Reference
In his words and theirs
What Pedro Diniz said about racing, money, fear, leaving Formula One and the land, and what others said of him, each worded as it was published.
The biggest challenge was really the challenge of my mind.
In his words, and theirs
About the quotations
Most of what survives of his words as a racing driver was said in Portuguese, to Folha de S.Paulo: on the telephone from Italy in 1994, in the paddock, after the race. In May 2012 he spoke at length to the magazine Trip, and he was frank about money, fear and his father. After that the voice is a farmer’s and a businessman’s.
The quotations are grouped by subject and, within each group, set in the order they were said. Set on its own, a quotation of his is in italic and other people’s are in roman; where the original is Portuguese it comes first, followed by an English translation made for this site. Quoted within a sentence, a quotation is given in English. Every quotation is worded exactly as it was published and carries its occasion; one marked attributed was reported by reputable sources, but its original record has not been found. Words often repeated that do not stand up are gathered at the end, each with the reason for doubting it.
The groups: racing, the pay-driver question, the crashes, leaving Formula One, the land, the family, what others said and doubtful words.
In his words, and theirs
Racing
He came to Formula One from Formula 3000 with Forti, and his first Grand Prix was his home race, at Interlagos, in March 1995. What he said after a race was mostly short and plain. The harder judgements came later. Looking back in 2012, he called himself reckless: “I was the kamikaze: I’d start 16th and be sixth on the first lap.”
Às vezes peco por falta de experiência, mas me considero um piloto rápido.
Sometimes I fall short through lack of experience, but I consider myself a fast driver.
Foi emocionante passar na reta dos boxes e ver a placa mostrando P3.
It was thrilling to come past the pits and see the board showing P3.
O segredo foi ter conseguido ficar na pista.
The secret was managing to stay on the track.
In his words, and theirs
The pay-driver question
He was widely called a pay driver, and the money was real: the press of the day reckoned that his family’s companies and their suppliers brought his teams between US$10 million and US$17 million a year, estimates that were never confirmed. In 1997 he out-qualified his team-mate, the world champion Damon Hill, at Magny-Cours, Spa and Suzuka; after Spa, grandprix.com wrote: “Pay-driver Pedro Diniz showing why he is worth $12m to any team willing to take it from him.” His answers moved over the years from denial to something more exact.
Pelo contrário, fui morar sozinho na Inglaterra e passei uns seis meses comendo macarrão e sem ver ao menos uma mulher bonita.
On the contrary, I went to live on my own in England and spent about six months eating pasta without so much as seeing a pretty woman.
Peter Sauber and his partners first of all rated me on my performance in Formula One so far.
Ganhava US$ 2,5 milhões por ano. Uma grana alta pra qualquer um, imagine para um moleque de 25 anos.
I earned US$2.5 million a year. A lot of money for anyone; imagine for a kid of 25.
In his words, and theirs
The crashes
By his own account, a crash at Silverstone in his first season of Formula 3 broke a vertebra and kept him out for four months; no report of the time has been found. The other two came in Formula One. At Buenos Aires on 7 April 1996 the refuelling valve of his Ligier stuck open after his pit stop, and the car caught fire under braking; the FIA blamed a preparation error by the team. At the Nürburgring on 26 September 1999 Alexander Wurz’s Benetton, swerving round Damon Hill’s slowing Jordan, hit his Sauber at the first corner and turned it over; the roll hoop gave way. He told the story of the fire in the days after it and again to Trip in 2012, and the details shift a little with the years.
Vi as chamas pelo espelho retrovisor. Na hora, não pensei em nada, só em escapar. Não lembro de ter tirado o cinto de segurança, a direção, nada. Só de ter conseguido sair do carro. Foi instintivo.
I saw the flames in the mirror. At that moment I didn’t think of anything except getting out. I don’t remember taking off the belts, the steering wheel, anything. Only that I managed to get out of the car. It was instinctive.
Only a few weeks ago a similar [accident] happened in a Formula Three race, and the guy involved is now completely paralysed. The FIA will have to look at the whole thing and try to make roll hoops safer, because my accident could have been very serious.
Pensei: ‘Caramba, tinha tanta certeza de que não ia morrer, agora vou morrer aqui!?’. O fogo envolveu tudo, não via mais nada. Saí do carro sem tirar o volante, até hoje não sei como fiz isso.
I thought: ‘Blimey, I was so sure I wasn’t going to die, and now I’m going to die here!?’ The fire engulfed everything, I couldn’t see anything any more. I got out of the car without taking the steering wheel off; to this day I don’t know how I did it.
In his words, and theirs
Leaving Formula One
His last Grand Prix, at Sepang on 22 October 2000, lasted as far as the second corner. Thirty-nine days later his family bought into Prost Grand Prix, taking a share reported as 40 per cent, and he stopped racing to help run the team; Alain Prost had offered him a seat beside Jean Alesi, and he turned it down. Within a year he had fallen out with Prost and left the board, and in January 2002 the team went into liquidation. Back in Brazil he set up Formula Renault.
A short race for me today! I got squeezed a bit in the second corner by Nick Heidfeld, and ended up hitting Jean Alesi, so that was it. A long way to come for such a short run.
I believe in Alain and in this team and that’s where I see my future.
Depois que passou o deslumbre e a excitação, aquele circo não me deixava mais feliz. … Como piloto, vivi um ambiente de glamour, mas de relações superficiais e competitivas. Eram muitos egos, me relacionava com personagens, e não com pessoas de verdade.
Once the dazzle and the excitement had passed, that circus no longer made me happy. … As a driver I lived in a world of glamour, but of superficial, competitive relationships. There were a lot of egos; I was dealing with characters, not with real people.
In his words, and theirs
The land
He dates the turn to 2006, the year his first child was born and he saw Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth: “I’m bringing a son into the world and the world is wrecked.” In 2008 an organic project began on the family’s farm at Itirapina, the Fazenda da Toca. In 2018 he co-founded Rizoma Agro to grow organic grain on a large scale, and in 2022 the farm’s egg business and Rizoma’s grain production were sold to Granja Mantiqueira; the land was leased, not sold. The figures in his words are his own.
O legal de ser em larga escala é que democratiza o alimento orgânico. Na Alemanha, o produto orgânico custa 15% a mais que o convencional. Pouco mais caro. Aqui no Brasil é o dobro.
The good thing about large scale is that it democratises organic food. In Germany an organic product costs 15 per cent more than a conventional one. A little more expensive. Here in Brazil it’s double.
Acredito que dá para alimentar o mundo com orgânico. … Não é de hoje para amanhã. [É preciso] trabalhar numa transição para que o grande agronegócio, ao invés de destruir, crie vida.
I believe the world can be fed with organic food. … It won’t happen overnight. We need to work on a transition so that big agribusiness, instead of destroying, creates life.
But of course, no producer will migrate from a conventional model to a 100% regenerative organic model without having a proof that the model is viable – and that is exactly where Rizoma’s work could play an important role. … We believe there is a lot to be learned from all companies who have been working to advance agriculture. Furthermore, we believe in moving away from polarizing and prejudicial labeling and building bridges to connect positive efforts.
In his words, and theirs
The family
His father, Abílio Diniz, ran the Grupo Pão de Açúcar, the supermarket business that grew from a shop Abílio’s own father had opened in São Paulo in 1948. Pedro was the youngest of the four children of Abílio’s first marriage, and it was his father who gave him his first kart, to keep his speed on the track and off the city’s roads. Abílio died in São Paulo in February 2024, aged 87. In 2012 the son said he had once been hung up about being born a Diniz, and that “what I can do is turn what I have into a greater good for everyone.”
Acho que quando a gente é criança não percebe muito essa coisa, mas meu pai sempre foi uma figura dominadora.
I think as a child you don’t really notice, but my father was always a dominating figure.
Era um outro tipo de afeto, porque talvez ele também não tenha tido isso. Era uma relação um pouco mais fria. … Ele foi muito rígido, mas agradeço muito porque ele nos ensinou valores bem legais.
It was a different kind of affection, because perhaps he hadn’t had it himself. It was a rather colder relationship. … He was very strict, but I’m very grateful, because he taught us some really good values.
Tive uma conversa não muito fácil com meu pai. Falei que estava pensando em sair de São Paulo, comprar metade da parte da família na fazenda. Ele não entendeu muito bem, achou que eu não ia conseguir morar aqui.
I had a not very easy conversation with my father. I said I was thinking of leaving São Paulo and buying half of the family’s share in the farm. He didn’t really understand; he thought I wouldn’t manage to live here.
In his words, and theirs
What others said
What others said of him, in the order they said it. The press was divided, and its verdicts shifted with the seasons; his team bosses spoke mostly through their teams’ statements. At Hockenheim in 2000, where Atlas F1 blamed him for the crash with Alesi, the two drivers blamed each other. Prost praised him on the day of the deal and turned on him after the team collapsed, in an interview known only in translation that The shareholder quotes; Diniz is not known to have replied. The farm quotes Sebastian Vettel, who visited it in 2021.
Pedro Diniz has come in for a lot of criticism this season … but seems to be making the transition from rich-boy to racing driver at last.
On my last lap Diniz hit me at the chicane as he tried to pass me. Unfortunately this is the sort of thing that can happen when you are fighting for a place.
I am convinced that with Jean Alesi and Pedro Diniz we will have the strong driver pairing in the coming season to reach our ambitious goals.
In Austria, Pedro Diniz lost control of his Sauber at the start of the race and ended up creating a very dangerous situation. The Brazilian ran into Jean Alesi’s Prost at Hockenheim at nearly 300km/h, and caused an accident where fortunately no one was hurt. Ironically, the only driver who complained was Alesi.
In his words, and theirs
Doubtful words
Some of what is said to have been said, by him or about him, does not stand up. These are the cases a reader is most likely to meet, each with the reason for doubt.
Eddie Jordan, 1997
I think I picked the wrong Arrows driver.
The one source is the grandprix.com race report, which says only that Jordan was reported to have muttered it. A remark heard at second hand and printed once is not a quotation.
Jean Alesi, 2000
hit out at what he sees as ‘pay drivers’ taking the place of real talent
After their collision at Hockenheim, Alesi did complain, as crash.net and Atlas F1 both report. But no report of the time that has been found gives his own words about pay drivers: this line is crash.net’s paraphrase, repeated since as if it were his.
Trip’s pull-quote, 2012
Meu papel era o do playboy na Fórmula 1… Era tanto ego que não dava para curtir.
My role was that of the playboy in Formula One… There was so much ego that you couldn’t enjoy it.
The magazine’s condensed version, which circulates as his words. In the interview itself he said: “So my role was that of the Formula One playboy. And because of that I moved in circles even more elevated than the ones I should have been in.”
The roll, remembered in 2012
capotei na largada a uns 200 por hora … tinha fogo também
I rolled at the start at about 200 km/h … there was fire too
His own words, and not in doubt as his; in doubt as fact. On the day he said he had feared the car would catch fire, and no report of 1999 mentions a fire. By Sauber’s own analysis, the first impact came at about 95 km/h (59 mph).
Leading a race, 2018
Seu melhor momento foi liderar uma corrida em que quebrou antes da bandeirada final
His best moment was leading a race in which he broke down before the flag.
A newspaper’s paraphrase, not his words, and not what happened: he never led a lap in Formula One. At Indianapolis in 2000 he was 3rd until his stop; at Spa in 1997, by his own account, his pit board showed P3 before a slow stop, though the lap chart puts him 4th at best.
Abílio Diniz, recalled in 2024
Entreguei-lhe um menino e você fez dele um homem.
I handed you a boy and you made a man of him.
Carlo Gancia, who managed Pedro and co-owned Forti, remembered Abílio saying this to him after his son had set a fastest time in qualifying. He told it about 30 years later, and it rests on that one published account. It may be true; it cannot be checked.
Damon Hill, 2026
he went over the top of me
Hill’s memory, more than 26 years on, told on a podcast. At the start of the 1999 European Grand Prix, Wurz swerved round Hill’s slowing Jordan and struck the Sauber, which rolled; Diniz did not go over the top of Hill’s car.
Sources
Folha de S.Paulo: “Diniz admite ter pouca experiência para a F-1”, 16 September 1994; “Diniz quer mudar seu estilo de pilotar na F-1”, 1 February 1995; “DINIZ - A carreira sem vitórias”, 26 March 1995; “Diniz tem carro melhor”, Folhinha, 29 March 1996; “Fogo no carro apavora Diniz”, 8 April 1996; “Diniz acredita que foi salvo pelo ‘instinto’”, 9 April 1996; “Piloto de F-1 vende carros em São Paulo”, 29 October 1996; “Diniz chega em sétimo e ofusca campeão”, 25 August 1997; “Diniz marca seus primeiros pontos em 97”, 29 September 1997; “Barrichello reclama, e Diniz é festejado”, 14 June 1999; “Diniz sofre acidente na 2ª largada”, 27 September 1999; Fábio Seixas, “Pedro Paulo Diniz desiste de comandar equipe na F-1”, Folha Online, 26 October 2001; “Investir em tecnologia fará agricultura orgânica crescer, dizem especialistas”, 30 June 2017; Eliane Trindade, “Ex-piloto de F-1 faz de fazenda da família uma incubadora de sustentabilidade”, 13 November 2018. folha.uol.com.br
Paulo Lima, “Pedro Paulo Diniz”, Trip 210 (Páginas Negras), May 2012. revistatrip.uol.com.br
Pedro Diniz’s website, read through the Internet Archive: the biography pages; the race reports of the 1998 Belgian, 1999 European and 2000 Malaysian Grands Prix; and the Prost Grand Prix release of 30 November 2000. pedrodiniz.com
grandprix.com (Inside F1): “Ligier out of luck in America”, 11 December 1995; “Ligier gets the blame”, 29 April 1996; the race reports of the 1997 French, Belgian, Austrian and Japanese Grands Prix and the 2000 German Grand Prix; “Tom takes Bridgestone, Yamaha and Diniz”, 14 October 1996; “Alesi at Sauber, Salo at Arrows”, 22 September 1997; “Zonta or Diniz for BAR?”, 14 September 1998; “Diniz signs for Sauber”, 12 October 1998; “Diniz drops driving duties to become shareholder in Prost Grand Prix”, 30 November 2000; “Diniz launches Formula Renault in Brazil”, 21 November 2001; “Prost attacks”, 7 February 2002. grandprix.com
Atlas F1: Max Galvin, 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix review and 1997 Belgian Grand Prix review; “The Diniz-Sauber deal made official”, October 1998; “Diniz is Fine”, 27 September 1999; “Diniz’ car analysed”, 30 September 1999; Pablo Elizalde, “The 2000 German Grand Prix review”, August 2000. atlasf1.com
crash.net: “Pedro Calls For Roll Hoop Enquiry”, October 1999; “Alesi doubtful for Hungary”, August 2000. crash.net
BBC News, “Herbert races to shock GP triumph”, 27 September 1999. bbc.co.uk
Motor Sport, “Charge of the light brigade”, April 1995. motorsportmagazine.com
La Libre Belgique, “Prost Grand Prix, c’est fini”, 28 January 2002. lalibre.be
InfoMoney and Bloomberg, “Herdeiro da fortuna Diniz aposta na revolução da soja orgânica”, 21 August 2020. infomoney.com.br
Swissinfo, “Sintonia com o planeta: suíço resgata terras degradadas no Brasil”, 3 March 2016. swissinfo.ch
FoodNavigator-LATAM, “Large-scale regenerative agriculture is possible – and profitable, says Rizoma”, 8 April 2019. foodnavigator-latam.com
Brazil Journal, “Mantiqueira dobra a aposta nos ovos orgânicos”, 6 December 2022. braziljournal.com
Exame, “Morre aos 87 anos o empresário Abilio Diniz, o artífice do varejo brasileiro”, 18 February 2024. exame.com
Agência O Globo, “Abilio Diniz: saiba quem são os seis filhos do empresário morto em São Paulo”, Folha de Pernambuco, 19 February 2024. folhape.com.br
The Race, “Why Vettel took a trip to Pedro Diniz’s farm this week”, 11 November 2021. the-race.com
formula1.com, “Beyond the Grid: 90s racer Pedro Diniz talks fear, fiery escapes and partnering a world champion”, 1 December 2021. formula1.com
Luiz Carlos Secco, “A inesquecível vitória dos irmãos Diniz na Mil Milhas Brasileiras de 1970”, Autoentusiastas, February 2024. autoentusiastas.com.br
Jamie Woodhouse, “Damon Hill reveals Pedro Diniz crash made him quit racing”, PlanetF1, 23 April 2026. planetf1.com