Ricardo Zonta: 'Some people were not helping'

6th (Melbourne, Monza, Indianapolis) 6th, A1-Ring
A good run into the points at Monza, and twice outqualifying his team mate.
The Silverstone testing crash and the frustrating German GP.
Zonta is hoping to 'do a Panis' by joining Jordan as test driver.

As the F1 world turns its attention to a new breed of superstars, it is worth remembering that not so long ago Ricardo Zonta was regarded as the 'next big thing.' F3000 champion in 1997, he added the 1998 FIA GT title to his CV while also showing well in testing for McLaren. BAR needed a Latin American driver for its debut season, and Zonta seemed to be in the right place at the right time when he joined the ambitious new outfit. However, his two years with the team have proved extremely disappointing. The injuries he received in practice for his second race in Brazil knocked him off course, and he never quite recovered his composure in a team so completely dominated by Jacques Villeneuve. This year testing crashes at Silverstone and Monza, both caused by mechanical failures, did his confidence no good. Like Alex Wurz he seemed to be on a downward spiral, and if anything could go wrong, it did - notably at Hockenheim, where he copied Rubens Barrichello's bold decision to stay on dry tyres, but ended up with nothing. Like Wurz, he seemed to finally get his act together once he knew for sure that he was on the way out, taking good sixth places at Monza and Indianapolis. But it was too little, too late. The 24-year-old is still highly-rated by many in the paddock who feel that he did not get a fair crack of the whip at BAR, where team boss Craig Pollock had eyes for just one driver. Ricardo's chance to make amends comes with his new testing role at Jordan. Adam Cooper spoke to the Brazilian.


"The first race was quite OK, and then I had some reliability problems with my car for some races. I was qualifying quite well; in Brazil I outqualified Jacques, and in Canada I was very close to outqualifying him again. Often I was very close to his lap time in qualifying. But I was involved in some accidents where I lost the potential to score good points, like in Austria, or Hockenheim - places where I could have finished in the top six. That was very hard for me because everybody expected me to get points and I didn't, because of mistakes. Craig (Pollock) started to play a lot with me, saying he would change drivers if I didn't get results or something like that."


"I think the first time was in Austria, after qualifying, when I outqualified Jacques. Craig said to Geraldo, my manager, that I needed to show (good) performance. And that day I had just outqualified Jacques! I think when I was strong in my mind he started to play with my mind again, just to make it easier for Jacques to get good results."


"Monza was quite good. My car was fast, and in the warm-up I was fastest, but starting from 17th it would be very difficult to finish higher than sixth. Maybe I was lucky that day because there was a big accident as well. I was involved in that accident, and I went to the pits and started from the back again. I lost a lot of positions, but I overtook many cars, and that was good for my reputation. Indianapolis was good. Nearly everybody finished the race, and we did a very good race. The car was quite good. In the first stint we went very long, and we got many positions."


"I think in qualifying sometimes I was lost. For example in Suzuka I was quite convinced that if I got more grip at the front of the car I'd be in the top 10 for qualifying. My engine blew and I had to change the engine for qualifying, and I had only the last half hour. We didn't know if the engine would work or if the set-up would be good - sometimes when you change the engine it changes the balance of the car as well. The car had a lot of oversteer and I couldn't fix the problem, so I started 18th, which was very bad."


"Yes. Sometimes you try to help a small problem, and then you got another big problem! In qualifying it's difficult to find (solutions to) problems, because you are on the limit, and you are only trying to focus on your lap, and not on the problems of the car. Then you don't get the set-up better."


"Yes, but I had some reliability problems before qualifying or in qualifying. At Monza on the first run I stopped with a gearbox problem. I jumped in the other car with Jacques' set-up, and it was very hard to drive. In some places I lost the opportunity to qualify well and have a good performance."


"Yes. Sometimes you start from the back and you want to overtake the guys in front. In Magny-Cours and Monaco I pushed very hard after the pit stop to overtake the other guys who were stopping. And then came the problem where I crashed. Monaco was bad..."


"I was third in the race when it started to rain. I was going to keep the same tyres to the end of the race. But they gave me a stop and go. On that lap my engineer came on the radio and said 'You must pit,' and I just lost concentration because I didn't do anything to get a stop and go. That pissed me off and I just locked the brakes and went off the track. They said that when the safety car came out I overtook Mika Salo under yellow flags, but Mika was not in front of me at any time in the race. Before the next race Charlie (Whiting) said it was a mistake with me. There were many mistakes in Hockenheim in the race."


"I tried not to be involved with this kind of stuff. I didn't know what was happening - I just wanted to drive the car, and try to have the best results. But Craig and some other people were completely for Jacques, and that made it very difficult for me to have the best performance or to have the confidence to know if people were working for me as well. Some people were not helping me at all."


"I think my situation is different from Alex. Craig is Jacques' manager and the boss of BAR. If his driver beats the other driver, at the end of the year he can get more money. And F1 is only money. It's difficult to believe that. I'm a bit late but I'm starting to understand a bit more about the people and the F1 job..."


"If there was a different way in Hockenheim, if I was in front of him, and he tried to overtake me like I did to him, I would be fair. He made a mistake one corner before, he lost the rear brakes on the entry for the next corner, and that was my chance to overtake him, like anyone else. I put my car inside the corner. If I had the chance to do it again, I would do it again, because it was not my mistake. I did many overtaking moves in my life, and that one was completely fair. He just tried to make it more difficult for me and didn't give me the way. He's a World Champion, and if he says I was wrong, everyone believes him. After Hockenheim he tried to speak to me like a friend, because he knew it was too much. But I didn't try to speak to him about anything else. If you are in the meetings and you have to speak about the car you do, because it's a team, but apart from that, I didn't speak to him."


"The team was a lot stronger this year. We had a big step forward from the middle of the season to the end. Honda knows the problems of the team, and I think they are trying to change some things. If not, they are going to give up and go only with Jordan."


"It's been very good. I am very happy. Many times they helped me to find a solution for problems, even in the set-up. In testing you can learn a lot from them about engines and many things that will help for the future."


"You never know how these teams are going to be for next year. The regulations have changed a little bit. Teams like Arrows were going well this year, and maybe next year they will be at the back of the field. It's like a lottery."


"It was a possibility, but I couldn't wait any more. Sauber said they were trying to find more sponsors, because Pedro (Diniz) was taking away $10m, something like this. I decided not to wait any more because Jordan was giving a good chance for the future. I'd like to be back racing in 2002."


"I was very close to a deal at McLaren, but I didn't have any guarantee for the future, whether I would drive or not. Then Jordan came and said I could maybe race in 2002. If one of the drivers leave, then I'm the next driver. I think it was the best option."


"I think these days drivers don't want to test as much, they just want to race. The teams need experienced drivers to test. I think I'll have a good chance to get my confidence again, and try to build up my performance."


"I think maybe there's less risk with what I'm doing now than going to another team to race, where I'm going to fight for 10th to the back. Then you lose motivation because it's not what you want to do. If you don't have the car in F1, you can't do anything."


"It depends how Jordan is doing in the championship. If they are fighting for first position, then I should stay as test driver. If not, I can go to another team to replace someone."


"When I started F1 everyone was expecting a lot, and respecting myself a lot as well. I feel that in two years in F1 some people don't look at me as good a driver as I was before. Maybe I need to change that, I need to have another chance to show I have the potential. This year I always had problems, I was always involved in something, and that's not good. I don't want to be involved in shit things like with Michael in Austria, and Jacques in Hockenheim. I could have had a lot better results, a lot better year. It was an unlucky year for me."


"If you look at my performances, sometimes if I have a good car or a well set-up car then I can fight for good positions on the grid or in the race. Of course I lost a little bit of confidence, but why am I fast sometimes? It's not because I change my style of driving, it's because the car helps me to be fast."