Zsolt Baumgartner (born 1 January 1981) is a Hungarian former racing driver who raced for the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and Minardi teams in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

. He remains the only Hungarian driver to have competed and to have scored a point in Formula One.

Career

Baumgartner made his Formula One race debut at the

2003 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2003 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the thirteenth round of the 2003 Formula One season. The 70-lap ...

, substituting for the injured Ralph Firman in the

team; he also took part in the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

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 was signed by 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 raced throughout the Formula One season, and after two near-misses (ninth in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

and 10th in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

) he managed to take Minardi's first point in over two years by finishing eighth (classified second last and the last car to take the chequered flag) in the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Champ Car World Series

In March 2007 he was confirmed as the test and reserve driver for Minardi Team USA, former boss

Paul Stoddart Paul Stoddart (born 26 May 1955) is an Australian businessman, airline owner and former Minardi Formula One team boss. Personal life Born in Coburg, Melbourne, Australia, and attended Preston Technical School and St Joseph's College Melbourn ...

's recently acquired

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

team. Baumgartner only participated in a handful of tests for the team and made no race starts. Prior to the 2008 season, Champ Car unified with the rival

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

and Stoddart and the Minardi name left the sport.

Superleague Formula

In 2008 Baumgartner became the test driver for team Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in Superleague Formula.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

( key)

Complete Formula One results

( key)

References

External links

Official websiteZsolt Baumgartner Blue Flags Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baumgartner, Zsolt 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Debrecen Hungarian racing drivers Danube-Swabian people Hungarian Formula One drivers German Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Jordan Formula One drivers Minardi Formula One drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Nordic Racing drivers Scuderia Coloni drivers