Formula 1 Driver Chico Serra
Brazilian Racer Drove in F1 with Fittipaldi and Arrows
Chico Serra was among a brace of talented young Brazilian drivers who made their way to Europe during the 1970s. A fierce rival of his countryman Nelson Piquet, the two drivers were to experience vastly different fortunes upon reaching Formula 1.
Serra Impresses in Formula Ford and Formula 3
Serra came to the attention of European racing fans during 1977, turning in many impressive performances in Formula Ford. Indeed, he won the Townsend Thoresen British Formula Ford title at his first attempt, driving a Van Diemen. Serra had experienced previous success in single-seaters, winning the Brazilian Formula N series in 1976.
For 1978 Serra signed to drive for Project Four Racing, headed by Ron Dennis. He had a strong year, but missed out on a genuine title assault due to a serious accident at Mallory Park which sidelined him for several weeks. In 1979 there was no stopping Serra and he swept to the British Formula 3 championship. A move up to Formula 2 followed in 1980 but it was a disappointing experience, with just a handful of points being scored.
A Formula 1 Drive with Fittipaldi
Serra’s Formula 1 chance arrived in 1981, when he was hired to drive for the Brazilian Fittipaldi team, following the retirement of double world champion Emerson Fittipaldi. He finished seventh on his debut at Long Beach but his time with the team was mostly unsuccessful. Serra did have something to celebrate at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, with a fine drive to sixth. It was a point hard earned, as described in the May 13th, 1982 issue of Grand Prix International magazine;
“A bent front spoiler and a gearbox problem did not stop a delighted Chico Serra from picking up his first ever championship point for sixth place.”
Serra’s commendable performance went largely unnoticed on a weekend when Formula 1 lost its most popular driver. During Saturday’s qualifying session Gilles Villeneuve suffered a violent accident and died that evening. Serra’s sixth place finish would prove to be the solitary world championship point of his career.
Following Fittipaldi’s withdrawal from Formula 1 Serra moved to the Arrows team in 1983, but it was a brief relationship. Alan Jones replaced him for one Grand Prix and then Serra lost his drive permanently to Belgian Thierry Boutsen.
Success in Stock Car Racing
After his Formula 1 career ended Serra made a one-off appearance in the American CART series, at Portland in 1985, before returning home to concentrate on domestic stock car racing. He has won several national titles, in a series which was dominated for many years by fellow Formula 1 refugee Ingo Hoffman. Serra has also appeared in the Le Mans 24 Hours race.
F1 driver Chico Serra
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