Maurício Gugelmin

Maurício Gugelmin
Gugelmin at the 1991 United States Grand Prix
Born	(1963-04-20) 20 April 1963 (age 61) Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Spouse	Stella Maris
Children	3
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Brazilian
Active years	1988–1992
Teams	March, Leyton House, Jordan
Entries	80 (74 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	10
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1988 Brazilian Grand Prix
Last entry	1992 Australian Grand Prix
1997 Molson Indy Vancouver (Vancouver )
Wins Podiums Poles 1 8 2

Maurício Gugelmin (born 20 April 1963) is a Brazilian former

Born and raised in Joinville, Gugelmin began competitive kart racing aged seven, winning several regional and national titles. He progressed to Formula Ford in 1982, dominating the British and European championships. Gugelmin then won the 1985 British Formula Three Championship, further winning the Macau Grand Prix to emulate Ayrton Senna two years prior. Gugelmin signed for March in 1988, making his Formula One debut at his home Grand Prix in Brazil. In his rookie season, he scored points finishes at the British and Hungarian Grands Prix, driving the Adrian Newey-designed 881. Retaining his seat for 1989, Gugelmin achieved his only career podium finish at the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix. After two further seasons at the re-branded Leyton House—including a non-classified championship finish in 1991—Gugelmin moved to Jordan for his 1992 campaign, but was unable to score points again and departed at the end of the season.

After exiting Formula One, Gugelmin competed in

Gugelmin was born to a wealthy family in Joinville, Brazil on 20 April 1963.^[1] His father is a timber merchant and a collector of antique cars.^[2] Gugelmin is married to Stella Maris,^[2] and they have two sons, Bernardo and Gabriel. Their third son, Giuliano, who was Bernardo's twin, died from cerebral palsy in April 2001 at the age of six.^[3]

Gugelmin started racing

In 1982 Gugelmin, like many Brazilian drivers of his generation, moved to the United Kingdom to further his racing career. He was a longtime friend of future Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna, who was already racing in the country, and the two shared a house from 1982 to 1987.^[4] Senna, having previously been a Formula Ford driver with the Van Diemen team, used his influence within the organisation to secure Gugelmin a race seat with them for 1982.^[4] By the end of the year, Gugelmin was the British Formula Ford 1600 cc champion with 13 race wins and 90 points scored.^[2][5] He followed this up by finishing as runner-up in the British Formula Ford 2000 cc series the following year. He moved to the European Formula Ford series in 1984, and won the title at his first attempt.^[6] A progression to Formula Three followed in 1985 with West Surrey Racing, winning the British championship and the season-ending Macau Grand Prix.^[7] Gugelmin subsequently spent two years in International Formula 3000 (F3000), the final step before Formula One, competing with sponsorship backing for the 1986 season.^[2] He took one victory in F3000, at Silverstone in 1987 while driving for the Ralt factory team.^[6]

Gugelmin entered Formula One, the highest category of circuit racing defined by the

The 1989 championship was barren for the March team, and Gugelmin took their only points scoring finish of the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He finished in third position; an excellent result given that March were financially troubled.^[9] At the French Grand Prix, Gugelmin was involved in a large accident at the start of the race which resulted in a spectacular barrel roll. A photograph of the accident was later selected for a London Exhibition as one of Formula One's most striking photographs.^[10] The race was stopped as a result; Gugelmin took the restart from the pit lane and set the race's fastest lap, the only one of his F1 career.^[6]

In 1990 the March team was sold, and became known as Leyton House. Gugelmin was once again partnered by Capelli, but the team's CG901 chassis proved troublesome,^[11] and between them they failed to qualify six times during the season, including at the Mexican Grand Prix. However, at the next race, the French Grand Prix, modifications had been made to the car,^[11] which improved the performance. Running the whole race without changing their tyres, Capelli and Gugelmin ran first and second during the race.^[12] Gugelmin retired from fourth position mid-race with engine problems but he went on to score a single point for finishing in sixth place in the Belgian Grand Prix later in the season.^[6][8]

The 1991 championship saw internal turmoil at the team with several key staff leaving.^[13] The car lacked pace and both Gugelmin and Capelli struggled; the team scored just one point all season. Gugelmin's best result amounted to three seventh-place finishes, although he retired from eight of the season's sixteen races. In September, the team's principal, Akira Akagi, was arrested on suspicion of fraud.^[13] Money was tight,^[13] and Gugelmin made the decision to leave the team at the end of the year. A switch to the Jordan team for the 1992 season did not improve Gugelmin's fortunes. The team struggled with financial difficulties^[14] and scored only one point all year. The team's Yamaha engine was underpowered,^[12] and the car was unreliable. Gugelmin failed to finish eleven out of the sixteen races, and scored no points.^[8]

Gugelmin signed with

In 2003 Gugelmin was announced as a competitor by the organizers of the new Renault Megane Super Cup in his native Brazil. However, the series did not launch and since then Gugelmin has made no competitive appearances in motorsport.[34] Following his retirement, Gugelmin put his Florida mansion in Coral Gables up for sale for $17 million, and moved back to live in Brazil full-time.^[35] He runs the family business along with his brother, Alceu, and has also done consultancy work for Mercedes-Benz subsidiary AMG.^[1] Both his surviving sons compete in go-kart events.^[36]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position.)

Year	Team	Chassis/Engine	Qualifying	Race1	Race2	Overall ranking	Ref
1985	West Surrey Racing w/ Theodore Racing	Ralt・Toyota	1st	1	1	1st	[38]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number denotes finishing position.)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap; small number indicates finishing position)

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; small number denotes finishing position)