Alex Ribeiro


Alexandre "Alex" Dias Ribeiro is a former racing driver from Brazil. He entered in 20 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix but scored no World Championship points.

Career

After solid graduation from the lower formulae, Ribeiro paid for his drive in the March Formula One team for the season.
However, the season turned into a nightmare. March owner Max Mosley hired four drivers, and the team simply could not provide for them all. Ribeiro's reputation as a driver suffered.
In 1978, he tried to save his credentials as a racing driver and set up a privately owned F2 team to enter the 1978 European Formula Two season, a year dominated by the March factory team. His car was painted with the words "Jesus Saves". Ribeiro managed to win the Nürburgring round dramatically after favorites Bruno Giacomelli and Marc Surer retired from the race. The rest of the season, however, bore no fruit.
Then, in 1979, the fellow Brazilian Fittipaldi team offered him two chances to qualify a second car, for the Canadian and American Formula One Grands Prix. However, the team was concentrating on former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, and Ribeiro failed to qualify for both events.
Ribeiro was perhaps best known for his proclamation of faith in the form of 'Jesus Saves' slogans on his Formula One cars.
He subsequently went on to perform Chaplaincy at the F1 events he attended as the driver of the Medical Car and is arguably the most accomplished driver in the group.
In 1994, he joined the Brazil national football team as a pastor at the FIFA World Cup in the United States. He held worship services for the team and later wrote a book about the team's journey to victory, titled "Who won the '94 World Cup?".
At the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, Ribeiro was involved in a potentially serious incident. During the morning warm-up on race day Sunday, Enrique Bernoldi crashed his Arrows in Turn 2. When Ribeiro, the driver of the Medical Car, went out to check on Bernoldi, he opened the door to the car. Just as he opened it, Nick Heidfeld came along in his Sauber and smashed into the open door. Both Ribeiro and Heidfeld were uninjured.
In 1981, Ribeiro wrote an autobiographical book called "Mais Que Vencedor", in which he names March owner Max Mosley "Mack Mouse" and March engineer Robin Herd "Robin Hood". He owned a motorbike shop in Brasilia where both Nelson Piquet and Roberto Moreno worked as young mechanics, therefore having the unusual distinction that the same shop produced 3 Formula One drivers.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011121314Pts
March EngineeringMarch 752BMWESTTHRHOCNÜRPAUHOCSALROUMUGPERSILZOLNOGVAL
Ret
NC0
March EngineeringMarch 762BMWHOC
13
THR
2
VAL
3
SAL
5
PAU
HOC
Ret
ROU
Ret
MUG
4
PER
2
EST
3
NOG
HOC
Ret
5th31
March EngineeringMarch 772PBMWSILTHR
3
HOCNÜRDON
8
14th4
AFMP EuroracingMarch 772VAL
14
PAUMUG14th4
Fred Opert RacingChevron B40HartROU
7
NOGPERMIS
DNQ
EST14th4
Alex RibeiroMarch 782HartTHR
15
HOC
NÜR
1
PAU
12
MUG
10
VAL
NC
ROU
10
DON
Ret
NOG
Ret
PER
7
MIS
13
HOC8th11

Complete Formula One World Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011121314151617WDCPoints
Hesketh RacingHesketh 308DCosworth V8BRA
RSA
USW
ESP
BEL
MON
SWE
FRA
GBR
GER
AUT
NED
ITA
CAN
USA
12
JPN
NC0
Hollywood March RacingMarch 761BCosworth V8ARG
Ret
BRA
Ret
RSA
Ret
USW
Ret
ESP
DNQ
MON
DNQ
BEL
DNQ
SWE
DNQ
FRA
DNQ
GBR
DNQ
GER
8
AUT
DNQ
NED
11
ITA
DNQ
USA
15
CAN
8
JPN
12
NC0
Fittipaldi AutomotiveFittipaldi F6ACosworth V8ARG
BRA
RSA
USW
ESP
BEL
MON
FRA
GBR
GER
AUT
NED
ITA
CAN
DNQ
USA
DNQ
NC0