Giorgio Pantano

**Giorgio Pantano**
Nation:	Italy
Formula 1 world championship
First start:	2004 Australian Grand Prix
Last start:	2004 Italian Grand Prix
Constructors
	2004 Jordan
statistics
World Cup balance:	WM-24. ( 2004 )
World Cup points :	-
Podiums :	-
Leadership laps :	-

Giorgio Pantano (born February 4, 1979 in Padua ) is an Italian racing driver .

In 2000 he won the German Formula 3 championship . From 2001 to 2003 he was active in Formula 3000 . Second overall in 2002 was his best finish in the series. In 2004 he took part in some races of the Formula 1 world championship. He then competed in the GP2 series from 2005 to 2008 and left this series with the championship title. In 2011 and 2012 he took part in individual races in the IndyCar Series .

With 14 victories, Pantano is the most successful driver after victories in the class below Formula 1.

Career

Beginnings in motorsport (1994-2000)

Pantano began his motorsport career in karting in 1994 , which he was active in until 1999. Among other things, he was twice European Formula A champion (1995, 1996) and three-time Italian kart champion (1993, 1994, 1996).

In 1999 he switched to formula racing and was 21st in the Euro Open by Nissan . In addition, he competed in a race in the British Formula 3 Championship and took third place in the Formula Palmer Audi winter series . In 2000, Pantano competed in the German Formula 3 championship . He immediately succeeded in winning the championship title. In addition, Pantano made his first experiences with a Formula 1 car during test drives for Benetton .

Formula 3000 (2001-2003)

In 2001 Pantano switched to the international Formula 3000 championship . He started for the Astromega team and won the last race of the season in Monza . In the overall standings, he finished ninth. In 2001 he also took part in Formula 1 test drives , this time in a McLaren .

In 2002 Pantano completed Formula 1 test drives for Minardi and Williams . However, he did not succeed in not recommending himself for any regular cockpit. Therefore he signed with Coloni F3000 and stayed in Formula 3000. As a team-mate of Enrico Toccacelo , he won the races in Barcelona , Hockenheim and Spa-Francorchamps and was on the podium seven times in twelve races. In the end he was runner- up, two points behind Sébastien Bourdais . In 2003 , Pantano started in Formula 3000 for the third year. He switched from Raffaele Giammaria to Durango as a teammate . Pantano won the races in Barcelona and Magny-Cours and took third place in the championship.

Formula 1 (2004)

Pantano in the Jordan (2004)

In 2004 Pantano switched to Formula 1 and started alongside Nick Heidfeld for Jordan . He mostly drove in the back field and two 13th places were his best results. At the Canadian Grand Prix he was replaced for one race by Timo Glock , who scored points straight away. Then Pantano took over the cockpit again until the Italian Grand Prix , after which it was finally replaced by Glock. He finished the season with no points in 24th place in the world championship

Pantano then did not return to Formula 1. He started at 14 Grand Prix.

GP2 series and IndyCar debut (2005–2008)

In 2005 Pantano switched to the GP2 series , the successor series to Formula 3000. As a teammate of Adam Carroll , he started for Super Nova Racing . Pantano didn't win a race, but he was on the podium six times. In the overall standings, Pantano finished sixth behind his team-mate Carroll. In addition, Pantano made his debut in the IndyCar Series in 2005 . For Chip Ganassi Racing he competed in two races on street circuits. After retiring in his first race, he narrowly missed the podium in fourth at Watkins Glen .

In 2006 Pantano tried to move to the Champ Car World Series , but his efforts were unsuccessful. Therefore, he returned to the GP2 series during the season. He started for Giancarlo Fisichella's team , which was still at the start in Formula 3000 under the name Coloni. Pantano thus returned to the team with which he had narrowly missed the championship title in 2002. Pantano won three races, including both home races in Monza. In the overall standings, he finished fifth, although he did not take part in the first three race weekends. In 2007 Pantano stayed in the GP2 series again, but switched to Campos Grand Prix . As a team mate of Vitaly Petrow , he was third in the overall standings behind Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi . Pantano won the main races in Magny-Cours and Monza.

Giorgio Pantano during the main race of the GP2 series in Barcelona 2008

In 2008 Pantano completed its fourth season in the GP2 series. He changed teams again and drove for Racing Engineering . His teammate was Javier Villa . At the second main race of the season in Istanbul , he celebrated his first win of the season. With further main races won at Magny-Cours, Silverstone and Hockenheim, Pantano worked his way up to the top of the drivers' championship. The race weekend in Mogyoród was less successful for Pantano: After finishing 14th in the main race, he moved up to fifth in the sprint race. In the first race on the new street circuit in Valencia , Pantano started from pole position, dominated the race and set the fastest race lap. But one bend before the home straight, Pantano stopped with an empty tank. His former team-mate Petrov inherited the victory. Since Pantano's rival for the title Bruno Senna also had fuel problems, the situation in the championship remained unchanged. In the sprint race the next day, Pantano achieved third place. In Spa-Francorchamps , Pantano was excluded from the race weekend after a collision with Lucas di Grassi . At the last event in Monza, Pantano was given a drive-through penalty while in the lead and fell back to tenth place. Since his rival for the championship title did not score enough points in the main race, he was already GP2 champion on Saturday. Bruno Senna was runner-up in the end, nine points behind. Pantano also competed in the International GT Open in 2008 , which marked his debut in GT racing.

Since the race weekend at Silverstone in 2008, Pantano has been the driver with the most victories in the class below Formula 1 ( Formula 2 / Formula 3000 / GP2 series). Pantano won a total of 14 Formula 3000 / GP2 races, one more than Mike Thackwell with 13 Formula 2 / Formula 3000 wins. With nine wins, Pantano is also the driver with the most GP2 wins. Pantano was also the only GP2 champion to date who did not take part in any Formula 1 Grand Prix until 2012.

Superleague Formula and Auto GP (2009-2010)

For 2009, Pantano initially did not find a cockpit and finally started for the AC Milan team , which is overseen by Azerti Motorsport , in the 2009 season of the Superleague Formula , in which he won a race. In 2010 Pantano switched to the Auto GP at Super Nova Racing, for which he had already completed a season in the GP2 series. After three racing weekends, he left his team and competed at one race weekend for Euronova Racing and one for Ombra Racing . At the end of the season I finished 13th overall with third place as the best result. In addition, Pantano participated in four races of the Trofeo Abarth 500 Italia this season. He scored two wins and was ninth in the championship.

IndyCar Series (2011-2012)

After Pantano was again without a cockpit from the beginning of the year, he was signed by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for three IndyCar races in August 2011 . He represented Justin Wilson , who was injured on the road courses. In his very first race, he improved from eleventh to sixth place. However, he was moved to 17th position by the race management because he was accused of deliberately blocking against Bourdais in the last corner. On his last outing, he achieved the fastest lap. At the end of the season he was 36th overall.

In 2012 , Pantano took part in an IndyCar race for Chip Ganassi Racing. He represented the regular pilot Charlie Kimball , who was injured. Pantano, who had never tested the vehicle before, crossed the finish line in 14th place.

Others

Pantano currently lives both in London and in his native Padua. In mid-2008, Nico Rosberg confessed that he was a fan of Pantano during his karting days.

statistics

Career stations

1994-1999: karting
1999: Euro Open by Nissan (21st place)
1999: British Formula 3
1999: Formula Palmer Audi , winter series (3rd place)
2000: German Formula 3 (champion)
2001 : Formula 3000 (9th place)
2002 : Formula 3000 (2nd place)

2002 : Formula 1 (test driver)
2003 : Formula 3000 (3rd place)
2004 : Formula 1 (24th place)
2005 : GP2 series (6th place)
2005 : IndyCar Series (26th place)
2006 : GP2 series (5th place)
2007 : GP2 series (3rd place)

2008 : GP2 series (champions)
2008: International GT Open (35th place)
2009 : Superleague Formula
2010 : Auto GP (13th place)
2010: Trofeo Abarth 500 Italia (9th place)
2011 : IndyCar Series (36th place)
2012 : IndyCar Series (31st place)

Statistics in the Formula 1 World Championship

general overview

season	team	chassis	engine	run	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	nice Race laps	Points	WM-Pos.
2004	Jordan Ford	Jordan EJ14	Ford Cosworth 3.0 V10	14th	-	-	-	-	-	-	24.
total				14th	-	-	-	-	-	-

Single results

season	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th
2004
2004	14th	13	16	DNF	DNF	DNF	13		DNF	17th	DNF	15th	DNF	DNF	DNF

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
violet	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
red	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
White	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
Light Blue	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	^P / bold	Pole position
	_SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Individual results in the IndyCar Series

season	team	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	Points	rank
2005	Target Chip Ganassi Racing	HMS	PHX	STP	MOT	INDY	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	Mil	MIS	KTY	PPI	SNM 14	CHI	WGL 4	HAIRDRYER		48	26th
2011	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	STP	ALA	LBH	SAO	INDY	TXS1	TXS2	Mil	IOW	GOAL	EDM	MDO	NHA	SNM 17	BAL 26	MOT 16	KTY	LSV	37	36.
2012	Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing	STP	ALA	LBH	SAO	INDY	DET	TXS	Mil	IOW	GOAL	EDM	MDO 14	SNM	BAL	HAIRDRYER				16	31.