772P | BMW | SIL | THR 3 | HOC | NÜR | DON 8 | 14th | 4 | |||||||||
| AFMP Euroracing | March 772 | VAL 14 | PAU | MUG | |||||||||||||||
| Fred Opert Racing | Chevron B40 | Hart | ROU 7 | NOG | PER | MIS DNQ | EST | ||||||||||||
| 1978 | Alex Ribeiro | March 782 | Hart | THR 15 | HOC 6 | NÜR 1 | PAU 12 | MUG 10 | VAL NC | ROU 10 | DON Ret | NOG Ret | PER 7 | MIS 13 | HOC | 8th | 11 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Hesketh Racing | Hesketh 308D | Cosworth V8 | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | USA 12 | JPN | NC | 0 | |
| 1977 | Hollywood March Racing | March 761B | Cosworth V8 | ARG Ret | BRA Ret | RSA Ret | USW Ret | ESP DNQ | MON DNQ | BEL DNQ | SWE DNQ | FRA DNQ | GBR DNQ | GER 8 | AUT DNQ | NED 11 | ITA DNQ | USA 15 | CAN 8 | JPN 12 | NC | 0 |
| 1979 | Fittipaldi Automotive | Fittipaldi F6A | Cosworth V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN DNQ | USA DNQ | NC | 0 |
Emerson Fittipaldi is a Brazilian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1970 to 1980. Fittipaldi won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 1972 and 1974 with Lotus and McLaren, respectively; he won 14 Grands Prix across 11 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Fittipaldi won the IndyCar World Series in 1989 with Patrick, and is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.
Martin John Brundle is a British former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1996. In endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Championship in 1988 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990, both with Jaguar; he also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1988 with Jaguar. Since retiring from racing, Brundle has been a commentator for ITV, the BBC and Sky.
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 2000 to 2011.
Antônio Reginaldo Pizzonia Júnior is a Brazilian professional racing driver who has raced in Formula One and the Champ Car World Series. Born in Manaus, he started his car racing career in the Formula Vauxhall Junior series in 1997 and then progressed through various junior formulae, winning the Formula Vauxhall Junior Winter Festival in 1997, the Formula Vauxhall Junior and Formula Renault Winter Festival in 1998, the Formula Renault 2.0 UK in 1999, and the British Formula 3 Championship in 2000.
The 2001 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 4 March 2001 at the Albert Park Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, before a crowd of 128,500 people. It was the first round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the 16th Australian Grand Prix that counted towards the Formula One World Championship. Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the 58-lap race from pole position. David Coulthard of the McLaren team finished second and Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello third. It was Schumacher's fifth consecutive victory in Formula One and the 45th of his career.
The 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 31 March 2002 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the third round of the 2002 Formula One season and the thirty-first Brazilian Grand Prix. The 71-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher after starting from the second position. Ralf Schumacher finished second for the Williams team with David Coulthard third in a McLaren.
The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 May 2002 at the A1-Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. It was the sixth round of the 2002 Formula One World Championship and the 25th Austrian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship. Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the 71-lap race starting from third position. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second, and Juan Pablo Montoya took third for the Williams team.
The 2002 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2002 Formula One season and was held on 9 June 2002 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Michael Schumacher won his sixth Grand Prix of the season and his fifth Canadian Grand Prix win. Schumacher fended off the challenges of Juan Pablo Montoya, who later retired, and his teammate Rubens Barrichello, whose race strategy cost him a chance of victory and demoting him to third. Fresh off his victory at Monaco, David Coulthard finished second in the race and earned his fourth podium finish of the season.
The 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It was the 55th FIA Formula One World Championship, and was contested over eighteen races from 7 March to 24 October 2004.
The 1973 Formula One season was the 27th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series that commenced on 28 January and ended on 7 October. The season also included two non-championship races which were open to both Formula One and Formula 5000 cars.
The 1972 Formula One season was the 26th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on 23 January and ended on 8 October after twelve races.
Enrique Antônio Langue e Silvério de Bernoldi is a Brazilian professional racing driver who raced for the Arrows Formula One team in 2001 and 2002, and was the test driver for British American Racing between 2004 and 2006. He entered IndyCar racing in 2008, and competed in the FIA GT World Championship between 2009 and 2011, in addition to entering multiple other competitions.
Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior was a Brazilian racing driver and Formula One team owner. He participated in 38 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 May 1972, scoring a total of three championship points. He ran the Fittipaldi Formula One team between 1974 and 1982. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races.
Fittipaldi Automotive, sometimes called Copersucar after its first major sponsor, was a Formula One racing team and constructor that competed from 1975 to 1982. It was the only Formula One team to have been based in Brazil. The team was formed during 1974 by racing driver Wilson Fittipaldi and his younger brother, double world champion Emerson, with money from the Brazilian sugar and alcohol cooperative Copersucar. The team raced under a Brazilian licence. Emerson Fittipaldi became a driver for the team in 1976 after leaving McLaren, but was unable to replicate his earlier success with the family-owned team. Future world champion Keke Rosberg took his first podium finish in Formula One with the team.
David Walker was an Australian racing driver who drove for Lotus in the 1971 and 1972 Formula One World Championships.
Sauber Motorsport AG currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993. Sauber operated under their own name from 1993 until 2005 and from 2011 until 2018. They were known as BMW Sauber from 2006 to 2010 and as Alfa Romeo from 2019 to 2023 in partnership deals with BMW and Alfa Romeo, respectively. Sauber returned in 2024 as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and is set to be the Audi works team from 2026 onwards, with the German outfit planning to acquire the Swiss team.
Mário Haberfeld is a Brazilian auto racing driver.
There have been 32 Formula One drivers who have represented Brazil, including three world champions. Ayrton Senna, the three-time title winner, is regarded by many as the best driver in the history of Formula One. Nelson Piquet also won the title three times and Emerson Fittipaldi was a two-time winner. Rubens Barrichello, who used to hold the record for the most races contested with 322 starts, finished as the championship runner-up in two seasons. Following the retirement of Felipe Massa after the 2017 season, in 2018 there were no Brazilian drivers entered for the World Championship, the first time this had occurred since 1969. As of 2024, the last Brazilian driver to take part in a Formula One race was Pietro Fittipaldi in the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Pietro Fittipaldi da Cruz is a Brazilian racing driver, currently competing in the IndyCar Series for RLL and serving as a reserve driver in Formula One for Haas. Fittipaldi competed in Formula One at two Grands Prix in 2020.
The Fittipaldi F6 was a Formula One car designed by Ralph Bellamy and used by Fittipaldi Automotive in the 1979 Formula One season. The engine was a Ford Cosworth DFV, and the car was driven by Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi but achieved no points during the season. The car was modified to become the F6A, used later in 1979 and was succeeded by the Fittipaldi F7.