Zsolt Baumgartner (born 1 January 1981) is a Hungarian former racing driver who raced for the Jordan and Minardi teams in Formula One. He remains the only Hungarian driver to have competed and to have scored a point in Formula One.
Zsolt Baumgartner was born in Debrecen, Hungary on 1 January 1981. His father was a Renault dealer. He started karting at the age of 13 and moved into single seaters in 1997, driving in German Formula Ford. He subsequently had stints in German Formula 3, Formula Renault and Formula 3000.
In 2002, Eddie Jordan signed Baumgartner as the reserve and test driver of Jordan Grand Prix, and that same year he conducted a test run at the Hungaroring prior to the 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Baumgartner made his Formula One race debut at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix, substituting for the injured Ralph Firman in the Jordan team; he also took part in the Italian Grand Prix that year.
Plans were made for Baumgartner to drive for Jordan again in 2004 with sponsorship from oil company MOL Rt. However, he failed to agree terms with Jordan and was signed by Minardi instead. This caused MOL Rt. to decrease its sponsorship amount, leading Baumgartner and his management to set up a "Zsolt Baumgartner Supporter's Club", a plan similar to that employed by Justin Wilson in 2003.
Baumgartner raced throughout the 2004 Formula One season, and after two near-misses (ninth in Monaco and tenth in Canada) he managed to take Minardi's first point in over two years by finishing eighth (classified second last and the last car to take the chequered flag) in the United States Grand Prix held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In March 2007, Baumgartner was confirmed as the test and reserve driver for Minardi Team USA, former boss Paul Stoddart's recently acquired Champ Car World Series team. He only participated in a handful of tests for the team and made no race starts. Prior to the 2008 season, Champ Car unified with the rival IndyCar Series and Stoddart and the Minardi name left the sport.
In 2008, Baumgartner became the test driver for team Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in Superleague Formula.
Complete German Formula Three Championship results
Complete International Formula 3000 results
Zsolt Baumgartner Blue Flags Profile[link removed]