Renzo Zorzi
| Born |
12 December 1946 Ziano di Fiemme, Italy |
|---|---|
| Died |
15 May 2015 (aged 68) Magenta, Italy |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Italian |
| Active years | 1975–1977 |
| Teams | Williams, Wolf-Williams, Shadow |
| Entries | 7 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 1 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1975 Italian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1977 Spanish Grand Prix |
Renzo Zorzi (12 December 1946, Ziano di Fiemme – 15 May 2015, Magenta, Lombardy) was a racing driver from Italy who participated in 7 Formula One Grands Prix between 1975 and 1977.
Zorzi began his racing career in Formula Three in 1972, driving various cars with little success. In 1974 he switched to a GRD, and won the Monaco Formula Three race in 1975. This helped him towards a couple of races for Frank Williams Racing Cars and Wolf-Williams Racing in Formula One, before his sponsorship funds ran out. In 1977 he raced with Shadow, backed by their Italian sponsor Franco Ambrosio.[1] Despite finishing sixth at the 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix and earning a World Championship point, he was dropped from the team after five races and replaced by Riccardo Patrese.
He was indirectly involved in a horrific accident during the 1977 South African Grand Prix, after he retired his car when a split fuel pipe caused an engine fire.[1] While Zorzi dealt with the fire with his on-board extinguisher, two fire marshals ran across the track and one, Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren, was struck and killed by the car of Zorzi's team-mate Tom Pryce, who was also killed.
Zorzi later raced in sports cars and the Aurora AFX F1 series, driving an Arrows.
After retiring from racing, he ran a Pirelli driving school in southern Italy.[2]
Zorzi died on 15 May 2015, aged 68.[3][4]
Complete Formula One World Championship 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Frank Williams Racing Cars | Williams FW03 | Cosworth V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | ESP | MON | BEL | SWE | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA 14 |
USA | NC | 0 | |||
| 1976 | Wolf-Williams Racing | Wolf-Williams FW04 | Ford V8 | BRA 9 |
RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | USA | JPN | NC | 0 | |
| 1977 | Shadow Racing Team | Shadow DN5B | Cosworth V8 | ARG Ret |
BRA 6 |
19th | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Shadow DN8 | RSA Ret |
USW Ret |
ESP Ret |
MON | BEL | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | JPN |
References
- 1 2 "Renzo Zorzi". gp.com. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ↑ "The World Championship drivers - Where are they now?". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
- ↑ Nugnes, Franco (2015-05-15). "Addio a Renzo Zorzi, un campione incompreso". omnicorse.it (in Italian) (OmniCorse). Retrieved 2015-05-16.
- ↑ Obituary: Renzo Zorzi 1946-2015