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| Born | (1975-01-20)20 January 1975 (age 51) Arrecifes,Buenos Aires, Argentina |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Argentine |
| Active years | 1997 |
| Teams | Sauber |
| Entries | 4 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Careerpoints | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1997 French Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1997 European Grand Prix |
Norberto Edgardo Fontana (born 20 January 1975) is an Argentineracing driver. He participated in fourFormula One Grands Prix, debuting on 29 June 1997 but scoring no championship points.
Fontana's opportunity to race came as a result of two separate injuries sustained by regularSauber driverGianni Morbidelli during the1997 season. During the1997 European Grand Prix, Fontana had gained attention for apparently blockingJacques Villeneuve to let rivalMichael Schumacher pull away from the Canadian. He attempted to enter with theTyrrell team for 1998 but was dropped in favour for BrazilianRicardo Rosset and withMinardi for 2000. In between his time in F1, Fontana raced inFormula Nippon. In 2010 he won theKonex Award as one of the five best Racing Drivers of the last decade in Argentina.
Fontana was born in Arrecifies, Buenos Aires as the son of Hector and Clara Fontana. He started racing at the age of eight at the Summer Night Championship inLujan. In 1989, he began a full season of karting and finished 2nd in the Youth Kart Championship of Buenos Aires Province. The following year, Fontana progressed to a higher level of championship and finished fourth. In 1992, he moved into car racing and competed in the Formula Renault Argentina series before moving into the European series events in 1993.[1]
Fontana raced in theGerman Formula Three Championship series in1994 and1995, winning the 1995 title as well as that year'sMarlboro Masters event atZandvoort circuit.[2] He claimed the title ahead of drivers includingRalf Schumacher,Alexander Wurz,Jarno Trulli andJan Magnussen.[citation needed]
In1996, Fontana enteredFormula Nippon for the Nova Engineering team driving a Lola T96/51 Mugen. His highlights were finishing second twice in Fuji in a season that included multiple accidents, mechanical failures and poor results. For 1997, he drove for the Le Mans team in their Reynard 97D Mugen. The season started badly but made a comeback to finish fifth in Fuji, a win at Mine and 3rd in Motegi.[1]
Fontana joined the Sauber test team in 1995 whenPeter Sauber approached him for a test session that took place at Barcelona in late 1994. He retained this role throughout 1995 and 1996.[1]
Fontana made his Formula One debut at the1997 French Grand Prix replacingGianni Morbidelli who had broken his arm prior to the race. He qualified 20th and retired when he understeered and ended up in a gravel trap. Prior to theBritish GP, team principal Peter Sauber looked for replacements to take Fontana's seat but eventually decided to keep Fontana on board. During qualifying, he missed a red light indicating that the car must come in for a mandatory weight check. Fontana drove past the light and was forced to start at the back of the grid. In the race, Fontana finished ninth despite his right leg becoming numb. AtHockenheim, he started 18th and finished ninth despite spinning early on.[3]
At the1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez, Fontana received a $5,000 fine for speeding in the pitlane and eventually qualified 18th. During the race, Fontana appeared to blockJacques Villeneuve, who was the direct rival ofFerrari driverMichael Schumacher at the time. ITV commentatorMartin Brundle pointed out that the Sauber team usedFerrari engines at the time.[4] Fontana eventually finished 14th with his highlight being overtakingJos Verstappen with two wheels on the grass.[3]
Fontana was considered as a driver for the dyingTyrrell team for 1998 with team principalKen Tyrrell negotiating with the Argentine. Fontana signed a draft contract, but did not sign the final contract as the owners British American Tobacco had vetoed the suggestion and Tyrrell was forced to sign BrazilianRicardo Rosset who had more sponsorship brought to the team. In 1999, Fontana tested withMinardi for a seat that would partnerMarc Gené. However, sponsorship once again caused the Argentine to lose the seat for a possible comeback.[3]
Fontana decided to return to Formula Nippon and finished 4th in the series which included a win in Fuji. He also competed in the Japanese GT Championship and was paired withMasanori Sekiya. The pair finished 6th in Suzuka, 3rd at Sendai and Motegi. The pair finished 7th in the championship.[5]
Fontana subsequently moved into Argentine touring car racing, driving in theTurismo Carretera,TC2000 andTop Race V6. In the TC2000 he was champion in 2002 (withToyota) and 2010 (withFord), and third in 2004 and 2014. In 2006, he was Turismo Carretera champion. Until 2009, he drove for Toyota, given the relationship he had with the brand when he raced in Japan.
In 2022, at the age of 49, Fontana joinedTCR South America.[6]
Fontana also competed at the2011 Dakar Rally in a buggy.[citation needed]
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | KMS | Opel | A | ZOL 1 C | ZOL 2 15 | HOC 1 11 | HOC 2 8 | NÜR 1 Ret | NÜR 2 9 | WUN 1 1 | WUN 2 8 | NOR 1 5 | NOR 2 20 | DIE 1 Ret | DIE 2 13 | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 1 | AVU 1 3 | AVU 2 2 | ALE 1 Ret | ALE 2 DNS | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 Ret | 6th | 118 |
| 1995 | KMS | Opel | A | HOC 1 1 | HOC 2 1 | AVU 1 1 | AVU 2 1 | NOR 1 3 | NOR 2 4 | DIE 1 3 | DIE 2 3 | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 1 | ALE 1 1 | ALE 2 1 | MAG 1 1 | MAG 2 1 | HOC 1 4 | HOC 2 20 | 1st | 256 | ||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Shionogi Team Nova | SUZ 14 | MIN 2 | FUJ 1 | TOK Ret | SUZ 8 | SUG Ret | FUJ 2 | MIN Ret | SUZ 11 | FUJ Ret | 5th | 22 |
| 1997 | Team LeMans | SUZ 9 | MIN 8 | FUJ 6 | SUZ Ret | SUG 7 | FUJ 2 | MIN 1 | MOT 3 | FUJ Ret | SUZ Ret | 3rd | 21 |
| 1998 | LEMONed RacingTeam LeMans | SUZ 3 | MIN Ret | FUJ 6 | MOT Ret | SUZ Ret | SUG Ret | FUJ C | MIN 2 | FUJ 1 | SUZ 8 | 4th | 21 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Edenbridge Racing | NÜR | PAU | PER | HOC | SIL | SPA | MAG | EST Ret | MUG | HOC | NC | 0 | ||
| 1999 | Fortec Motorsport | IMO Ret | MON 5 | CAT Ret | MAG Ret | SIL 5 | A1R 8 | HOC Ret | HUN Ret | SPA 14 | NÜR 10 | 15th | 4 | ||
| 2001 | F3000 Prost Junior Team | INT | IMO | CAT | A1R | MON | NÜR | MAG | SIL | HOC | HUN 14 | SPA Ret | MNZ Ret | 32nd | 0 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Red BullSauberPetronas | SauberC16 | PetronasV10 | AUS | BRA | ARG | SMR | MON | ESP | CAN | FRA Ret | GBR 9 | GER 9 | HUN | BEL | ITA | AUT | LUX | JPN | EUR 14 | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Supra | GT500 | SUZ 6 | FUJ C | SEN 3 | FUJ 8 | MOT 3 | MIN 16 | SUG Ret | 7th | 33 |
(key)
| Year | Team | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Della Penna | 10 | MIA 15 | LBH 15 | RIO 23 | MOT DNS | NZR 20 | MIL Wth | DET 14 | POR 21 | CLE 11 | TOR 20 | MIS | CHI | MOH | ROA | VAN | LS | STL | HOU | SRF | FON | 28th | 2 | [7] |
(key)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | MRK 1 | MRK 2 | MOH 1 | MOH 2 | SAP 1 19 | SAP 2 16 | ELP 1 Ret | ELP 2 12 | ZHZ 1 | ZHZ 2 | MAC 1 | MAC 2 | 37th | 4 |
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