Alex Ribeiro

Alex Dias Ribeiro (born November 7, 1948) is a former racing driver from Brazil. He entered in 20 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix but scored no World Championship points.

Career

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 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, Ribeiro 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 on his helmet and Formula One cars. Ribeiro managed to win the Nürburgring round dramatically after favorites Bruno Giacomelli and Marc Surer retired from the race, being the only Brazilian driver to win on the old and legendary German circuit, which at the time was 22.8 kilometers long. The rest of the season, however, bore no fruit.

Then, in 1979, the fellow Brazilian Fittipaldi team offered Ribeiro 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.

Ribeiro also served as chaplain at Formula One events while working as the driver of the medical car.

In 1994, Ribeiro 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?).

At the 2000 Monaco Grand Prix, Ribeiro crashed his at the Tabac curve before Saturday morning practice, and passenger doctor Sid Watkins broke three ribs. At the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, in his farewell as driver of medical car (and his definitive retirement from Formula 1), 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 nicknamed 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 three Formula One drivers.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results (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 Pts March Engineering March 752 BMW EST THR HOC NÜR PAU HOC SAL ROU MUG PER SIL ZOL NOG VLLRet NC 0 March Engineering March 762 BMW HOC13 THR2 VLL3 SAL5 PAU HOCRet ROURet MUG4 PER2 EST3 NOG HOCRet 5th 31 March Engineering March 772P BMW SIL THR3 HOC NÜR DON8 14th 4 AFMP Euroracing March 772 VLL14 PAU MUG Fred Opert Racing Chevron B40 Hart ROU7 NOG PER MISDNQ EST Alex Ribeiro March 782 Hart THR15 HOC NÜR1 PAU12 MUG10 VLLNC ROU10 DONRet NOGRet PER7 MIS13 HOC 8th 11

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key)