Ricardo Zonta - WikiHQ

Ricardo Luiz Zonta (; born March 23, 1976) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 10 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross for RCM Motorsport.

Early career

Born in Curitiba, Brazil, Zonta began karting in 1987, winning his first race shortly thereafter. The following year, he was runner-up for the Curitiba Karting Championship, and in 1991, he won the title. He continued karting until 1992, finishing fourth in the São Paulo Karting Championship before progressing to single-seaters for 1993. He finished sixth in the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet Championship, and then in 1994, came fifth in the Brazilian Formula Three Championship. A year later, Zonta won both the Brazilian and South American Formula Three Championships.

Moving to Europe in 1996, Zonta competed in the International Formula 3000 Championship for Draco Racing, winning two races and finishing fourth overall. In the same year, he became the first Brazilian to compete in International Touring Cars, with Mercedes. In 1997, he won three races and the Formula 3000 championship. He also took home the "Golden Helmet" award for best international driver for his efforts. The Jordan Formula One team signed him as their official test driver following his championship, and in 1998, he was signed by McLaren boss Ron Dennis. Zonta tested with the McLaren Formula One team in 1998, and concurrently won the FIA GT Championship (GT1 class) and the "Golden Helmet" award in the "world prominence" category.

In October 1998, immediately after winning the FIA GT championship, Zonta signed up with the B.A.R. Formula One racing team as one of its race drivers for the 1999 season, after rejecting offers from Jordan and Sauber. He was then hired as test driver for the Toyota F1 team in 2003, retaining the position in 2004. Toward the end of the season, the team sacked Cristiano da Matta from a race seat, and Zonta drove in four Grands Prix. In Belgium, he was running in fourth place three laps from the finish when his engine failed. In Suzuka the team hired Jarno Trulli and Zonta had to sit the event out, but the team allowed him to compete in his home race, the Brazilian Grand Prix, which he finished in 13th. He continued as a test driver for Toyota in 2005, alongside veteran French pilot Olivier Panis. At the US Grand Prix later that year, he stood in for the injured Ralf Schumacher and took his place on the grid, only for Toyota, like the other six Michelin-shod teams, to withdraw from the race due to safety concerns. 2006 saw Zonta continue with Toyota as the team's third and test driver. He was confirmed as test driver for the Renault Formula One team for the 2007 season on 6 September 2006.

After Formula One

In 2007, Zonta entered the Stock Car Brasil series in parallel with the work for the Renault team. In 2008, he contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot Sport, driving the No. 9 car alongside Franck Montagny and Formula One tester Christian Klien.

Zonta is also driving in the Grand Am Championship in America with Krohn Racing, while also being the team owner and driver of RZ Motorsport in Stock Car Brasil.

Personal life

Two of Zonta's relatives, Billy and Brendon, are also racing drivers. Billy used to compete in the Sprint Race series until he was forced to retire in 2016 after being diagnosed with cancer. Brendon is currently active in Sprint Race's continuation series NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, driving the No. 7 Ford Mustang in the AM class.

Racing career

Career summary

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align:center"

! Season

! Series

! Team

! Races

! Wins

! Poles

! F/Laps

! Podiums

! Points

! Position

! 1993

|align=left nowrap| Formula Chevrolet

|align=left nowrap| ?

| ?

! 1994

|align=left nowrap| Formula 3 Sudamericana

|align=left nowrap| ?

| ?

! 1995

|align=left nowrap| Formula 3 Sudamericana

|align=left nowrap| Cesário Fórmula

| 13

| 6

| 5

| 7

| 9

| 76

!style="background:#fbffbf;"| 1st

!rowspan=2| 1996

|align=left nowrap| International Formula 3000 Championship

|align=left nowrap| Draco Engineering

| 10

| 2

| 1

| 2

| 4

| 27

| 4th

|align=left nowrap| International Touring Car Championship

|align=left nowrap| Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG

| 2

| 0

| 29th

! 1997

|align=left nowrap| International Formula 3000 Championship

|align=left nowrap| Super Nova Racing

| 10

| 3

| 4

| 5

| 77

!style="background:#fbffbf;"| 1st

!rowspan=2| 1998

|align=left nowrap| FIA GT Championship

|align=left nowrap rowspan=2| AMG Mercedes

| 10

| 5

| 4

| 1

| 9

| 77

!style="background:#fbffbf;"| 1st

|align=left nowrap| 24 Hours of Le Mans

| 1

| 0

| N/A

| NC

! 1999

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| British American Racing

| 12

| 0

| 22nd

! 2000

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda

| 17

| 0

| 3

| 14th

! 2001

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| B&H Jordan Honda

| 2

| 0

| 19th

! 2002

|align=left nowrap| World Series by Nissan

|align=left nowrap| Gabord Competicion

| 18

| 9

| 8

| 9

| 14

| 268

!style="background:#fbffbf;"| 1st

!rowspan=2| 2003

|align=left nowrap| Porsche Supercup

|align=left nowrap| Porsche AG

| 1

| 0

| NC

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| Panasonic Toyota Racing

|colspan=7| Test Driver

! 2004

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| Panasonic Toyota Racing

| 5

| 0

| 22nd

! 2005

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| Panasonic Toyota Racing

| 1

| 0

| NC

! 2006

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| Panasonic Toyota Racing

|colspan=7| Test Driver

!rowspan=2| 2007

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| L&M Racing

| 12

| 0

| 1

| 0

| 13

| 29th

|align=left nowrap| Formula One

|align=left nowrap| ING Renault F1 Team

|colspan=7| Test Driver

!rowspan=2| 2008

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| L&M Racing

| 6

| 0

| 23

| 24th

|align=left nowrap| 24 Hours of Le Mans

|align=left nowrap| Peugeot Sport Total

| 1

| 0

| 1

| N/A

!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd

! 2009

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RZ Motorsport

| 9

| 0

| 1

| 0

| 1

| 48

| 16th

!rowspan=2| 2010

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RZ Motorsport

| 11

| 0

| 36

| 20th

|align=left nowrap| FIA GT1 World Championship

|align=left nowrap| Reiter Engineering

| 12

| 3

| 1

| 0

| 4

| 75

| 8th

!rowspan=2| 2011

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RZ Motorsport

| 12

| 0

| 2

| 1

| 51

| 15th

|align=left nowrap| FIA GT1 World Championship

|align=left nowrap| Sumo Power GT

| 6

| 0

| 9

| 28th

! 2012

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RZ Motorsport

| 12

| 0

| 89

| 13th

!rowspan=2| 2013

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RZ Motorsport

| 12

| 1

| 0

| 1

| 144

| 7th

|align=left nowrap| FIA GT Series

|align=left nowrap| BMW Sport Trophy Team Brasil

| 10

| 0

| 29

| 15th

! 2014

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RZ Motorsport

| 21

| 0

| 1

| 108

| 14th

! 2015

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| Shell Racing

| 21

| 0

| 2

| 147

| 13th

! 2016

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| Shell Racing

| 21

| 0

| 1

| 0

| 1

| 130

| 16th

! 2017

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| Shell V-Power

| 22

| 2

| 0

| 2

| 3

| 174

| 11th

! 2018

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| Shell V-Power

| 21

| 1

| 2

| 3

| 184

| 8th

! 2019

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| Shell V-Power

| 21

| 0

| 1

| 155

| 14th

! 2020

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RCM Motorsport

| 18

| 2

| 1

| 0

| 5

| 278

!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd

! 2021

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Brasil

|align=left nowrap| RCM Motorsport

| 24

| 1

| 7

| 307

| 4th

! 2022

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Pro Series

|align=left nowrap| RCM Motorsport

| 23

| 1

| 4

| 6

| 262

| 5th

! 2023

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Pro Series

|align=left nowrap| RCM Motorsport

| 24

| 3

| 2

| 4

| 5

| 280

!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd

! 2024

|align=left nowrap| Stock Car Pro Series

|align=left nowrap| RCM Motorsport

| 25

| 0

| 1

| 5

| 864

| 4th

! rowspan="2" | 2025

|align=left| Stock Car Pro Series

|align=left| RCM Motorsport

| 23

| 0

| 428

| 23rd

| align="left" |NASCAR Brasil Series

| align="left" |R.Mattheis Motorsport

| 19

| 0

| 2

| 0

| 88

| 15th

! 2026

|align=left| Stock Car Pro Series

|align=left| Full Time Gazoo Racing

| 8

| 0

| 136

| 20th*

* Season still in progress.

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Entrant

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! DC

! Points

| 1996

! nowrap| Draco Engineering

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| NÜR

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| PAU

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PER

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HOC

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SIL

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SPA

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MAG

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| EST

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| MUG

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HOC

! 4th

! 27

| 1997

! nowrap| Super Nova Racing

|style="background:#000000; color:white"| SIL

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| HEL

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| NÜR

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| PER

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| HOC

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| A1R

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SPA

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| MUG

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| JER

!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st

!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 39

! colspan="14" |

Complete International Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%;"

! Year

! Team

! Car

! 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

! Pts

| 1996

! nowrap| Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG

! nowrap| Mercedes C-Class V6

|style="background:| HOC 1

|style="background:| HOC 2

|style="background:| NÜR 1

|style="background:| NÜR 2

|style="background:| EST 1

|style="background:| EST 2

|style="background:| HEL 1

|style="background:| HEL 2

|style="background:| NOR 1

|style="background:| NOR 2

|style="background:| DIE 1

|style="background:| DIE 2

|style="background:| SIL 1

|style="background:| SIL 2

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| NÜR 1 Ret

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NÜR 2 13

|style="background:| MAG 1

|style="background:| MAG 2

|style="background:| MUG 1

|style="background:| MUG 2

|style="background:| HOC 1

|style="background:| HOC 2

|style="background:| INT 1

|style="background:| INT 2

|style="background:| SUZ 1

|style="background:| SUZ 2

!style="background:| 29th

!style="background:| 0

! colspan="31" |

Complete FIA GT Championship results

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Class

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! Rank

! Points

| 1998

! nowrap| AMG Mercedes

! GT1

! nowrap| Mercedes-Benz CLK LM

! nowrap| Mercedes-Benz M119 6.0L V8

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| OSC

|style="background:#dfffdf;"| SIL

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| HOC

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| DIJ

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| HUN

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| SUZ

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| DON

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| A1R

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| HMS

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| LAG

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 77

! colspan="17" |

Complete Formula One results

(key)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! WDC

! Pts.

! nowrap| British American Racing

! nowrap| BAR 01

! nowrap| Supertec V10

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| AUS

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| BRA

| SMR

| MON

| ESP

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| CAN

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| FRA

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GBR

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| AUT 15

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GER

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HUN

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BEL

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ITA

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| EUR

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MAL

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| JPN

|colspan=3|

! 22nd

! 0

! nowrap| Lucky Strike Reynard BAR Honda

! nowrap| BAR 002

! nowrap| Honda V10

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| AUS

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRA

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| SMR

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GBR

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ESP

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| EUR

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MON

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAN

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FRA

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| AUT

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GER

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HUN

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BEL

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ITA

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| USA

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| JPN

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MAL

|colspan=2|

! 14th

! 3

! nowrap| B&H Jordan Honda

! nowrap| Jordan EJ11

! nowrap| Honda V10

| AUS

| MAL

| BRA

| SMR

| ESP

| AUT

| MON

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAN

| EUR

| FRA

| GBR

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GER

| HUN

| BEL

| ITA

| USA

| JPN

|colspan=2|

! 19th

! 0

|rowspan="2"|

!rowspan="2" nowrap| Panasonic Toyota Racing

! nowrap| Toyota TF104

!rowspan="2" nowrap| Toyota V10

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| AUS

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| MAL

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| BHR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| SMR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| ESP

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| MON

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| EUR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| CAN

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| USA

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| FRA

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| GBR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| GER

|colspan=7|

!rowspan="2"| 22nd

!rowspan="2"| 0

! nowrap| Toyota TF104B

|colspan=12|

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| HUN

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BEL 10

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ITA

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| CHN

| JPN

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRA

! nowrap| Panasonic Toyota Racing

! nowrap| Toyota TF105

! nowrap| Toyota V10

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| AUS

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| MAL

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| BHR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| SMR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| ESP

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| MON

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| EUR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| CAN

|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| USA

| FRA

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| GBR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| GER

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| HUN

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| TUR

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| ITA

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| BEL

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| BRA

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| JPN

|style="background:#F0F8FF;"| CHN

! NC

! 0

! colspan="25" |

Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete World Series by Nissan results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%;"

! Year

! Team

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! DC

! Points

| 2002

! nowrap| Gabord Competición

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| VAL1 1

|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| VAL1 2

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| JAR 1

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| JAR 2

|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| ALB 1

|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| ALB 2

|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MNZ 1

|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MNZ 2

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| MAG 1

|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| MAG 2

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| CAT 1

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| CAT 2

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| VAL2 1

|bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| VAL2 2

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| CUR 1

|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| CUR 2

|bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| INT 1

|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| INT 2

!style="background:#fbffbf;"| 1st

!style="background:#fbffbf;"|

! colspan="22" |