 Serra in 2007 | |
| Born | (1957-02-03)3 February 1957 (age 68) São Paulo,Brazil |
|---|---|
| Relatives | Daniel Serra (son) |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Brazilian |
| Active years | 1981–1983 |
| Teams | Fittipaldi,Arrows |
| Entries | 33 (18 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 1 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1981 United States Grand Prix West |
| Last entry | 1983 Monaco Grand Prix |
Francisco Adolpho "Chico"Serra (born 3 February 1957) is a Brazilianracing driver.
Serra made his mark in International motorsport when he won the 1979British Formula 3 Championship, one season after his compatriotNelson Piquet had won the title. His performance caught the eye ofEmerson Fittipaldi, himself a British Formula 3 Championship winner in 1969, who signed him for his Formula One teamFittipaldi.
Serra debuted alongsideKeke Rosberg on 15 March 1981 inLong Beach, finishing seventh. Serra's result would turn out to be the best one for the team over the rest of the season. In 1982, with Rosberg moving to Williams, Fittipaldi resized the operation, fielding only one car for Serra. Serra scored his first championship point for finishing sixth in the1982 Belgian Grand Prix. At the1982 Canadian Grand Prix, Serra and countrymanRaul Boesel made headlines for having a short scuffle after the qualifying session. Serra was furious at Boesel for blocking his last flying lap after waving Rosberg by.[1] Boesel denied that this was intentional. Fittipaldi's lack of pace meant that Serra occasionally failed to qualify. As the best of the non-qualified drivers, he was in contention for starting the1982 Swiss Grand Prix afterFerrari withdrewPatrick Tambay's entry butFIA rejected Serra's request on the ground that Ferrari announced Tambay's retirement, who on Sunday morning did not feel well enough to race, too late.[2]
In 1983, Serra raced forArrows. Despite scoring three top-ten finishes in his first four outings with the team, he was released after the1983 Monaco Grand Prix and replaced withThierry Boutsen. Overall, Serra participated in 33Formula One World Championship Grands Prix.
Following the end of his Formula One career, Serra made one CARTChamp Car start in 1985 at thePortland International Raceway forEnsign Racing but suffered an engine failure.[3]
Serra has participated inBrazilian stock car racing since the 1980s and was series champion in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Serra was a good friend ofAyrton Senna as they both climbed the motorsport ladder at the same time. In 1981, Serra recommended Senna to Ralph Firman, who had his team in theFormula Ford 1600.[4] In 1994 Serra refused to attend Senna's funeral. In an interview with the Brazilian magazineGrid he said that he disliked the hypocrisy surrounding the event. "There was too much pretence, which made me sick. Some people came a long way just to use the situation for their own good. These people never helped him, and they wanted to make us believe that they were great friends who were suffering so much. Going to the funeral was more beneficial to them than winning at Indianapolis".[5]
Serra is the father of racing driverDaniel Serra.[6]
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Project Four Racing | March 802 | BMW | THR 4 | HOC 4 | NÜR Ret | VLL Ret | PAU Ret | SIL 8 | ZOL Ret | MUG Ret | ZAN 4 | PER Ret | MIS Ret | HOC Ret | 11th | 9 |
(key)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Fittipaldi Automotive | FittipaldiF8C | CosworthV8 | USW 7 | BRA Ret | ARG Ret | SMR DNQ | BEL Ret | MON DNQ | ESP 11 | FRA DNS | GBR DNQ | GER DNQ | AUT | NED DNQ | ITA DNQ | CAN DNQ | CPL DNQ | NC | 0 | |
| 1982 | Fittipaldi Automotive | FittipaldiF8D | CosworthV8 | RSA 17 | BRA Ret | USW DNQ | SMR | BEL 6 | MON DNPQ | DET 11 | CAN DNQ | NED Ret | GBR Ret | 26th | 1 | ||||||
| FittipaldiF9 | FRA DNQ | GER 11 | AUT 7 | SUI DNQ | ITA 11 | CPL DNQ | |||||||||||||||
| 1983 | Arrows Racing Team | ArrowsA6 | CosworthV8 | BRA 9 | USW | FRA Ret | SMR 8 | MON 7 | BEL | DET | CAN | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | EUR | RSA | NC | 0 | |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Theodore Racing | 15 | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR 25 | MEA | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | LAG | PHX | MIA | 57th | 0 | [7] |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | JMB Racing | GT2 | Ferrari F430 GT | Ferrari 4.0 L V8 | MNZ | VAL | NÜR | SPA | SIL | INT 6 | 44th | 3 |
