'Zsolt Baumgartner' (born
January 1,
1981,
Debrecen,
Hungary) is a former
Formula One racing driver formerly in the employ of the
Minardi team. He was the first
Hungarian driver in Formula One. As of March 2007 he is the test and reserve driver for
Minardi Team USA.
Career
Baumgartner made his race debut at the
2003 Hungarian Grand Prix, substituting for the injured
Ralph Firman in the
Jordan team; he also took part in the
Italian Grand Prix that year.
Plans were made for Baumgartner to drive for Jordan again in 2004 with sponsorship from oil company Mol Rt. However, he failed to agree terms with Jordan, and he signed with Minardi instead. This caused Mol Rt. to decrease its sponsorship amount, leading Baumgartner and his management to set up a "Zsolt Baumgartner Supporter's Club", a plan similar to that employed by
Justin Wilson in 2003.
Baumgartner failed to distinguish himself in the Formula One season; however, after two near-misses (9th in
Monaco and 10th in
Canada) he managed to take Minardi's first point in over 2 years by finishing 8th (albeit second last) in the
US Grand Prix. Although his speed was not spectacular, he impressed many with his hard-working and determined approach.
Michael Schumacher said he was one of the most intelligent backmarkers he has encountered in recent Formula One history.
In March 2007 he was confirmed as test and reserve driver for
Minardi Team USA, former boss
Paul Stoddart's recently acquired
Champ Car World Series team.
Complete Formula One results
()
Other resources
External links
★
Official website
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
