Ricardo Rosset

Ricardo Rosset (born 27 July 1968 ) is a Brazilian racing driver. Runner-up in the 1995 International Formula 3000 Championship, he later participated in 33 Formula One Grands Prix, making his debut at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix. He scored no championship points. He eventually quit Formula One to focus on developing a sportswear business in Brazil.

Career Formula Three

After graduating from the Formula Opel Euroseries, Rosset competed in the British Formula 3 Championship in 1993 for Alan Docking Racing. He finished joint sixth in the standings, tied with Pedro de la Rosa, with his best finish being one second place at Silverstone. Rosset moved to the AJS team in 1994, and improved to fifth in the standings in a season dominated by Jan Magnussen. He won his first F3 race that year at Snetterton, albeit on an occasion where Magnussen retired.

Formula 3000 Rosset made his début in International Formula 3000 with the Super Nova Racing team in 1995. His teammate was the more experienced Vincenzo Sospiri, who won the drivers' championship that year. In 1995, Rosset came second to his teammate – winning two races, including his first ever F3000 race – and finished second in the championship.

Formula One Footwork (1996) Although he had an opportunity to join Minardi, Rosset was hired by Footwork in as teammate to Jos Verstappen. He never matched the Dutch driver's pace (Verstappen was quicker in qualifying for all the races), although the team largely stopped development on the car when Tom Walkinshaw bought it. Rosset later stated that the cash-strapped team were unable to provide two identical cars, with a lack of spares, and they concentrated on the faster driver, Verstappen.

Lola (1997) Rosset driving for Lola during the 1997 Australian Grand Prix meeting. In , Rosset's only option in Formula One was to join MasterCard Lola, where he was partnered with his former F3000 teammate Vincenzo Sospiri. However, the team pulled out of Formula One after one failure to qualify at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix due to an uncompetitive and underdeveloped car, the Lola T97/30, and a breakdown in sponsorship from MasterCard. Rosset was left without a drive for the rest of the season. although Rosset later stated Tyrrell's choice was Norberto Fontana.

The 1998 season was another unsuccessful one for Rosset, and led to increasing criticism of his abilities. Failing to qualify at Monaco, he spun towards the end of the qualifying session, and embarrassingly beached his car on the kerb when he tried to spin the car round to the face in the right direction. When Murray Walker suggested that people were debating whether Rosset was F1 quality, co-commentator and ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle replied, "it's a fairly short debate, Murray". Rosset has countered the criticism against him, claiming that, for journalists, making a driver look stupid is more lucrative than discovering the truth. He blamed a worn clutch for the incident: "That's why it looks so bad... the clutch wasn't working." Rosset later said, "I never saw that. Maybe behind the scenes, the mechanics, they were saying that. I remember something like that... I don't doubt it." Rosset said in 2019 that Kristensen drove the same car as he did, with only a change of seat and minor adjustments.

Rosset's problems included missing out on qualification for the Spanish Grand Prix by 0.06s, and an injury during practice for the German Grand Prix which prevented him from taking part in qualifying, while in Belgium he crashed into the carnage of the 14-car pile-up on the first lap after being unsighted by the heavy spray, and was unable to take the restart. A further failure to qualify at Tyrrell's final race in Japan, where he was hindered by a neck injury caused by a crash in practice, marked the end of his Formula One career.

Rosset later stated his belief that Tyrrell concentrated heavily on his Honda-backed teammate Takagi, and gave the Japanese driver an advantage in order to win favour from Honda. "They wanted him to look good... so I was somebody not very welcome," he said. "For sure, they weren't behind me." At the end of the season, the pair had won four times in their Ford GT and finished second in the overall standings.

Encouraged by this performance, Rosset bought the Footwork FA17 chassis that he raced in 1996, and planned to enter it in a historic F1 series in 2009, but ultimately did not. He later bought his 1998 Tyrrell 026 on eBay, and keeps both cars at his home. He has said of his Formula One career, "I was very grateful I had the chance... I did my best, the best I could do. I pushed as hard as I could... What people say, it doesn't bother me."

Racing record Complete British Formula Three Championship results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points 1993 Alan Docking Racing Ralt RT37 Mugen-Honda A SIL THR BRH DON BRH SIL OUL DON 6th 18 Dallara F393 SIL DON SNE PEM SIL SIL THR 1994 Team AJS Dallara F394 Mugen-Honda A SIL DON BRH BRH SIL SIL BRH THR OUL DON SIL SNE PEM PEM SIL SIL THR SIL 5th 132

Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points 1995 Super Nova Racing SIL CAT PAU PER HOC SPA EST MAG 2nd 29

Complete Formula One results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points Footwork Arrows Hart Footwork FA17 Hart V8 AUS BRA ARG EUR SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR JPN NC 0 MasterCard Lola F1 Team Lola T97/30 Ford V8 AUS BRA ARG SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA AUT LUX JPN EUR NC 0 PIAA Tyrrell Ford Tyrrell 026 Ford V10 AUS BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA LUX JPN NC 0

Complete Stock Car Brasil results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rank Points 2014 Vogel Motorsport Chevrolet Sonic INT1 SCZ1 SCZ2 BRA1 BRA2 GOI1 GOI2 GOI1 CAS1 CAS2 CUR1 CUR2 VEL1 VEL2 SCZ1 SCZ2 TAR1 TAR2 SAL1 SAL2 CUR1 NC† 0† 2015 Vogel Motorsport Chevrolet Sonic GOI1 RBP1 RBP2 VEL1 VEL2 CUR1 CUR2 SCZ1 SCZ2 CUR1 CUR2 GOI1 CAS1 CAS2 BRA1 BRA2 CUR1 CUR2 TAR1 TAR2 INT1 NC† 0† Ineligible for championship points.