Francisco Adolpho "Chico" Serra (born 3 February 1957) is a Brazilian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

Biography

Serra made his mark in International motorsport when he won the 1979

British Formula 3 Championship The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single sea ...

, one season after his compatriot

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...

had won the title. His performance caught the eye of

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fittipaldi won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Team ...

, he himself a British Formula 3 Championship winner in 1969, who signed him for his Formula One team Fittipaldi. Serra debuted alongside

Keke Rosberg Keijo Erik "Keke" Rosberg (; born 6 December 1948) is a Finnish former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Rosberg won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won five Grand ...

on 15 March 1981 in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, finishing seventh. Serra's result would turn out to be the best one for the team over the rest of the season. In 1982, with Rosberg moving to Williams, Fittipaldi resized the operation, fielding only one car for Serra. Serra scored his first championship point for finishing sixth in the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. At the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, Serra and countryman

Raul Boesel Raul de Mesquita Boesel (, born 4 December 1957) is a Brazilian former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and ...

made headlines for having a short scuffle after the qualifying session. Serra was furious at Boesel for blocking his last flying lap after waving Rosberg by. Boesel denied that this was intentional. Fittipaldi's lack of pace meant that Serra occasionally failed to qualify. As the best of the non-qualified drivers, he was in contention for starting the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix after

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

withdrew

Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay (; 25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North ...

's entry but FIA rejected Serra's request on the ground that Ferrari announced Tambay's retirement, who on Sunday morning did not feel well enough to race, too late. In 1983 Serra raced for Arrows. Despite scoring three top-ten finishes in his first four outings with the team, he was released after the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix and replaced with

Thierry Boutsen Thierry Marc Alain Boutsen (; born 13 July 1957) is a Belgian former racing driver, businessman and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Boutsen won three Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Boutsen competed in ...

. Overall Serra participated in 33

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

World Championship Grands Prix. Following the end of his Formula One career, Serra made one CART

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing T ...

start in 1985 at the

Portland International Raceway Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Van ...

for

Ensign Racing Ensign was a Formula One constructor from Britain. They participated in 133 grands prix, entering a total of 155 cars. Ensign scored 19 championship points and no podium finishes. The best result was a 4th place at the 1981 Brazilian Grand Pri ...

but suffered an engine failure. Serra has participated in Brazilian stock car racing since the 1980s and was series champion in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Serra was a good friend of

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Senna won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with McLaren, and—at the time of his death—held ...

as they both climbed the motorsport ladder at the same time. In 1981 Serra recommend Senna to Ralph Firman, who had his team in the

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

1600. In 1994 Serra refused to attend Senna's funeral. In an interview with the Brazilian magazine ''Grid'' he said that he disliked the hypocrisy surrounding the event. "There was too much pretence, which made me sick. Some people came a long way just to use the situation for their own good. These people never helped him, and they wanted to make us believe that they were great friends who were suffering so much. Going to the funeral was more beneficial to them than winning at Indianapolis". Serra is the father of racing driver Daniel Serra.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Indy Car World Series

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Complete European Le Mans Series results

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serra, Chico Brazilian racing drivers Brazilian Formula One drivers Fittipaldi Formula One drivers Arrows Formula One drivers European Formula Two Championship drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Stock Car Brasil drivers 1957 births Living people Formula Ford drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Brazilian Champ Car drivers Team Joest drivers Racing drivers from São Paulo